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Sauna BUYER’S GUIDE AWARD LEISURE www.awardleisurecom SAUNA - WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? You’ve probably seen those mysterious looking rooms hidden in the back corner of the gym locker or in the hotel spa, but have you ever really wondered about the benefits of a Sauna or Steam Room? The Sauna was Originally invented by the Finnish but similar forms of health benefits can be found in a Russian Banya, Indian Sweat Lodge, Turkish Steam Bath, Arabic Hamam and even as far back as the Roman Bath House. The use of hot air and humidity cause the body to increase in temperature and start to perspire. In defence the body increases its blood flow to the surface of the skin to keep it cool. By doing so the heart rate is elevated which can be equivalent to a mild work out. While perspiring in a Sauna, you will experience deep relaxation, sore muscles are loosened, and aching joints will feel relief. The process of perspiration even burns some calories, although most of the weight lost in a

Sauna is water loss and is re-gained upon rehydrating. Without a doubt, a Sauna can be an important part of a healthy weight loss program. In terms of reaping the benefits for your skin, the Sauna is better for muscle relaxation and lowering blood pressure whereas the Steam Room will help with overall detoxification of the bodythe preference is yours. Saunas use dry heat whereas Steam Rooms use more moist heat. SAUNA BATHING GOES BACK OVER 2000 YEARS AS FAR BACK AS THE ROMAN BATH HOUSE. 2 Sweating is also the body’s natural way to remove toxins that are can be stored up in the body. The immediate after effects of a Sauna bath are an enlightened sense of well-being as endorphins are built up in the body’s brain. However after an hour or so a Sauna bather will feel calmness and an ultimate sense of relaxation. Some Sauna bathers prefer to take a cold shower in-between each short bathing session. This causes the body heart rate to be even further elevated and is a practice that most

Finnlanders enjoy. Saunas can also be a great place to socialise and share stories. Families and friends have gathered for decades in the Sauna as a means of socially connecting. However a Sauna can also be a great place to meditate and clear the mind leaving you invigorated both physically and mentally. 3 SAUNA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CAN MY SAUNA GO OUTDOORS? WHAT SORT OF ONGOING MAINTENANCE IS REQUIRED? Yes, but be careful. Cheaper Saunas are made from laminate wood and finished with a coated varnish. The humidity emitted from the Sauna and the inclement UK weather will inevitably cause the fittings to rust, the wood to twist and the varnish to peel off. Very little actually. If you purchased an outdoor barrel Sauna, you may need to tighten the bands, usually within the first few months. Our outdoor Saunas are designed with the inclement and inconsistent British climate in mind; all of our barrel, pod and traditional Saunas are made from 100% Canadian cedar. Depending

on the humidity and weather conditions in your area, the wood will either shrink or expand based on the amount of moisture absorption. Our indoor Sauna range is made from furniture grade cedar and looks spectacular in any home or gym. The desired effect is to have the wood expand into the bands. To keep the inside clean, you can periodically scrub the floor or benches with a mild solution of water and baking soda. HOW DO I TREAT THE EXTERIOR OF MY OUTDOOR CEDAR SAUNA? WHAT POWER SUPPLY WILL I NEED FOR MY SAUNA? You really don’t have to treat it. Over time the cedar will weather naturally as a result of sun and rain, but this doesn’t harm the wood or impair the Sauna’s performance. Typically an Infrared Sauna will only need a 13amp plug/240 volt supply – known as a plug and play option. Please make sure that any connection made between the Sauna and the main supply is waterproof and complies with building regulations. However, if you wish to retain the natural colour of

the wood, you can apply a stain with a UV inhibitor that resists weathering. Your local paint professional can help you pick the right one. Note: never treat the interior of the room, and never apply paint or varnish to the exterior. Traditional Steam Saunas can be heated either by electricity or wood. Electric heaters will need a 32amp supply and certainly have to be connected by an approved, certified and qualified electrician. Wood heaters are very, very effective and extremely inexpensive to run. They will have to be sited outdoors. It is always necessary to have a registered gas engineer check and certify the wood heater for CO2 emissions. HOW DO I DECIDE WHERE TO PLACE MY OUTDOOR CEDAR SAUNA? Two rules: firm and flat (a slight taper for run-off is fine). You can place your Sauna on a deck, concrete, paver stones, pressed gravel, etc. Our barrel Saunas come with moulded cradle supports that protect the Sauna from moisture when it is placed directly on the ground. 4 5 10

BENEFITS OF A SAUNA Saunas are great therapy tool that are used in sports medicine and athletic and physical therapy. You will most often find a public Sauna at the fitness centre for this reason. Heat can also be good for arthritis pain as well as muscle aches! But use of a Sauna has big personal benefits too . DETOXIFY Regardless of how healthy you may be and how much you may try to live a balanced, health-focused lifestyle your body is storing tons of toxins. THEY ARE RELAXING CLEAR YOUR PORES The main reason any of us even try a Steam Room or Sauna in the first place is to chill out. Think about it: Saunas and Steam Rooms cause your pores to open so you can release sweat. After a hard workout or a long day you need to just relax, which is exactly what you will do. As your pores open and sweat, they also flush out the icky stuff sitting on your skin’s surface or just below the surface. The combination of heat, plus being disconnected from the rest of the world for even

just a few minutes, can transform your attitude and make you feel more mellow. All the dirt and germs from your environment, your day, even your makeup get washed away in the stream of sweat. IMPROVE COMPLEXION Steam Room therapy can restore skin by stimulating blood flow, riding your skin of dead cells and leaving your skin feeling clean, soft and fresh. 6 INCREASE FLEXIBILITY LOW-IMPACT EXERCISE The last thing you want when you’re trying to relax in the Sauna is for some towel-clad person next to you to bend over and touch her toes. Safe exposure to heat through a Sauna or Steam Room will get your heart pumping, thus increasing blood flow throughout your body. That said, if you are ever lucky enough to find an empty Sauna, take a few minutes to stretch, using typical positions like hamstring and quad stretches. An article published by Harvard Medical School explained that in a Sauna “the pulse rate jumps by 30% or more, allowing the heart to nearly double the amount of

blood it pumps each minute.” The concept is that intense, penetrating heat can relieve your tired, stiff muscles and make them more malleable. A recent study showed that “stretching in the Sauna led to a 205% improvement in flexibility.” HELP YOU DECOMPRESS An intense exercise session can leave your muscles tired, sore and stiff. Using the heat from a Sauna (dry heat) or a Steam Room (wet heat) can loosen muscles and help muscle fibres recover faster. They can come from chemicals in your environment or from your food, and the best way to release these toxins is to mobilise them in your body and sweat them out in a Steam Room. RELIEVE JOINT PAIN CURE A HANGOVER To help alleviate the hangover symptoms and speed up the recovery process., sweating it out in a Sauna can help rid your body of all the grossness from last night’s booze-fest. That said, just be sure to properly hydrate along the way. While a good sweat can help, being dehydrated could hurt you and make your

symptoms worse. GOOD FOR YOUR HEART One of the benefits of a Sauna is that they have been shown to help patients dealing with arthritis and joint discomfort, as the heat therapy can cause temporary pain relief. Because Steam Rooms and Saunas stimulate your heart to pump faster, moving blood throughout your body, it can actually be like a mild workout for your heart. A Dutch study in 2009 showed that “participants reported improvement in pain, stiffness and fatigue during the Sauna session.” In addition, for some people time in a Sauna can lower blood pressure, which is really beneficial for people with high blood pressure. 7 TRADITIONAL SAUNAS ELECTRIC OR A WOOD-BURNING? The overall experience is similar whether heating with electric or wood. Traditional Steam Saunas can be heated either by electricity or wood. Electric heaters will need a 32amp supply and certainly have to be connected by an approved, certified and qualified electrician. This obviously comes at an

additional cost, as no Sauna heater will be supplied with an electrical cable. This supply will have to be connected directly to your fuse board. You will need to plan ahead and determine the location of your new Sauna in anticipation of how the electric supply will be managed. The wood heater will require that you vent the heater out the top or back of the room, as well as provide an appropriate firewall around the heater. Installation should be done in compliance with the heater manufacturers’ instructions as well as applicable building codes. FACTOID 1 In an Infrared Sauna the bather will feel hot and will sweat profusely, but at much lower temperatures. Thus, if the goal is to spend longer periods of time in the Sauna, the Infrared Sauna is a good choice. FACTOID 2 There is an on-going worldwide trend with traditional Sauna bathing for “lower temperatures and higher humidity” - the so-called “soft Sauna”. FACTOID 3 Wood heaters are very effective and much cheaper to

run. This gives you much more versatility and creativity on where you can locate your Sauna. However, you will have to be aware of co2 emissions and the location of the heater’s chimney flue in relation to the discharge of the smoke created by the burning wood. Saunas are made from wood to create a pleasant, mild and salubrious atmosphere. The more wood, the better the climate in the Sauna. Wood is capable of absorbing heat evenly during the warming-up phase then it later emits it again evenly. Wood is also capable of absorbing the increased moisture in the air when water is poured over the hot stones, keeping the humidity level inside the Sauna below 10% even when the temperature of the air is 90°C. Another major advantage of wood is that it does not heat up through thermal conductivity to the same extent as other materials, so Sauna-goers don’t get burnt. 8 FACTOID 4 From an economic and ecologic standpoint, energy use has become a more important factor in consumers’

decision making. The Infrared Sauna will always be more expensive to run because the built-in emitters will always have to be on to retain the desired room temperature. 9 INFRARED OR . STEAM SAUNA? If you prefer steam in the Sauna, higher temperatures and a more social environment, then the best option is a traditional steam Sauna. Because the traditional Saunas create steam, the temperature varies within the room. There is much more bather flexibility in the Sauna’s impact, effect and seating arrangements. If you prefer lower temperatures but with body-penetrating heat, an Infrared Sauna is best. To maximise the heat produced by any Infrared Sauna the hottest place in the Sauna will always be in front of the heater. Finding somewhere to sit comfortably to maximise this position is often difficult in an Infrared Sauna. Both Saunas operate and achieve these results quite differently The benefits of heat bathing have much to do with the Sauna creating a selfinduced fever

(sweating). As Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine observed, “Give me fever and I can cure every disease.” While this statement is hyperbole, it does point to the healing power of an increased body temperature. Both Sauna types will be relatively dry. The Infrared rooms tend to be close to normal house humidity levels unless it has been on for extended periods of time. The traditional Sauna will be drier (10% or lower) until water is sprinkled over the rocks. The traditional Sauna is the only bath in the world where the user controls both temperature and humidity, with humidity controlled to user liking by how much water is thrown on the rocks. In infrared Saunas you control the temperature, but the humidity is whatever it is. There is a difference in the social experience between the two rooms. While our culture has lost some of the social benefit of the traditional Sauna experience, it can be very socially rewarding. From family time in the Sauna, to heartfelt conversations with

significant others, to Sauna parties - the traditional Sauna experience can lead to intimate socialising. Traditional Steam Saunas are typically large enough to allow multiple people to enjoy the Sauna for social time. Though a Sauna session may only be 10-15 minutes at a time, the experience of heating the Sauna, preparing to use the Sauna, talking while in the Sauna, and relaxing after the Sauna can be very therapeutic and rewarding. It is possible to converse in an infrared room, but due to the smaller room sizes and room design the typical experience of the infrared room is often more about an individual experience. 10 HOW DOES THE INFRARED AND STEAM SYSTEM WORK ? Infrared is a form of radiation. The radiant heat waves from the heater emitters penetrate your body by around one and a half inches and make you sweat. The goal is to keep the emitters on at all times as Infrared energy is only being emitted when they are on. Because of this, the temperature difference is almost

irrelevant in an infrared Sauna. Profuse sweating results in both Sauna types, but the method of an infrared Sauna is to directly heat the body while the traditional Sauna heats the air within. A traditional Sauna cabin delivers both dry heat and wet heat via the addition of water on heated rocks. This process is called Löyly Perspiration is achieved when the bather enters a heated room. The Sauna walls, the air and the rocks are all emitting an “enveloping heat”. The process for heating the room most often involves a heater that heats a compartment of stones, which then radiate the heat throughout the room. Most traditional Sauna users enjoy pouring water over the rocks to create steam to raise Sauna humidity levels. The benefits of pouring water over the rocks include: making the room more comfortable, moistening the nasal passages, and allowing the use of aromatherapy by mixing essential oils with the water. TECHNICALLY THE INFRARED EXPERIENCE IS NOT A SAUNA AT ALL. INFRARED

DOES NOT WARM THE ROOM, IT PENETRATES THE BODY WITH INFRARED RAYS. IT DOES SO AT A LOW TEMPERATURE & IS HELPFUL IN RELIEVING SORE JOINTS AND MUSCLES. THE WET/DRY EFFECT OF A TRADITIONAL SAUNA IS A TOTAL BODY EXPERIENCE, PROVIDING JOINT AND MUSCLE RELIEF AS WELL AS A HOST OF OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS. 11 WHY BUY A SAUNA FROM AWARD LEISURE? 1. SEATS Do you want one level of bench seats, 2 or even 3? The various seats are not just to accommodate more bathers, the different levels of seating each offer variation of temperatures and the ability to lay down and stretch your body. 7 THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THAT ARE NOT COVERED IN SALES LITERATURE! 2. HEATER How hot will the Sauna get? Is it going to be effective for the internal size of the Sauna? Do you need a window in case the heater makes the Sauna too hot or you become claustrophobic? Can the heat be adjusted to suit all of the family and their personal preferences? A family-run business established for over 30 years, that

has become the number one retailer for Saunas, Premium Hot Tubs, Swim Spas & Outdoor Leisure Products, in the UK. 3. LIGHTS With five award-winning outlets providing an extensive choice and an impressive display, for customers seeking quality products and exemplary service. Would you prefer to create the ambience with candles which can even be scented? We cater to all aspects of customers’ requirements, with professional site surveys so the purchasing journey is easy and smooth, as expected with the purchase of any luxury product. 12 5. CLADDING Is the internal and outer material guaranteed and fit for purpose? Remember that both the outside and inside will be effected by moisture and temperature variation. This is unavoidable! 6. COOLING DOWN How does the lighting appear? Although most Saunas come with colour-changing lights – these invariably rust or stop working through the ingress of steam. 4. CONTROLS Are the controls within easy reach and are they easy to operate?

Does your Steam Sauna come with a water bowl and ladle? Is there a ‘cool down’ area anywhere inside the Sauna – either further away from the heater or closer to the door? You may want some light relief without leaving the Sauna room and without opening the Sauna door and so effecting the humidity within the Sauna. 7. MUSIC AND AROMATHERAPY Speakers and music housed within the Sauna will rust and the electronics will be effected by the steam? However, music is the food of the soul and can enhance the Sauna experience. Would you prefer waterproof, wireless speakers which can be purchased from a third party and therefore better suited and guaranteed? Get ready to become more popular when friends and family come to visit with their towels robes. 13 IF A SAUNA, WHISKEY AND TAR DO NOT CURE; THE DISEASE IS FATAL. With the Valkea Sauna product range you can make your dreams come true. Our specially chosen designs for indoor, outdoor, pod and infrared or electric suanas are sure

to provide the perfect solution for you. Quality is assured with our 5 year guarantee. 14 15