Are you building a home sauna from scratch with the help of a pre-made traditional sauna kit? Or are you visiting a sauna at a friend’s place?
No matter what, the first sauna experience can be both exciting and daunting. Rightly so! Being in a room half-naked and sweating will require some getting used to. Moreover, sitting inside a sauna room can cause nausea and headache. This is why we are going to offer a few beginner’s tips. Following them closely will enable you to enjoy your sauna experience.
Without further ado, let’s get started…
Avoid food
When you visit the sauna for the first time you are likely to feel nauseous. This is one reason why you should avoid eating food right before entering the sauna. If you go inside with your stomach full your body will try and digest the food. This will prevent you from relaxing. That said, if you are super hungry then go for something light like a salad.
Stay hydrated
When you are inside the sauna you are going to sweat a lot. Of course, the whole point of a sauna session to sweat out toxins. But dehydration can cause fatigue and nauseousness. To prevent dehydration, you need to drink plenty of water before stepping inside the sauna. In addition to this, carry a bottle of water inside. It’ll keep your body temperature in control.
Avoid alcohol
You can’t sweat out a hangover. No matter what your friends say, it’s not going to work. If anything, visiting the sauna in an intoxicated state will make things worse. You will get headaches and feel constantly nauseous. Our recommendation: abstain from drinking alcohol 24 hours before visiting the sauna.
Wear a towel
If you are visiting a public sauna, then you need to learn about sauna etiquettes. In some places, people prefer taking off all their clothes before entering the sauna. But not every sauna follows this tradition. Make sure you know the rules before you go to the sauna.
Most likely, you don’t have to be nude. Use a towel instead. Also, carry a pefletti or a small towel that you can use to sit on. You don’t want to be sweating on the chair.
Socialize
Going to the sauna can be regarded as a social event. People come together and enjoy this wholesome experience and share a genuine moment with strangers. So it is absolutely fine to chat and get to know your fellow sauna visitors.
Instead of sitting quietly and feeling overwhelmed with the silence, you can just start a conversation. You will be surprised at how many of the visitors join in. You might actually end up making new friends.
Take a break
As a beginner, we advise you don’t stay more than 10 minutes. If you do, you will start to feel nauseous. It’s not normal to sit inside a hot room. Your body is bound to react in weird ways. If you don’t take precautions, then you might never want to return to a sauna ever again. This is why we strongly recommend you take breaks and cool down before you go inside again. You can use a towel to soak your sweat to accelerate the cooling process.
Use fragrance & essential oil
Sauna aromatherapy is becoming popular these days, and for good reason. Fragrance and essential oil are believed to therapeutic and help calm your nerves. You are unlikely to be able to use it in a public space. But you can try them out in your home sauna.
Just ensure that you are diluting the oil before putting them on the sauna stones. This will prevent any fire hazards.
Take it easy
The ultimate goal of visiting the sauna is to relax. Enjoy the wonderful experience. If you are unable to control your thoughts then we suggest meditating. We also suggest that you sit back and pay attention to what’s happening in your body. Try and ease all those tense muscles.
When in doubt, ask questions
It’s okay to ask questions. In a public sauna, traditionally men and women go on their separate ways. Sometimes they go to the sauna together. So, in case you are in a mixed group, there is no harm in asking what’s happening.
One of the best things about a sauna experience is that people are friendly. There’s no judgment. This means if you prefer being in a sauna with a different set of people, just ask for it and see if it can be coordinated.
Don’t use your smartphone
As we said earlier, one of the main reasons for going to a sauna is to relax. That is why we suggest that you leave your smartphone behind and enjoy the session without distraction.
Taking an electronic gadget inside a heated room is not a good idea because may start malfunction. That said if you do want some form of entertainment, go for audiobooks or music that’ll help you relax. Perhaps you can find an old smartphone and use it instead of risking your current smartphone.
Finish with a shower
You need to cool off after the entire session otherwise you won’t feel well. Go for either a cold or a hot shower. A cold shower will help prevent dirt from entering your pores. But if you’d rather let your skin pores stay open, then go for a hot shower. This is perfect if you are planning to apply moisturizer.
Final thoughts
We hope that the tips we provided here come in handy. Moreover, we hope that your first sauna experience went well and you’d want to return for more sessions. If you do, then you can carry on with the tips listed in this article. These tips are useful for both beginners and seasoned sauna users.
Tell us about your first sauna experience in the comment section below.
