From the Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna:
That’s all it says. “Citation needed.” Is there any scientific proof that prolonged sitting in a room heated to 70-90 degrees Celsius (158-194 Farenheit) actually has any health benefits?
I was always told that it opens up the pores of your skin, which I guess would theoretically help with some skin conditions.
IMHO thread.
Sauna & Health
Sweat Bathing and the Body
©1997 Mikkel Aaland All Rights Reserved
http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/saunahealth.htm
I knew Estonians who favoured a sauna over a shower or bath to get clean - in fact one student told me her nephews and nieces (age range 9 downwards) had never used soap or shampoo just had saunas; gently slapping yourself with twigs dipped in cold water was suposed to help stimulate the skin in some way too but not sure how this relates to cleansing.
If avoiding using chemicals, which cause allergies in some, to clean yourself is a health benefit then it would seem that yes, sauna are a good thing.
When I have the time, I sometimes take a sauna, then a steam bath, then a shower after a workout at the gym.
The benefits? I will feel absolutely terrific! My husband tells me I look radiant after I do this. My muscles are relaxed. I feel good about life.
15 minutes in the sauna, 15 minutes in the steam bath - Ah!
Ummm . . . They do take a shower or bath after the sauna, don’t they? If not . . . :eek:
So far, I’ve seen nothing to suggest this doesn’t belong in IMHO.
I’ve been to several sweat lodges as well as saunas. Sweat lodges are very similar to saunas but can get much hotter, depending on outside air temp as well as how much the rocks heat up beforehand. You really do sweat buckets in there, and come out absolutely drenched. After I’ve been in one, I “feel” cleaner, find breathing easier, and my skin feels velvety soft.
After a sauna, I am super-duper clean (that’s a technical term, you know) – far more squeaky clean (another technical term) than I get from just showering.
After a sauna I am fabuously relaxed (yet another technical term).
Fortunately, although I live in Canda, I live in a city that is swarming (another technical term) with people with Finnish ancestry, so saunas are common here.
Nope, as I understood it they scrubbed while in there just had a rub down with a towel afterwards.
It feels good and you get clean. What more do you need?
Saunas really help open up the old sinuses, if the sinuses are clogged.
If you take a sauna in the wild, if there any outdoor saunas where you are at, you can go from extreme cold to extreme warm instantly. By tradition, you take the outdoor sauna in the winter when the water is frozen and take a dive into the sub-zero degree water, then rush right back into the sauna again. This opens up your blood veins and preempts cloggings and cholestrol.
IANAD, but I assume that this statement is your opinion. I would love to see a cite linking saunas with lower cholesterol and/or preventing clogged arteries.
Yes, it’s my opinion, based on a study I read some time ago that came to the conclusion while comparing people in a sauna-rich culture with that of a sauna-poor culture. I’m trying to google for it, but I’m not in luck.
One of my profs at school mentioned that sudden changes in temperature also give your immune system a motivational kick in the rear. Saunas might help along these lines.
I am proud to say that I don’t take saunas, baths or showers and, puzzlingly, I rarely become afflicted with communicable diseases. I try to explain this situation to people in person, but, obviously jealous of my good fortune, they always seem to avoid me. 
Sounds like it might also cause catatonia or death from shock.