Sauna history is fascinating and in 2020 UNESCO recognized Finnish sauna culture for its enduring health benefits. First built over 10,000 years ago in Northern Europe saunas served a central part in communities for their clean sterile environments where babies were born and dead were prepared for burial in addition to bathing in the heat.
Modern dry saunas generally operate at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and bathing duration at this temperature is usually around 15 minutes. There are many health benefits from a dry sauna, and they make you feel great! Putting small amounts of water on sauna rocks creates steam - known as löyly - which raises the humidity and makes the air feel much hotter and more intense on your skin.
Five Benefits of a Dry Sauna:
Healing: Your blood vessels and arteries dilate and your heart rate increases. This moves more red and white blood cells through your body and promotes healing of damaged tissues, such as muscles after a long day of exercising outdoors like skiing or hiking. Circulating white blood cells boosts your immune system and helps you fight off a virus.
It improves your mood: Taking a dry sauna raises your body temperature, and that releases endorphins, which in turn makes you feel good. Your extremities might tingle, and you feel lively and alert. And then, as you cool off and your body comes down from the endorphins, you become deeply relaxed and euphoric. If you take the sauna before bed, you will sleep better too.
Less joint pain: If you’re a veteran of the wild trails and long miles, you may have injured yourself in the past, and these old injuries are stiff or maybe even have arthritis in the joints. The heat combined with gently moving or flexing the joint will release synovial fluid that will help lubricate the joint.
Detoxifying your body: These temperatures make you sweat. Just like during exercising, your body sweats to cool off, and in the process, this naturally detoxifies your body because sweat contains contaminants dissolved in it.
Stress reduction: Ending your day with a sauna might just be the moment of sensory deprivation that you need from sights and sounds and movement as you sit still and soak in the relaxing warmth in the quiet cedar closet away from everything. Remember to take deep breaths.
Children under 13 should not use the sauna at the Bray Hill House because children’s bodies have difficulty modulating their body temperature. But for adults seeking any of these benefits, this should be all the motivation necessary to wrap up in a Turkish towel and step into the sauna after a day of skiing, hiking, ice climbing, biking, or herding your children through Santa’s Village.
Tylö SuperSport Technicalities
The dry sauna heater at the Bray Hill House is a Tylö SuperSport heater and has a triple-mantled construction finished on the outside with an all-over covering of velvet soft Thermosafe. So, if you touch it on the side, you won’t get burned, but still use caution! It heats the air in the dry sauna to around 165 degrees in 30 minutes and then maintains that for the duration. The dry sauna heater has a one-hour running time and both automatic and manual switch-off options. The SuperSport has a front-mounted control panel at the top of the heater for easy visibility and immediate accessibility.
Review by Mr & Mrs Madinger of Massachusetts - Immaculate Oasis
The Bray Hill House is an immaculate oasis with breathtaking views of the Northern Presidentials. Between the amazing fireplace, awesome sauna, cutting-edge technologies and a FABULOUS kitchen…if this house doesn't have it, you don't need it! The host, Israel, has thought of everything. Additionally, he was super accommodating and very responsive. Our stay was great, and we hope to go back!
