The Benefits Of A Steam Shower
If you’re a fan of the sauna at your local gym or spa, then why not consider adding your very own steam shower to your home to access some of the same benefits.
Otherwise known as a steam room, a steam shower is essentially a type of bathing where a humidifying steam generator produces water vapor, which is in turn dispersed around a person’s body. When compared to a sauna, the primary difference between the two is simply moisture. While both options use heat, a steam shower uses moist heat, while a sauna instead uses dry heat.
While the two options share many similarities that range from relaxation and stress relief, to the treatment of certain medical conditions, the concept of adding a steam shower or a steam room to residential homes is rapidly gaining momentum – but what’s all the fuss about?
How Using A Steam Shower Can Make You Healthier
The concept of a modern steam shower is simple enough – think of an enclosure or stall that is sealed, so that it doesn’t allow moisture to leave the shower. To use a steam shower, all one needs to do is to simply step inside, and press a button on the shower’s control panel. This activates the shower’s steam generator, which then heats water to boiling. The steam from the boiling water is channelled through the shower’s system, emerging through the steam head, and filling the shower with the luxurious compound.
However, adding a steam room or a steam shower to your home can do more for you than just lift your property’s value. In fact, they’re rapidly rising in popularity thanks to a medley of health benefits that they are said to provide, with just a handful including the following.
Improves Circulation – Fancy lowering your blood pressure, improve your heart health and promote healing for broken skin tissue? Recent studies have shown that moist heat sourced through a steam shower or steam room can help with all of these, particularly for older individuals with noticeable effects on the circulation of their extremities.
Lowers Blood Pressure – If you’re in the midst of a steam room session, it’s worth noting that the body releases hormones that change our heart rate. One of these hormones is called aldosterone, and it regulates our blood pressure. When aldosterone is released from sitting in a steam room, it can help lower high blood pressure.
Clears Congestion – When we were children and suffering from a cold, it wasn’t uncommon for our parents to instruct us to put our head over a basin of hot water, cover our heads and inhale as a means to clear our nasal passages. Steam rooms and steam showers more or less do the same thing, and can help break up congestion in our sinuses and lungs.
Promotes Skin Health – All sorts of toxins can become trapped underneath our skin. In turn, steam rooms can help solve that problem, by using heat to open up our pores. The warm condensation rinses away the dirt and dead skin that can lead to breakouts, leaving users with noticeably clearer and even toned skin after use.
Burns Calories – Along with being proven to loosen up any stiff joints prior to a workout, a steam shower can also lift our heart rate. When used correctly, experts have noted that saunas, steam showers and steam rooms stimulate your body in ways that typical exercise does not, so long as you top up your hydration levels with what has been lost.
Immunity Boost – Different forms of hydrotherapy are known to boost immunity, and steam rooms are no exception. Exposing your body to warm water stimulates leukocytes, which are cells that fight infection. As such, using steam rooms regularly will give your bloodstream an immunity boost that could lead to you getting sick less often.
How To Build A Steam Shower At Home
While there’s a lot that goes into building your own steam shower or steam room at home, the good news is that the process is relatively straightforward if you do the right amount of planning prior to installation.
Any steam shower or steam room has a few fundamentals to follow – you need a seat or bench in the room to sit on even if it’s foldable, a proper outlet and control panel to control the temperature and maintain the right levels of safety, and when possible, a sloped ceiling to prevent dripping. For best results, a steam shower should be located away from outside walls, especially in colder climates. Ideally, there should also be no windows or skylights in the room.
Your choice of materials will also have a huge role to play in the success of your steam room. You need to protect all surfaces from moisture, including the ceiling, so make sure that the material you choose for the steam shower is completely waterproof. Needless to say, the space gets very hot, so try to opt for a tile such as porcelain stone-look, that is able to withstand it.
While your options for tiling materials are almost limitless, selecting the right type for your home steam shower certainly isn’t an easy feat. With each space, comes a different preference or priority: are you chasing style, functionality, or simply want to stay within the budget?
In operation for over 25 years, at Tile Wizards we pride ourselves on getting you more – for less. We pioneered the warehouse format, and our stores are purposefully designed to make your selection easier, and ultimately offer our customers quality, price and the right advice.
Even if you are just after some honest and friendly advice – please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Tile Wizards today for a free quote. We’re able to work with you in order to bring your dream flooring solution to life.