Sauna
A sauna is a small room or building that is made hot. The heat of a sauna is calming and makes the person using it sweat. This is believed to help people be more healthy though it causes stress on the body by overheating. Today many countries and groups of people have different ways of heating and using a sauna. The temperature is often 80°C in Finnish saunas. The heat can be more than 100°C. Finnish and Swedish saunas have lower humidity (the air is less wet) to make this high heat comfortable.
The Turkish hammam has a high humidity (the air is more wet) and a lower temperature.
Today saunas can often be found at hotels and places for sports and exercise. In Finland, they are more common and are also often in private apartments and office buildings.
In almost every house in Finland they have a sauna.
Common rules for public saunas change
In some cultures, swimsuits must be worn in a sauna. In other cultures swimsuits are not be worn. Swimsuits are more often worn when men and women use a sauna together. Some saunas are only for men, or only for women. Some places have fixed times when each gender can use a sauna. Private saunas may have their own rules.
- Areas where the sauna is used while nude
- Germany
- Austria
- North-eastern Italy
- Finland
- Russia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Croatia
- Japan
- Netherlands
- Flanders
- Estonia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Areas where the sauna is used in a swimsuit or covered by a towel
- Area where men and women do not sauna together