Bath visit - Russian tradition, rooted in the deep past, it appeared in Rus' long before the invention of many other benefits of civilization. Since ancient times, Russian people loved and knew how to bathe, appreciated the opportunity to go to the bathhouse and give rest to the mind and body. Modern scientists respect this habit and confirm positive influence baths and its contribution to human health.

What is a good bath?

  1. A significant temperature difference has a hardening effect, makes us resistant to negative impacts external environment.
  2. From the heat, the metabolism is sharply accelerated, accumulated toxins and harmful substances are removed, the cardiovascular and nervous systems are trained and healed.
  3. Stress manifestations are removed, a beneficial effect on the psyche is exerted, mood improves and anxiety decreases.
  4. Muscles and ligaments are warmed up, tension is eliminated, and the elasticity of muscle tissue is increased.
  5. Colds are cured skin diseases, joint diseases and other ailments.

Scientists conducted studies in which they managed to prove that regular visits to the bath and sauna increase life expectancy. Experts divided the participants into 2 groups and watched them for 20 years, as a result, lovers of steam showed much best condition health and lived longer, the percentage of violations in work of cardio-vascular system, heart attacks and strokes among avid bath attendants was lower compared to those who rarely visited this institution or did not use it at all.

With a reasonable approach, in a gentle mode, steaming is useful for people regardless of age, from infants to the very elderly.

The temperature and humidity in the bath are two strictly interrelated parameters, and their dependence is inversely proportional, the higher the first indicator, the lower the second should be. If you try to determine the reasons for such a connection, you will have to turn to the school course of physics and biology. During heat, the human body, in accordance with the law of energy transfer, warms up, starting from the skin and ending with internal organs, to a temperature of 38-39 ◦ C, this corresponds to a state of fever and just gives the effect of curing colds and other diseases. The body's ability to maintain a constant body temperature does not allow us to boil and exceed the critical mark of 42-43 ◦, when the blood simply clots. This is achieved through intense sweating: entering the steam room, we actively sweat, moisture evaporates from the skin and does not allow the temperature to rise, self-preservation mechanisms are activated. In conditions of high humidity, sweat evaporates more slowly, respectively, cooling of the skin is worse. If you set the temperature above 60-70 ◦ C in a bath with a humidity of 80-90%, then the body simply will not have time to regulate its temperature and the person may faint. Fans of experiments can bring to the steam room a raw egg and leave it on the top shelf for 10-15 minutes, during which time it will be hard-boiled. This can be repeated with the human body if you do not follow the rules for the ratio of humidity and temperature, and also exceed the recommended time spent in the steam room.

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Depending on what temperature and humidity in the bath emit:

- a Russian bath, where the temperature is relatively low and at the same time high humidity;

– Finnish sauna with extreme heat but low humidity.

- Turkish hamamm with a low temperature, but humidity is almost 100%.

If everything is clear with the regulation of heat - the more you drown, the hotter it will be, then what to do with humidity? Here the answer is quite simple: they raise the humidity by pouring water on the heater, it evaporates and turns into water vapor. Getting light steam is a whole art, experienced bath attendants say that you need to pour water in small portions, so it evaporates better and the steam becomes finely dispersed, light. For additional benefits, essential oils, healing herbal infusions are added to the water, so the air becomes fragrant and healing.

If you decide to strengthen the body and regularly bathe, then the first thing you pay attention to is the temperature in the steam room of the Russian bath. The hottest will be on the upper shelves, the lower you are, the cooler it becomes. According to the laws of physics, hot steam rushes up, which is why you need to wrap a towel around your head or put on a felt cap to avoid overheating. In special literature, it is recommended to limit the temperature in the steam room to 60 ◦ C. Considering that the humidity in the Russian bath usually reaches 60-70%, at a higher temperature it is already uncomfortable and dangerous for a person to be. For a Finnish sauna, 100-110 ◦ C will also be acceptable, but the air in it is much drier, the humidity does not exceed 10-15%, in such conditions it is easier to endure extreme heat. Inveterate bath attendants like to test their body for strength and often raise the temperature in the steam room to 70-80 ◦ C, this mode is suitable only for well-trained people who are confident in their endurance.

Read also: Bath meal: what to eat before and after the bath

What is the temperature in the Russian bath must be?

It depends on the place in question. Traditionally, three rooms are distinguished: a dressing room or dressing room, a washing room and a steam room. Sometimes an additional pool is placed where you can plunge to enhance the contrast from the procedures. Each room has its own temperature, dictated by its purpose. So in the locker room it is usually 23-25 ​​◦ C, if it is less, then the visitors will freeze, if it is more, they will sweat ahead of time. Having undressed and wrapped in a towel, a person follows from the locker room to the washing room, where he takes a shower, warms up the body before visiting the steam room, the comfortable temperature for washing is 26-30 ◦ C. Well, having prepared for the bath procedures, you can already move to the steam room. Here the heat can rise up to 70-80 degrees, here what temperature in the bath will depend on the fitness of the visitor and his preferences. The water temperature in the pool is usually set in the range of 20-24 ◦ C, in such water it is good to cool down after a hot steam room, but at the same time, a person will definitely not catch a cold or get sick.

To achieve the maximum effect, you must not only follow the instructions (although the advice of professionals can also come in handy), you also need to listen to your own feelings and try to find an individual regimen that is right for you. If you have the opportunity to visit your own bath, where the temperature in the bath in the steam room is regulated, then by simple manipulations you can easily adapt the bath to your body. Adjust the heat and humidity so that you are comfortable and at the same time feel the pressure of the procedures.

For beginners in bathing, it is worth heeding the advice of doctors who say that the temperature in the bath without harm to health should not exceed the threshold of 60-70 ◦ C, 90-100 ◦ C is allowed in the sauna, and not in the Turkish hamamma. more than 50 ◦ C. Anything outside these temperatures can be harmful and adversely affect your well-being.

The time spent in the steam room is recommended to be divided into several visits, usually there are at least three of them. The first time they steam for 3-5 minutes, then they go out into the dressing room to cool off and assess their well-being, if you feel like you are capable of more, then the second entry can be extended to 10-15 minutes, the third time the stay time increases by another 5- 7 minutes, but in any case, you should not stay in the steam room for more than 20-25 minutes at a time. Don't forget to give yourself a break and cool off in a cool shower or pool between sessions.

As soon as they don’t call a bathhouse in Russia! In Russian folklore, she is both a “kindred mother”, and a “healer”, and “a savior from seven troubles”. Semyon Gerasimovich Zybelin, a student of M.V. Lomonosov, the first Russian professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University, in his book “On bathing, baths and baths” wrote about the process of washing in a bath as a pleasure. And he called the state after the bath a rebirth of strength and a renewal of feelings. His works are still being used not only by doctors, but also by everyone who in one way or another studies the properties of the bath.

There are a lot of works about the bath in general and specifically about the Russian bath. Among those who studied how the Russian bath affects the human body was the scientist, academician Ivan Tarkhanov (1846–1908) and his contemporary Professor Vyacheslav Manassein. So, Tarkhanov wrote that it is enough to slightly prick a steamed person with a pin, and he will immediately bleed in drops. This is due, according to the scientist, with an increase in body temperature when a person takes a steam bath. Blood thickens, hemoglobin rises. However, in order for the blood to return to normal, it is enough to drink 1-2 glasses of water. At what temperature did Tarkhanov's subjects soar, if his further conclusions indicate a decrease in body weight from 140 to 580 grams at this time, an increase in circumference chest and reduction (envy, women!) of the circumference of the abdomen?

It makes no sense to talk about a specific traditional temperature and humidity in a Russian bath. In numerous works of Russian scientists - A. Fadeev. V. Godlevsky, V. Znamensky, S. Kostyurin, N. Zasetsky and many others - it is said about the bath with different temperatures. So, in a classic Russian bath, the temperature ranges from 40 to 60 degrees Celsius and humidity is kept at about the same percentage level (40–60). In such a bath, the body heats up very slowly. A person is able to sit in the steam room for up to an hour. At similar combination temperature and humidity, medical scientists note a very high inhalation effect of the procedure.

But try to lure a real bather into such a bath. He won't understand you. The steam must be strong. That is, the temperature is higher - the humidity is lower. Such baths warm up to 70-90 degrees, and the humidity there does not exceed 35 percent. If the temperature reaches 100 degrees and above, and the humidity drops even more, then we are talking about the bath, which we call "sauna". However, according to the works of the scientists already mentioned, it is not difficult to trace that long before they got acquainted with the Finnish sauna, there were always lovers in Russia. high temperature and very low humidity in the steam room.

The temperature and humidity in a Russian bath largely depend on the design of its furnace. If an open water tank is used in the steam room, then as the temperature rises, the water evaporates - and the bath is provided with increased humidity. The temperature of the stones in the heater in such a bath does not rise above 300 degrees Celsius. If water is poured on the stones, the so-called heavy steam is formed. It hangs in the form of mist and adversely affects the respiratory tract.

On the contrary, a closed container, and even remote from the oven, does not emit moisture at all. The stones in such a steam room can warm up to 700 degrees. It is enough to pour a bucket of water on the heater, and the liquid instantly turns into dry steam, it is also called light, or dispersed. This means that water molecules and air molecules are mixed in it.

Teachers and students of the First Moscow Medical Institute, having studied modern Russian baths, came to the conclusion that they are universal. Baths are built in such a way that the temperature and humidity of the air there change depending on the place where you are. So, in the dressing room the temperature will be 20-25 degrees at a very moderate humidity; in the washing room it reaches the lower level of a classic bath - 30–35 degrees at a humidity of 40%; and in the steam room it will increase depending on the preference of the steamer. If you do not pour water on the heater, then perhaps the temperature will remain at a level no higher than 80 degrees with a humidity of 25-30 percent. And if you want a vigorous park - you sprinkled one or two buckets of water on the heater, and the classic sauna is ready.

The main principle of the Russian bath, which is noted by all scientists without exception: there is no maximum humidity or temperature in it. Otherwise, this is not a bath, but wandering with a broom in the fog.

Many people like to visit the steam room. But in order to relax, get a positive result from the procedure, and at the same time not harm your health, you need to know what is the optimal temperature in the bath. It is also necessary to take into account the degree of humidity of the air and the quality of the steam.

Types of baths

The human body is more sensitive to heat when the humidity is high. IN different types bath buildings have a different microclimate, so it doesn’t hurt to understand their features, as well as find out how best to bathe. Consider the main types of baths that are popular.

Finding out how many degrees in the bath should be, take into account the type of steam room:

  1. Russian bath. The air here has high humidity, but the heat is negligible. To adjust the humidity in the steam room, hot stones that are heated in the oven are poured with water. The higher it is, the more difficult it is for the body to cope with such a microclimate. The temperature in the steam room of the Russian bath reaches 60-70 degrees with a humidity of 90%. But high humidity has its own advantages, for example, in a person, all muscles and joints are qualitatively warmed up, internal organs. In the Russian version of the bath, it is also customary to use brooms, which are like a massager. When visiting the steam room, blood circulation improves, the pores on the skin open, the muscles relax and, as a result, harmful metabolic substances are removed.
  2. Turkish bath. It will be interesting to know how many degrees in the hammam. In it, the temperature and air are noticeably different from the conditions of stay in a Russian bath. The body gets tired less here, and the atmosphere is better tolerated. The air warms up to 50 degrees, and the humidity reaches 100%. Despite the lack of intense heat, the steam is thick. You can stay in such a bath for a longer time compared to a Russian wood-fired bath.
  3. Finnish sauna. In this place, the air humidity is noticeably lower than in other types of baths. The temperature is high and the air is dry. Such an atmosphere is not well perceived by everyone - dry mouth appears, and a burning sensation occurs in the nose. On average, the temperature approaches 90 degrees, but sometimes it can even exceed 110 degrees, and the humidity is only 10-15%.

The effect of heat on the human body

As blood circulation speeds up, blood pressure rises. A bath is useful for people who suffer from stagnation of blood in the limbs. However, for those who have problems with the heart and blood vessels, the steam room can do harm.


But some diseases can, if not get rid of, then significantly alleviate their course, subject to the regular adoption of procedures in the steam room.

These include:

  • frequent colds;
  • obesity;
  • allergy;
  • circulatory disorders.

Temperature and humidity

The bathhouse consists of three zones: a dressing room, a dressing room and a steam room. In the first of them, the temperature is about 25 degrees, and the humidity is 60%, in the dressing room, respectively, 27-29 degrees and 80%. The temperature in the steam room of the Russian bath is 50-90 degrees, the humidity is about 70%. The degrees rise gradually and the body has time to get used to the heat. The water in the reservoir should be cool, in the range of 10-25 degrees, so that you can feel the contrast with the steam.

A study was conducted to find out what temperature and how long the body can withstand.


According to it, they came to the conclusion that the higher the temperature, the less time a visitor can be in the steam room:

  • 71 degrees - 60 minutes;
  • 82 degrees - 49 minutes;
  • 93 degrees - 33 minutes;
  • 104 degrees - 26 minutes.


In the sauna and bath, be sure to follow temperature regime and air humidity. For this purpose, appropriate devices are installed in the room. If there is not enough moisture, you can pour water on the stones, when there is a lot of it, open the door slightly. In the event that it gets hot, it is recommended to sit further from the stove and preferably on the lower shelf.

At a humidity level in the range of 90-100%, the temperature should not exceed 70 degrees. If the steam room is visited by elderly or in poor health, it is recommended not to exceed 55 degrees. This Maximum temperature in the bath for them. At low humidity levels, this parameter may be higher. More intense sweating occurs in dry, hot air.

How to visit the bath

Having found out what temperature should be in the steam room of the bath, you need to pay attention to how to attend the procedures correctly. First of all, you need to do this regularly, not occasionally.

  1. A person visiting the steam room for the first time should not stay in it for more than 5 minutes. There is no need to use brooms right away. When there were no problems during the first visit, gradually, each time, the time of stay can be increased by a couple of minutes.
  2. Those who often visit the bathhouse know that it is highly undesirable to stay in the steam room for more than half an hour. But this does not mean that you need to sit to the end - if you feel uncomfortable, you should get out of it.
  3. You should not stand in the bath, as you can get heat stroke. The position of the body should be such that favorable conditions are created for the outflow of lymph - you need to lie with your legs elevated. Due to this, the load on the heart is reduced. If it is impossible to lie down, it is recommended to sit so that the legs are at the level of the body.
  4. To warm up the body, you should change postures. Breathe only through your nose.
  5. Do not stand up abruptly, as you can lose your balance and fall.
  6. Regardless of the temperature of the Russian bath, it is allowed to enter the steam room 3-4 times. Moreover, after each visit, the time spent in it or the locker room should increase.
  7. Between visits to the steam room, contrasting procedures are needed. It is better to start patting with brooms after the second visit to the steam room.
  8. When the body warms up, you can do a massage. But before that, it is undesirable to go out to other rooms or drink cool drinks. After the massage is over, take a warm shower and wash.
  9. A visit to the bathhouse ends after the body has dried and cooled down - you do not need to immediately go outside.


Besides:

  • visit the steam room after at least 1.5 hours after eating;
  • no need to steam at a high temperature or poor health;
  • no smoking;
  • remove metal objects from yourself to avoid burns;
  • no need to wash your hair in the steam room;
  • you need to remain calm and not make sudden movements;
  • you can not go to the bath on an empty stomach and take alcohol;
  • before going outside, you should cool down and rest;
  • you should use a broom only on a steamed body;
  • you need to wash only after the steam room;
  • when visiting the steam room, you should not immediately lie down on the top shelf;
  • on the first run, you do not need to create a lot of steam.


You need to bring bath accessories:

  • sheet and towel;
  • soap and shampoo;
  • brooms;
  • a cap on the head and slippers;
  • robe;
  • comb
  • drinking water.

Arrangement of ventilation and thermal insulation

The level of heat and its safety depends on how well the thermal insulation is performed, and how the bath is built. To keep the heat longer, a heat insulator is laid between the walls during construction. Only then can the optimum temperature for the Russian bath be maintained.

The steam room should be built in such a way that the heat cannot escape. To this end, the doors are made low, and the thresholds are high. It is better to place the stove near the door, then the steam room will warm up evenly. To keep the floor surface warm, flooring laid in several layers.


Ventilation in the sauna is necessary in order to maintain the same pressure from inside and outside. As for the Russian version of the bath, the air pressure in it is increased, so steam must be supplied carefully so that the doors do not come out. A bath with high humidity leaves condensate on all surfaces, so after a visit, dry cleaning and long-term ventilation are required.

Classic Russian sauna and the Finnish sauna - heaven and earth, and all because the air humidity in the bath is much higher and due to this more low temperature. The norm for a steam room is air humidity of the order 80-90% when it becomes heavy, hot and "gray", but the temperature in the room rarely exceeds 60?С-70?С.

Such a high and very healthy humidity for the body is maintained by pouring water on hot stones, and the air temperature in the steam room is even easier to regulate - by opening and closing the door.

Although such a high humidity is hard to tolerate by the body, it contributes to a very deep, thorough heating of the entire body, all its joints and organs. Aromatic oils and herbal decoctions, falling on hot stones, form air rich in ethers, which, when inhaled, heals the entire body. Grooming with brooms is a kind of massage, which, due to the warming up of the body, becomes even more useful and effective, and in the process of steaming, pores open, blood circulation improves, toxins are removed and all muscles of the body relax.

Temperature and humidity in the Finnish sauna

Finnish sauna belongs to dry-air, i.e. characteristic of her low humidity at very high air temperatures. Therefore, the sauna can be warmed up even up to 130?С, however, only seasoned connoisseurs of the sauna can withstand such a "hellish" heat. The average and most acceptable temperature for most visitors is from 70 ?С to 110 ?С, and its golden mean- 90 degrees Celsius. At such a high temperature, the air humidity in the Finnish sauna room is no more than 10-15%. This temperature can be tolerated quite comfortably even by children and the elderly.

Due to low humidity, air heating up to 110-120? human body tolerates it quite easily, although often lovers of a steam bath note dryness of the mucous membranes and respiratory tract, as well as a burning sensation in the nasal cavity.

If you feel that it has become too hot - go down to the bottom shelf and temporarily open the door in order to release hot air and reduce the temperature in the room.

Temperature and humidity in Turkish hammam

Hammam is a cross between a Russian bathhouse and a sauna, but it is closer to a steam room. Here there is almost 100% humidity, but the temperature rarely exceeds 50 degrees Celsius. Dense and dense steam in a Turkish bath is very easy to bear, and in combination with a pleasant temperature, it allows you to stay indoors for a long time and does not tire you very much - that is why women love hammam so much.

If the sauna heats up very quickly, then the Russian bath should be heated properly, at least 6 hours, gradually increasing the temperature. And only when the stones are sufficiently heated, and the room is dried and warmed up, you can make steam. Another important point- in a bath or sauna it is better to be lying or sitting, change the position of the body, incl. you need to get up gradually, slowly.

Note that the bath and sauna should not be visited in the following cases:

  • with cardiovascular diseases;
  • with hypertension;
  • with skin diseases;
  • at a temperature;
  • with exacerbated chronic diseases;
  • with diseases of the central nervous system;
  • during menses.

Bathhouse visit is an art made up of little things that everyone should know.

As soon as they don’t call a bathhouse in Russia! In Russian folklore, she is both a “kindred mother”, and a “healer”, and “a savior from seven troubles”. Semyon Gerasimovich Zybelin, a student of M.V. Lomonosov, the first Russian professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow University, in his book “On bathing, baths and baths” wrote about the process of washing in a bath as a pleasure. And he called the state after the bath a rebirth of strength and a renewal of feelings. His works are still being used not only by doctors, but also by everyone who in one way or another studies the properties of the bath.

There are a lot of works about the bath in general and specifically about the Russian bath. Among those who studied how the Russian bath affects the human body was the scientist, academician Ivan Tarkhanov (1846–1908) and his contemporary Professor Vyacheslav Manassein. So, Tarkhanov wrote that it is enough to slightly prick a steamed person with a pin, and he will immediately bleed in drops. This is due, according to the scientist, with an increase in body temperature when a person takes a steam bath. Blood thickens, hemoglobin rises. However, in order for the blood to return to normal, it is enough to drink 1-2 glasses of water. At what temperature did Tarkhanov's subjects soar, if his further conclusions indicate a decrease in body weight at that time from 140 to 580 grams, an increase in the circumference of the chest and a decrease (envy, women!) in the circumference of the abdomen?

It makes no sense to talk about a specific traditional temperature and humidity in a Russian bath. In numerous works of Russian scientists - A. Fadeev. V. Godlevsky, V. Znamensky, S. Kostyurin, N. Zasetsky and many others - they talk about a bath with different temperatures. So, in a classic Russian bath, the temperature ranges from 40 to 60 degrees Celsius and humidity is kept at about the same percentage level (40–60). In such a bath, the body heats up very slowly. A person is able to sit in the steam room for up to an hour. With such a combination of temperature and humidity, medical scientists note a very high inhalation effect of the procedure.

But try to lure a real bather into such a bath. He won't understand you. The steam must be strong. That is, the temperature is higher - the humidity is lower. Such baths warm up to 70-90 degrees, and the humidity there does not exceed 35 percent. If the temperature reaches 100 degrees and above, and the humidity drops even more, then we are talking about a bath, which we call a “sauna”. However, according to the works of the scientists already named, it is not difficult to trace that long before they got acquainted with the Finnish sauna, there were always lovers of high temperature and very low humidity in the steam room in Russia.

The temperature and humidity in a Russian bath largely depend on the design of its furnace. If an open water tank is used in the steam room, then as the temperature rises, the water evaporates - and the bath is provided with increased humidity. The temperature of the stones in the heater in such a bath does not rise above 300 degrees Celsius. If water is poured on the stones, the so-called heavy steam is formed. It hangs in the form of mist and adversely affects the respiratory tract.

On the contrary, a closed container, and even remote from the oven, does not emit moisture at all. The stones in such a steam room can warm up to 700 degrees. It is enough to pour a bucket of water on the heater, and the liquid instantly turns into dry steam, it is also called light, or dispersed. This means that water molecules and air molecules are mixed in it.

Teachers and students of the First Moscow Medical Institute, having studied modern Russian baths, came to the conclusion that they are universal. Baths are built in such a way that the temperature and humidity of the air there change depending on the place where you are. So, in the dressing room the temperature will be 20–25 degrees with very moderate humidity; in the washing room it reaches the lower level of a classic bath - 30–35 degrees at a humidity of 40%; and in the steam room it will increase depending on the preference of the steamer. If you do not pour water on the heater, then perhaps the temperature will remain at a level no higher than 80 degrees with a humidity of 25-30 percent. And if you want a vigorous park - you sprinkled one or two buckets of water on the heater, and the classic sauna is ready.

The main principle of the Russian bath, which is noted by all scientists without exception: there is no maximum humidity or temperature in it. Otherwise, this is not a bath, but wandering with a broom in the fog.