Lifetime Of Sauna Benefits

The foundation for our later life is laid during childhood – and that also applies to our health. The earlier children are led to a healthy lifestyle, the higher the likelihood that they will maintain this lifestyle their whole life long. For this reason, children in Finland are taken into the sauna for the first time as early as in their first year. Due to the warming mechanism, which is just as developed in children as in adults, a sauna bath has the same positive effect among kids as it does among the grown-ups. In fact, a trip to the sauna is exceptionally good for the little ones. The immune system is strengthened from a very early age, thus providing faster protection against infection. Sauna bathing is a targeted thermal influence on the body and has a health-promoting effect. Indeed the positive influence on physical and psychological health can be discerned quite quickly, especially among children. Upper respiratory infections are rarer and if children do become sick, they recover around twice as quickly. The calming effect of the sauna reduces or removes anxiety, tension and difficulties with concentration. After a trip to the sauna, children are more relaxed and even sleep better. Above all the child must be healthy. It is best to discuss the sauna visit with the child’s doctor beforehand. Ideally, the child should be made familiar with the sauna in the private surroundings of its own home. During the first visit the child should be allowed to do what he or she likes – running in and out of the sauna, fidgeting, messing around. Everything is possible, because the child should experience the sauna in a playful manner.

LOWER TEMPERATURES

For the first sauna visits, it is recommended to use a sanarium with its lower temperatures and gentle heat. The child should also always begin on the lowest bench, in order to grow accustomed gradually to the heat. It is recommended to take children into the sauna only when they are able to communicate or express themselves. It is essential to ensure that the child drinks enough – before, during and after the sauna visit. Water fun with the children rounds off the first sauna visit wonderfully. Pay attention to the signals given by the children! It is not the clock that decides when to leave the sauna, but the little one him or herself. Sauna isn’t everything when it comes to “health”. But sauna bathing is one of the best investments in the holistic health of our children, the society of tomorrow.