Steam is used to heat enclosed rooms called steam rooms. Although the temperatures can vary, steam rooms typically maintain temperatures around 110°F. You’ve likely seen steam rooms before at your rec center or inside a spa.
Steam room versus sauna
Steam rooms are like saunas. It is said that sitting in a small heated room is good for your health. The kind of heat they provide is where the big difference lies.
Dry heat, typically from hot rocks or a closed stove, is used in a sauna. Steam from a generator that is filled with boiling water is used to heat steam rooms.
While a steam room may offer even more health benefits, a sauna may assist you in relaxing and loosening your muscles. Humidity is the key to the unique health benefits of the steam room.
The steam rooms are humid and tropical. To keep out moisture, they are typically lined with plastic, tile, or other airtight material. They are designed to maintain a humidity level of 95% to 100% while being heated to between 114 and 120 degrees.
Due to the high humidity, you may immediately notice droplets on your skin when you enter a steam room. It might even appear to be thick.
Interestingly, saunas are dry and desert-like. Most of the time, they are made of wood, heated to between 160 and 200 degrees, and the humidity is close to zero.
Do steam rooms have health benefits?
Heat bathing is a practice that dates back to many different cultures and is still used in Russian banyas, American Indian sweat lodges, and Finnish saunas.
As intensity treatment takes off in ubiquity today, numerous well-being claims are made about its advantages. Improved cardiovascular function, reduced pain, anti-aging, and skin rejuvenation are just a few examples. Other benefits include a faster metabolism, weight loss, and reduced stress. well-being
In her 2018 study Trusted Source, heat therapy researcher Joy Hussain points out that medical evidence to support these claims is frequently lacking in scientific proof. Still, the study says that taking a sauna bath helps the circulatory, cardiovascular, and immune systems work better.
While there are a lot of studies on the health benefits of saunas, there is much less research on the health benefits of moist heat, like steam rooms. However, the research that has been conducted does point to several health benefits of steam heat.
Continue reading to learn more about the health benefits of prolonged heat immersion, such as in saunas and steam rooms. Saunas are also included when research suggests a connection.
Do steam rooms help reduce inflammation?
One thing that researchers generally agree on is that thermal therapy can help reduce systemic inflammation. Although the focus is on steam rooms, saunas are also included.
This is a huge advantage. According to ResearchTrusted Source, the most common cause of death worldwide is chronic inflammatory diseases.
Millions of people’s disease incidence could be reduced if inflammation could be reduced. According to the Rand Corporation’s most recent research update, approximately 60% of Americans had at least one chronic condition, and 42% had more than one. In the United States, five or more chronic conditions affect 12 percent of adults.
According to Trusted Source, chronic inflammatory conditions account for 3 out of 5 deaths worldwide. Numerous chronic conditions have been linked to inflammation, including:
- stroke
- respiratory illness
- heart problems
- cancer
- obesity,
- diabetes
According to a Trusted Source study, taking frequent sauna baths reduced C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the body. One of the most important blood markers of systemic inflammation is the C-reactive protein.
The researchers said that more research is needed to find out exactly how sauna bathing affects systemic inflammation. Even though steam heating, not sauna heating, was the focus of the study, steam may offer similar advantages due to its use of heat therapy.
According to a different study, frequent sauna bathing may be associated with a lower risk of both short-term and long-term disease conditions due to reduced inflammation. The study cautioned that the long-term effects of saunas are still unknown and called for additional research to be conducted.
According to the findings of another study, practices that temporarily raise body temperature and, as a result, reduce inflammation may be especially beneficial for people whose physical or cognitive limitations prevent them from regularly exercising.
More frequent sauna users had lower CRP levels, according to a trusted source study of more than 2,000 Finnish men.
Other health benefits.
There has been a lot of talk in medical circles about increasing health span as well as lifespan. This is an illustration of a dose-related health benefit of heat therapy in which more is frequently preferable to less when within safe limits.
Other health benefits.
This is how many years you live in relatively good health without getting a serious, long-term, or acute illness.
Due to heat therapy’s benefits to cardiovascular and cognitive health, physical fitness, and muscle maintenance, one study concluded that regular sauna bathing has the potential to delay the effects of aging health and extend health span.
There is growing evidence that sauna benefits for health are frequently dose-related, particularly in terms of benefits for inflammation and cardiovascular health. This indicates that frequent sauna use is preferable to infrequent use.
According to a review of studies, the body’s ability to adapt to heat and respond more effectively may be the reason for heat’s dose-related benefits.
The following are some of the most frequently cited health benefits of heat therapy from the research: The attention here is on steam rooms, yet saunas are likewise included when advantages cross over between the two types of heat.
Improves circulation
A little more seasoned study trusted Wellspring of seniors in 2012 showed that sodden intensity further developed dissemination, particularly in the lower legs. The soggy intensity was applied by an intensity get together to 1 cm beneath the skin, instead of by a steam room.
A healthier heart and lower blood pressure are both possible outcomes of improved circulation. It can also help skin tissue heal, which is a common problem for older people.
Reduces congestion
This is probably the benefit that most people think of when they think of steam rooms. Steam is frequently credited with benefits in anecdotal claims:
- congestion,
- headache
- sore throat
The atmosphere in steam rooms warms the mucous membrane and encourages inhalation deeply. Therefore, using one can help, at least temporarily, break up congestion in your lungs and sinuses.
However, research on the actual clinical effects of steam inhalation yields conflicting results.
Positively, one study found that inhaling steam can help clear mucus and that hot, humid air can help clear mucus. Another study found that breathing steam vapor containing essential oils, particularly peppermint, may help clear congestion in the lungs and sinuses.
Also, this study found that by encouraging drainage from the sinuses, steam inhalation, especially when combined with yoga postures, can help treat chronic sinusitis.
On the other hand, one review of six clinical trials examining the efficacy of steam therapy for adults with the common cold yielded mixed results. Symptoms were reduced in some of the studies, but not in others. Inhaling steam even caused discomfort in some people’s noses.
The majority of chronic sinus symptoms did not show significant improvement in a clinical trial examining the efficacy of steam inhalation for those with a headache.
Overall, steam therapy may temporarily alleviate congestion symptoms, but its efficacy as a treatment has not been scientifically demonstrated.
