Stress has a huge presence in contemporary life. It’s everywhere from our work to our personal lives. Although a fast-paced life is exciting and comes with its rewards, sometimes even the seemingly most relaxed people want to just escape it all. Hollywood celebrities, corporate America’s biggest names, and the world’s most influential people are under scrutiny and pressure every day. Chronic stress left unaddressed has the potential to lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, digestive disorders, premature aging, and more. As if you didn’t already have enough to worry about!

One way that celebrities, business leaders, and industry figureheads are releasing some of this stress is through regular sauna use. Here’s a little bit about how it works to help rid ourselves from stress. The autonomic nervous system has two gears – ‘sympathetic’ which is more commonly referred to as its fight or flight response, and ‘parasympathetic’ which is to rest and digest. We need both to survive. When we’re faced with a threat, our sympathetic kicks in. Sugar’s released from our liver and cortisol comes from our adrenal glands, feeling sometimes as powerful as a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately today, we perceive threats in everything from being stuck in traffic to reading a negative news story.

Canada’s fortunate to have some of the most beautiful spas in regions ranging from Toronto to Vancouver. Featuring exquisite architecture, luxurious treatments, and gorgeous ambiance, here’s our countdown of the top 7 most amazing spas and steam rooms that are must-visits!

The Northern Lights Resort and Spa

Located in Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada’s north, the Northern Lights Resort and Spa offers a spa experience you won’t find anywhere else in the country. They have a Finnish infrared sauna, a relaxation room, massages, and an outdoor Jacuzzi to relax in. Even better, you get all of your wonderful treatments performed underneath the aurora borealis. So grab a warm blanket, someone you love, and take watch as those greens and blues swirl.

As we’ve heard in the last few Olympics from several participants, Olympic athletes from all backgrounds are using saunas as a sort of respite from the competitive training and intense competition. As punishing as an athlete’s training regimen can be, infrared saunas and steam rooms are tremendously important to injury prevention and treatment program. Ask any sports medicine practitioner and they will tell you infrared saunas have a place in any athlete’s program. The healing properties of infrared saunas are well-understood. They can be used among pre-workout and post-workout routines, to prevent injury, as well as to speed up recovery. There are eight primary benefits to infrared saunas that Olympic athletes love.

Dry brushing is a technique to help along the detoxification process. As you may already know, our skin is our largest organ. About 25 percent of your daily detoxification happens through the skin. When our skin has too many dead cells occupying its surface or when it’s simply not active, this limits the amount of toxins our bodies can release.

Ancient history shows us dry brushing has been used for centuries and in many cultures to rejuvenate the skin, keep it looking healthy, and also to clear out the pathways through which toxins are expelled. As you may guess, dry brushing involves taking a brush and running it across the outside of the skin. What this does is, first and foremost, combs away the dead skin cells allowing new skin to regenerate. It’s also a form of stimulation which increases blood circulation, activates your lymphatic system, and instantly sets you up for enhanced toxin elimination.

Saunas are a remarkable resource in triggering the body’s natural weight loss processes. One of saunas’ greatest benefits is their ability to cut down on a person’s weight. Just sitting there in a sauna, you can increase your body’s circulation to such an extent that it’d be as if you were out for a jog. More gyms, fitness facilities, and health spas all over the world are including infrared saunas in their list of amenities for exactly this reason. If you’re looking to shed some weight using a sauna, we’d like to highlight the latest research on the potential that exists here.

The results of a recent sauna weight loss study conducted at New York’s Binghamton University showed that increasing a person’s core body temperature resulted in less body fat. In fact, the average person can reduce 4 percent of their body fat after four months of usage in an infrared sauna. In this study, participants used an infrared sauna three times a week for 30 minutes each. Assuming someone was 200 pounds, this equates to eight pounds in weight reduction – and all you have to do is sit there. For someone who’s either looking to work off those last few pounds and/or who cannot physically do exercise, this is a great way to get going on weight loss goals.

For those new to the world of steam rooms and infrared saunas, a common question asked is whether infrared heat is safe. The answer – of course, it is! Infrared heat surrounds us every day. Plenty of elements in our natural environment emit or receive infrared heat. Surfaces like a warm street gives off infrared heat. Our own bodies even emit and receive infrared heat.

The easiest way to experience infrared heat is by putting your palms together. Then, move your hands half an inch apart. Do you feel the warmth emanating from your palms – that’s infrared heat. We use infrared heat every day. It’s all around us and it’s essential for human life.

The best source of infrared heat you may be aware of is the sun. Sunlight offers a combination of both visible and invisible light. The seven colors of the rainbow are communicated visibly. There are also infrared rays and ultraviolet rays which come from the sun – both invisible. Infrared is one of the healthiest rays the sun gives off, penetrating deeply beneath our skin and working to dissolve harmful substances that have accumulated in our systems. Infrared rays vitalize our cells and metabolism. So in a sauna environment, all we’re doing is turning up the temperature on those infrared rays – quite literally.

Mercury is the most toxic element most human beings will ever come into contact with. Highly dangerous to our health, we should all stay far, far away from mercury. Unfortunately, there’s numerous ways in which we come into contact with mercury. Some examples are dental fillings, consuming large ocean fish such as tuna and swordfish, and exposure to polluted air or water. Once mercury’s been ingested, it quickly binds to sulfur-containing molecules and concentrates on settling into your fatty tissue. In time, this leads to a wide array of health problems including headaches, fibromyalgia, and dementia-like symptoms.

Assuming you’ve come into contact with mercury or have it already deeply embedded into your system, the best way to purge it is through detoxification. A critical detoxification method is the use of infrared saunas. Using infrared heat, these saunas penetrate more deeply into your tissue than conventional non-infrared saunas do. Through thorough penetration, you get the mercury and other toxins stored in your fat moving. As they start moving through your system, this leads them to be secreted through the kidneys, bowels, or safely through the sweat glands. Through regular infrared sauna sessions, you can completely free yourself from the risk of mercury.

Fibromyalgia is a fickle disease with varying symptoms appearing in different people. Infrared sauna therapy has been a strong recommendation for fibromyalgia sufferers because of how they resolve and balance a wide array of different symptoms.

For those unsure or unaware about what fibromyalgia is, there’s a lot of disagreement and miseducation about it. Fibromyalgia deals with pain generated in the central nervous system, spreading out across the neck, shoulders, chest, elbows, hips, and tender points across the body. Fibromyalgia can also be accompanied by insomnia, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, or depression. Anyone suffering from mild to severe fibromyalgia, with physical struggles, try an infrared sauna.

North America’s interest in alternative medicine therapies have resulted in a huge boost in alternative treatments to help everything from mental health to physical ailments. For years, treatments like saunas have been scoffed at and disregarded. Now that they are being taken seriously and studied accordingly, scientists have found that there are a lot of benefits to alternative therapies such as a steam room, dry sauna, infrared sauna, or otherwise.

As scientists have found there to be numerous benefits in some of these therapies, a lot of treatments have subsequently also come down in price. Something like a sauna is also infinitely safer than many pharmaceuticals and prescription medications, and in some cases, more effective at treating certain conditions. If you already have an infrared sauna at home or take part in regular sessions in a public setting, you may want to consider combining one of these alternative medicine therapies with what you already got going on.

Browsing popular YouTube channel Garage 54, you’ll find some very interesting video content outlining an amazing project. In a recent two-video series, the popular YouTubers built a real-life actual steam room on wheels!

If you live in a cold climate like Canada or northern Europe, you likely know the struggle it is sometimes having to go out in the morning and sit in a cold car on the way to work. No matter how long the engine may run, you can never get the car to heat up as quickly as you’d prefer and sometimes it just never heats the way you want it to. Enter in YouTubers Garage 54 with a solution!

The Russian-based YouTube channel launched a two-part video series where they took an old UAZ bus and created a steam room inside of it. They removed the exterior panels of the bus, allowing them to expand the body outside of the original limitations. This provided them the chance to install a steam generator and other equipment required for a steam room.

So you’ve decided to buy an infrared sauna for your home or place of business. When one goes searching for the best infrared sauna for their needs, knowing what type of infrared heater is preferred is one of many decisions that must be made.

As we’ll share, infrared sauna heaters largely fall into two categories – far infrared and full-spectrum. While considering your infrared sauna, don’t forget to also look into the type of wood you want to use, what’s covered under any sort of warranty you might be using, and what other features you may want included.

Far infrared heaters – ceramic

There are far infrared sauna heaters which vary according to size, material, quality of the heat, and the surface temperature of the heater. Two of the most common materials used to manufacture far infrared heaters are ceramic and carbon. Ceramic is used as it’s very efficient and effective when producing infrared heat. It also has a high emissivity rating, which means ceramic can produce a lot of heat. The primary criticism related to ceramic is that they only produce shorter infrared wavelengths. These are not as readily absorbed by the body and are considered less therapeutic than others.

The lymphatic system has been called the most important system in your body. The lymphatic system plays a dominant role in how other systems are regulated in their functioning. When one doesn’t move regularly, breathe deeply, does not sweat, and does not eat right, the lymphatic system can get clogged. As this happens, it exposes your body to all sorts of conditions, illnesses, and diseases. Despite this, clogging of the lymphatic system is preventable.

Lymph is the fluid in your blood. Lymph is one of seven body tissues. As our mental or physical bodies are put under stress, it’s the first body tissue affected and compromised. The other body tissues are blood, muscle, fat, bone, nervous tissue, and reproductive tissue. The lymphatic system’s main function is to eliminate toxins from the connective tissues in our organs and muscles. For the lymphatic system to do its job, it requires on daily movement of all parts of the body to function properly.

In the health and wellness community, on Instagram, and in Hollywood celebrity circles, infrared saunas have developed quite the reputation for themselves. In addition to the numerous health benefits associated with infrared saunas, users routinely walk out feeling great after a sauna session. But, if you’re new to the world of infrared saunas, you might not know how they work or what exactly they are.

Understanding infrared sauna wavelengths

Infrared saunas are built around wavelengths. The sun, as a source of heat, produces a combination of visible and invisible waves. Among the invisible are infrared waves. Infrared wavelengths are what makes the sun feel warm, as opposed to something like ultraviolet wavelengths which make it appear bright. Infrared waves are easily absorbed into our bodies, activating our immune, cardiovascular, and lymphatic systems. In an infrared sauna, they also work to remove toxins.

Conventional acne solutions and cosmetics are typical ways to start treating acne. Products like this claim to make acne disappear like magic overnight and/or to mask the appearance. Unsuccessfully treating acne is unfortunately a part of too many people’s existence. It’s easy to be envious of those who don’t have to contend with the same struggle and those with flawless skin.

Although masking the appearance of acne is sometimes all you can do, wouldn’t it better to remedy the underlying problem causing the acne – of course! You’ll see your self-esteem soar and you won’t need to worry about an unexpected outbreak. Saunas might be where your solution is at. Just think, the skin is the body’s largest detoxifying organ. As a first line of defense against external and internal toxins trying to destroy the body, the skin is made to eliminate toxins which don’t serve the body. So, use it!

On February 2, Estonia’s annual Sauna Marathon celebrated the region’s passion for sauna culture.

During one of the coldest winter afternoons in Estonia, participant after participant jumped from sauna to sauna and into some of the coldest waters in the region. In an effort to raise attention surrounding exposure to extreme temperatures is good for our hearts, hundreds of people from across Europe in teams of four competed for a chance to win their own hot tub.

Now, how does plunging yourself into cold winter water equate to sauna culture – well, let us explain. Saunas are one area where more Europeans are retreating to throughout the winter months. Saunas have been associated with a number of health benefits including assisting with circulation, weight loss, and cardiovascular improvements. Cold weather is what sauna enthusiasts have to contend with, as a sort of protest against the winter. Being able to survive temperatures like this is unfortunately more of a marathon than a sprint. The colder winters are never going to fade. It’s simply a part of living in Estonia and other similarly northern European countries.

Infrared saunas are used every day by Hollywood celebrities and Instagram models to maintain peak health. Infrared heat is used to deeply penetrate joints, muscles, and tissue, thereby increasing oxygen flow and circulation to these areas. There are numerous health benefits to infrared saunas, with these just being a few.

As we live our lives, high levels of consumer, industrial, and agricultural toxins swirl around us. Absorbed into our skin, the human organism evolves to carry these toxins deep inside ourselves. They’re coming in from pizza boxes, cosmetics, perfumes, pesticides, herbicides, flame retardants, chemicals, processed foods, stain-resistant furniture, bathroom fresheners, electromagnetic frequencies, antibiotics, and hormones. All these things we come into contact with, inhale, and ingest sometimes on a daily basis. As we are unable to excrete them on a day to day basis, they remain in us and embed themselves into our various systems.

The environment around us, in this day and age, is so polluted with various toxins. Coal burning, nuclear explosions, gas pipelines, and water pipelines – among other pieces of our national infrastructure – have sent out waste fume, toxic emissions of methane, and plenty of carbon dioxide. Air and water have been perhaps permanently contaminated. Thousands of chemicals did not exist prior to the mid-20th century however now due to our energy needs and more convenient ways of living, they seem here to stay. Although our bodies are equipped with detoxification pathways, we take in so many toxins now that they are not being pushed out anywhere near the same rate we take them in.

Giving your body a thorough scrub, you can remove dead skin cells while giving your skin a real chance to glow.

As you’ve probably read somewhere out there on the Internet, the human body’s largest organ is the skin. For the average human being, their skin can stretch out over 22 square feet and weighs approximately eight pounds. Needless to say, skin can take a heck of a pounding. Although cells are always replenishing themselves, our skin’s with us from birth until death. If you want it to stay smooth and fresh, scrubbing and sauna treatments is something to weigh.

Over time, dead skin cells build-up. A fun – or not so fun – experiment you can do to show yourself what we mean starts with you taking a picture of yourself after a bath. After you’ve got your picture, wait a full week before you take your next shower. Then, take a second picture. You’re likely to notice considerable changes to your skin – in color, texture, and more. You may even catch dead skin cells resting on your face. When we take a shower or do spa treatments, we work to remove the dead skin and when we do, that lets our young skin come forward and shine!

There are many different sauna types and steam room types available in today’s marketplace, inspired by world cultures far and wide. Here are a few of the most popular sauna types in the world.

Dry Aroma Sauna

Dry aroma saunas are similar to older steam rooms where burning wood is used to heat stones inside the sauna. In some cases, an electric stove may be peferred for heating in a dry aroma sauna environment. Dry aroma saunas are recommended for people with chronic respiratory conditions like sinusitis, pharyngitis, and bronchitis. It’ll also help improve circulation, promote immunity, and help the restoration of the nervous and muscular systems.

Some chronic pain patients are in so much pain that they can barely move. Although exercise has been shown to reduce pain levels in patients, not all chronic pain sufferers can actually complete exercise. For those that cannot physically participate in an exercise program, a sauna can help get their heart rate up without having to move.

Subsequently, for athletes who are at-home recovering from an injury that is preventing them from working out or playing their sport, saunas can keep them in-shape and engage their heart rate in the same way while they rehab.

People who have used saunas at home report all kinds of benefits including lower blood pressure, increased circulation, better heart health, and more glowing skin. A lot of these advantages are attributed not only to a sauna’s ability to get the heart rate up but also, in how it initiates one’s sweating.