There is nothing as relaxing and rejuvenating as a sauna bath at the end of a vigorous workout or when you are back home after a strenuous day at work and a more strenuous drive on traffic-jammed roads in a pollutant-laden atmosphere, feeling listless and completely worn out. Spending 45-60 minutes in the sauna can invigorate your body and spirit to such an extent that you feel you are ready to start your day all over again. Such are the magical benefits of a sauna bath.

But imagine having to hit the road once again immediately after your sauna experience at a health/gym spa. That would seem to undo half the magic. A home sauna allows you the luxury of experiencing the benefits of sauna bath right there in the comfort of your home, in the company of your family. Prohibitive membership costs of a commercial health club or gym can really get in the way of enjoying regular sauna benefits with the whole family. A home sauna is a perfect solution to enjoy rejuvenating evenings with your family.

A home sauna offers you the whole range of health benefits that a commercial sauna can provide and at a price that is much more economical in the long run. Apart from health benefits, a home sauna provides the following additional advantages:
· Complete privacy and the convenience of daily use · Control over hygiene and cleanliness · Saving on gas expenses and precious time in commuting to a commercial health/gym sauna · Saving on health/gym memberships · Free availability all throughout unlike health/gym sauna, where you may be required to wait till your turn comes · Added luxury and value to your house · More regular sauna baths and, hence, more health benefits due to the convenience of instant availability · The option of having exactly the type of sauna you want, in terms of functionality, design, size, etc.

Apart from the feeling of overall relaxation and rejuvenation that a home sauna confers, many health benefits are also obtained from sauna baths. A sauna bath can help:
· Detoxify your system on a cellular level by flushing out the accumulated toxins and pollutants through the skin pores by means of sweating that is induced by high-temperatures (100-200° F) in a sauna room, thus providing some kind of protection against those horrible toxins-induced diseases · Relax the fatigued muscles and joints · Increase the metabolic rate, thus providing a cardiovascular-type workout · Improve blood circulation · Provide temporary relief from arthritic pains due to the release of natural painkillers (e.g., beta endorphins) · Boost immunity to diseases · Protect against common cold · Lend a healthy glow to your complexion

And all this in the comfort of your home! These days many do-it-yourself sauna kits are also available, making it quite easy to set up a home sauna at affordable rates. As a result, today home saunas have found their way into many American homes, as an essential part of fitness equipment.

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Many people first discover the joy of sauna bathing in a spa or a health club. Others may be introduced to the pleasures of the sauna by friends who already own their own traditional Finnish or far infrared sauna. However a person may experience a sauna bath for the first time and however wonderfully relaxing or invigorating that experience may be, it simply does not compare with the delight of being a home sauna owner.

With a commercial sauna or a residential sauna that belongs to a friend, you can never be sure of its availability, what other people have been using it, how clean the sauna is, or how properly it is being maintained. You also have only so much control over the sauna’s temperature, supplies and accessories.

If the sauna belongs to you, however, you can be in complete control of its operation, and you have access to it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You don’t need to worry about who may have been in the sauna before you, not being able to sit or lay down where you want, or rules about what to wear or not wear in the sauna. It’s your sauna, so you can do with it just about whatever you wish.

In addition to control, two other great reasons to buy a home sauna are privacy and convenience. Public saunas may offer some good opportunities to socialize, but there’s never any guarantee that you’ll find complete peace, quiet and undisturbed alone time in a sauna that’s not your own. As for the positive social aspects of communal bathing, there’s nothing stopping you from hosting a sauna party at your place whenever you feel the need for fellowship. But when it’s two o’clock in the morning and you feel like soaking solo, your own home sauna is pretty much your only - and best - option.

Monetary cost is another important factor to consider. Certainly the initial expense of buying a home sauna can be significant, but the increasing number of sauna manufacturers and sauna dealers has resulted in more affordable prices on home saunas and sauna kits. Besides, imagine what it would end up costing you in membership fees and gas expenses to make use of the sauna at the nearest spa or gym on a daily basis for, say, the next 20 years. Now think how much easier and cheaper it would be just to walk a few steps into your bathroom, basement or backyard to utilize your personal sauna.

Perhaps the most important consideration of all is the many health benefits associated with regular sauna use. Increased cardiovascular strength, improved lung function, stress and headache relief, and alleviation of muscle stiffness and joint pain are just some of the positive health outcomes reported in medical studies that have examined the merits of sauna therapy. Given these findings, it seems logical that a home sauna owner would have the advantage over a gym or spa patron, as the sauna owner has fewer obstacles and deterrents to accessing the sauna on a consistent basis and, in turn, reaping the rewards of its use.

Today’s home saunas can be found in many styles and sizes. Available as permanent installations or portable devices, they can also vary significantly in how they operate. The far infrared sauna, for example, functions quite differently than the traditional Finnish dry sauna.

Prospective home sauna buyers would be wise to assess their individual needs and expectations and then conduct the necessary product research and analysis before making any final purchasing decisions. If you shop for, select, purchase and accessorize your home sauna with the appropriate amount of knowledge and confidence, you are almost guaranteed to know the tremendous delight of being a happy and satisfied home sauna owner.

Pertti Olavi Jalasjaa is the Finnish-born author of “The Art of Sauna Building,” an acclaimed reference book on sauna construction. He is also the general manager of Great Saunas, which has been manufacturing and selling high-quality saunas and sauna kits to sauna enthusiasts around the world since 1974. Visit Great Saunas online at http://www.greatsaunas.com.

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