Modern saunas
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Many North American and Western European, as well as Russian public sport centers and gyms, include sauna facilities. They may also
be present at public and private swimming pools. This may be a separate area where swimwear may be taken off or a smaller facility
in the swimming pool area where one should keep the swimwear on.
Under many circumstances, temperatures approaching and exceeding 100 °C (212 °F) would be completely intolerable. Saunas overcame this
problem by controlling the humidity. The hottest Finnish saunas have relatively low humidity levels in which steam is generated by
pouring water on the hot stones. This allows air temperatures that could boil water to be tolerated and even enjoyed for longer periods
of time. Steam baths, such as the hammam, where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to a much lower temperature of
around 40 °C (104 °F) to compensate. The "wet heat" would cause scalding if the temperature were set much higher.
Finer control over the temperature experienced can be achieved by choosing a higher-level bench for those wishing a hotter experience
or a lower-level bench for a more moderate temperature. A good sauna has a relatively small temperature gradient between the various
seating levels.
Good manners require that the door to a sauna not be kept open so long that it cools the sauna for those who are already in it.
Leaving the door even slightly ajar or keeping it open for more than a few seconds will significantly cool down the relatively small
amount of hot air inside the sauna.
In Finland, the sauna was thought of as a healing refreshment. The old saying goes: "Jos ei viina, terva tai sauna auta, tauti on
kuolemaksi." ("If booze, tar, or the sauna won't help, the illness is fatal.") The Finnish sauna is not thought as an easy way to
get physical exercise, and it is not intended for weight loss; in fact, it predates these modern ideas.
In Finnish and Latvian sauna culture, a beer afterward is thought to be refreshing and relaxing. Pouring a few centiliters of beer
into the water that is poured on the hot stones releases the odor of the grain used to brew the beer. This distinctive smell,
however, sharply divides Finnish people. Also, other scents can be used (for example pine tar or eucalyptus), but using any scents
other than birch leaves is frowned upon by the traditionalists. A common method for adding birch leaf scent is to wet the leaves of
a vihta in water, and then place the vihta on the hot stones for a second or two. This also conveniently heats the vihta for use to
whip the user's skin to increase blood circulation. According to Finnish lore, the human body is most beautiful thirty minutes after a sauna.
Social and mixed-gender nudity with adults and children of the same family is common in the conventional sauna. Sometimes the sauna is
considered not only a sex-free but also almost a gender-free zone. In the dry sauna and on chairs one sometimes sits on a towel for
hygiene and comfort; in the steam bath, the towel is left outside. Some hotel sauna facilities and especially cruise ships and/or ferries
have an area where refreshments (often alcoholic) are served in conjunction with the sauna/pool area; draping a towel around the waist
is generally required in that part of such facilities.
As an additional facility, a sauna may have one or more jacuzzis. In some spa centers, there are the so-called special "snow rooms".
Many North American and Western European, as well as Russian public sport centers and gyms, include sauna facilities. They may also
be present at public and private swimming pools. This may be a separate area where swimwear may be taken off or a smaller facility
in the swimming pool area where one should keep the swimwear on.
Under many circumstances, temperatures approaching and exceeding 100 °C (212 °F) would be completely intolerable. Saunas overcame this
problem by controlling the humidity. The hottest Finnish saunas have relatively low humidity levels in which steam is generated by
pouring water on the hot stones. This allows air temperatures that could boil water to be tolerated and even enjoyed for longer periods
of time. Steam baths, such as the hammam, where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to a much lower temperature of
around 40 °C (104 °F) to compensate. The "wet heat" would cause scalding if the temperature were set much higher.
Finer control over the temperature experienced can be achieved by choosing a higher-level bench for those wishing a hotter experience
or a lower-level bench for a more moderate temperature. A good sauna has a relatively small temperature gradient between the various
seating levels.
Good manners require that the door to a sauna not be kept open so long that it cools the sauna for those who are already in it.
Leaving the door even slightly ajar or keeping it open for more than a few seconds will significantly cool down the relatively small
amount of hot air inside the sauna.
In Finland, the sauna was thought of as a healing refreshment. The old saying goes: "Jos ei viina, terva tai sauna auta, tauti on
kuolemaksi." ("If booze, tar, or the sauna won't help, the illness is fatal.") The Finnish sauna is not thought as an easy way to
get physical exercise, and it is not intended for weight loss; in fact, it predates these modern ideas.
In Finnish and Latvian sauna culture, a beer afterward is thought to be refreshing and relaxing. Pouring a few centiliters of beer
into the water that is poured on the hot stones releases the odor of the grain used to brew the beer. This distinctive smell,
however, sharply divides Finnish people. Also, other scents can be used (for example pine tar or eucalyptus), but using any scents
other than birch leaves is frowned upon by the traditionalists. A common method for adding birch leaf scent is to wet the leaves of
a vihta in water, and then place the vihta on the hot stones for a second or two. This also conveniently heats the vihta for use to
whip the user's skin to increase blood circulation. According to Finnish lore, the human body is most beautiful thirty minutes after a sauna.
Social and mixed-gender nudity with adults and children of the same family is common in the conventional sauna. Sometimes the sauna is
considered not only a sex-free but also almost a gender-free zone. In the dry sauna and on chairs one sometimes sits on a towel for
hygiene and comfort; in the steam bath, the towel is left outside. Some hotel sauna facilities and especially cruise ships and/or ferries
have an area where refreshments (often alcoholic) are served in conjunction with the sauna/pool area; draping a towel around the waist
is generally required in that part of such facilities.
As an additional facility, a sauna may have one or more jacuzzis. In some spa centers, there are the so-called special "snow rooms".
