# What is the purpose of a steam room vs. a sauna? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629 "2006-11-16T03:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/1 "2006-11-16T03:05:15Z")
My local Y has a sauna and a steam room. Which should I use for what purpose? I have a lot of problems with muscle pain. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/2 "2006-11-16T15:18:16Z")
Nobody knows? I know there’s some [skepticism](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352218) on this Board as to whether saunas actually do you any good at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/3 "2006-11-16T17:38:45Z")
I sauna once or twice a week. I love 'em. I mainly use the steam room to clear out my lungs and sinuses. But the sauna is where I just let the heat soak into my muscles. I generally do this routine: 1. Shower 2. Sauna. Upper shelf for higher heat, 5 to 10 minutes, or until I can hear my heartbeat (blood starts pumping fast enough you can hear it). 3. Quick cool-down in pool or shower 4. Rest on bench/bed. Hydrate. 5. Sauna 6. Quick cool-down then directly to steam room 7. Rest and hydrate. 8. Sauna on lower shelf for 10 minutes or until I just can’t take it anymore. 9. Rest and cool-down. 10. Quick sauna, quick dip in pool. 11. Shower and dress and hydrate. I feel that the sauna mainly relaxes me, gives me a good 45 minutes or so to forget about the world, helps cleanse my body (I drink at least 2 liters of water during and more after - gotta be good for washing away toxins to some degree). Oh, and did I mention that the average Czech woman is pretty and the saunas are co-ed and nekkid? Bonus! -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/4 "2006-11-16T18:16:23Z")
I don’t use them a great deal but I find that steam rooms are very good for my skin. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/5 "2006-11-16T18:18:15Z")
In a steam room, you can take along some broccoli and shrimp, which will cook about as fast as you do. Then you’ll have a little snack when you’re done. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/6 "2006-11-16T20:04:21Z")
Alright, fight some ignorance for me…what the hell is the difference between a sauna and a steamroom? Is a sauna just hot but no steam? ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/7 "2006-11-16T20:18:55Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Alright, fight some ignorance for me…what the hell is the difference between a sauna and a steamroom? Is a sauna just hot but no steam? [/QUOTE] Sauna is heat. But it’s a _dry heat._ ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/8 "2006-11-17T02:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] Oh, and did I mention that the average Czech woman is pretty and the saunas are co-ed and nekkid? Bonus! [/QUOTE] [hijack] This is that point in time where I thank God for my Slovak roots, my current online class in Russian, and my faith in God that I can pray for a trip to Prague. Please Lord, grant me a trip just once: to ‘practice my Russian’, and ‘learn some Slovak’ while I’m at it. Seriously, O Lord. [/hijack] Seriously, I loved the sauna. When I was working out in earnest, I’d hang out in the sauna for a good 10 - 15 minutes to let the heat penetrate my recently torn muscles, and relax them. I never did care for the steam room as it gave me sinus trouble, though. And now that I am starting a new routine, I will have to find the sauna in this new gym on base. Tripler - **Note to girlfriend:** Please ignore the first paragraph. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/9 "2006-11-17T03:06:38Z")
A few drops of lemongrass essential oill on the steam head and… ahhhhhhhh. There is at least some therapeutic value if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/10 "2006-11-17T03:25:58Z")
[QUOTE=groman] Sauna is heat. But it’s a _dry heat._ [/QUOTE] Yeah, the difference is pretty noticeable. The saunas I’ve been to are pretty dry with an interior heat of about 60-80 Celsius and a low humidity. The steamrooms I’ve been to generally top out at about 50 Celsius with 100% humidity. _They are friggin scorching hot!_ It’s really, really hard to breathe in those if you’re not used to them. **Tomcat** - your saunas are naked? Goddamn! I lived for five years in Budapest and if you’d expect anyone to have co-ed naked saunas, it’s the sex-crazed Magyars, but nooooo… Lucky you! I loved the saunas and steamrooms, and I did the same routine as you, with the cool-down in the coldest bath (usually around 15 C). After two passes of hot-cold-rest, hot-cold-rest, I felt like somebody just beat the crap outta me, but in a good way. Every muscle in my body felt limp and completely relaxed. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/11 "2006-11-17T05:23:48Z")
[QUOTE=groman] Sauna is heat. But it’s a _dry heat._ [/QUOTE] It’s mostly a dry heat, but you do throw water onto the rocks on top of the stove to generate some steam from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-steam-room-vs-a-sauna/380629/12 "2006-11-17T17:09:00Z")
**Tomcat** , please tell us more about your saunas.