Among the varied pleasures of a sauna, there lies a marvelous benefit – the good it does to your skin! The heat of saunas makes the capillaries dilate to allow increase in blood flow to the skin so as to draw heat from the surface of the skin and disperse it within the body. This turns your skin into a cherry red hue. The heart is pushed into a faster pace in order to meet the demands of additional blood. Due to this faster flow of the body's juices, all impurities and toxins from the liver, stomach, kidneys, muscles, brains and other organs are flushed out of the body. These are filtered by the skin and the kidneys in the form of urine and sweat.

    How does sauna help your heart?

    few researches claim that the quick flexing of the heart and blood vessels during a sweat bath provides a healthy exercise for the heart by adding a little extra strain than a simple stroll. The increase in the capillary volume keeps the blood pressure normal. A Finnish study had observed that though a normal person's blood pressure remains normal in a sauna; if you suffer from high blood pressure, then a significant drop in blood pressure is noted. Even though this is a transient effect, the heart gets a good exercise routine in a sauna.

    How does sauna help your lungs?

    Since the requirement for oxygen in the body increases by about 20%, so another major toxin eliminator – the lungs also match up to the rapid pace of the body. The heat in the sauna opens up clogged respiratory passages providing relief from colds and other similar respiratory troubles. However, if you suffer from pneumonia or any other serious and acute respiratory illness, sweat bathing is not recommended. In some sweat baths, the quick exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen is interrupted due to high humidity. On the tiny alveoli in our body where the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen takes place, high humidity results in condensation of water making breathing slightly labored. In the dry heat bath, like in the American saunas, the dryness may render the mucous membranes damaged and dry.

    Other advantages of the Sauna

    The body reaches a "fever" like stage as the surface temperature rises by about 10 degrees centigrade and the inner by about 3 degrees. Following Hippocrates, generations of medical people have sought this stage achieved in a sweat bath. Though not every disease can be cured this way, most bacteria and virus cannot survive in temperatures higher than the normal body temperature. The body's damaged cells repair quicker in this condition due to increased metabolism making recovery from illnesses easier and rapid.

    The function of pituitary gland accelerates the body's metabolic rate and also affects several hormones in the body. All the other glands like adrenal, testes, ovaries and thyroid are controlled by the pituitary gland. Some people even believe that sex drive and growth are stimulated in the sauna.

    在桑拿带来的众多乐趣中有一个不可思议的好处：它对人的皮肤极有帮助！桑拿的高温使微血管膨胀，从而使更多的血液流经皮肤，将人体表面的热度分散到身体各处。这使人的皮肤变成一种樱桃红色。为了满足增加的血液量，心脏需要跳动得更快。因此，肝脏，胃，肾脏，肌肉，大脑和人体其它器官中的杂质和毒素会被排出体外。杂质和毒素是以小便和汗液的形态通过皮肤和肾脏过滤的。

    桑拿是如何有助心脏的？

    很少科学家声称发汗浴带来的心脏和血管快速伸缩增加的一些压力可以用来来锻炼心脏。微血管容量的增加可以保持血压正常。芬兰科学家的研究表明，尽管正常人的血压在蒸桑拿时保持正常，桑拿可以使高血压病人的血压明显降低。尽管这只是短暂效应，人的心脏绝对在蒸桑拿时得到了很好的锻炼。

    桑拿是如何有助肺的？

    因为蒸桑拿时氧气的需求量增加了约20%,作为另一个重要的毒素排出器官，肺也加大了步伐。桑拿带来的热量打开了堵塞住的呼吸管道，减缓了感冒和其它呼吸道病症。然而，发汗浴并不适合患有肺炎和其它严重激烈的呼吸道疾病的人。在有些发汗浴中，二氧化碳被迅速交换为氧气这个过程会被高湿度中断。氧气和二氧化碳的交换在体内的小肺泡中进行，高湿度造成的液态水会使得呼吸稍缓。在干热浴中，比如美式桑拿，干燥会使得粘膜干燥并造成损害。

    桑拿的其它优点

    当人体表面温度升高约10摄氏度，人体内温度升高约3摄氏度时，人的身体达到了"发烧"的程度。跟随希腊名医们的脚步，几代医学家追求在发汗浴中达到这个程度。虽然这并不能治疗所有疾病，但是大部分细菌和病毒不能在高于正常体温的温度中存活。由于加速的新陈代谢，破损的人体细胞会加速愈合，使病患更容易更迅速恢复健康。

    脑下垂体的作用是加快身体新陈代谢速度和影响一些人体内的荷尔蒙。其它所有腺体，如肾上腺，睾丸，卵巢和甲状腺等是由脑下垂体控制的。有些人甚至认为桑拿可以激发性冲动。