There is no getting away from the fact that stress reduction is becoming more and more important to many people. Whether it is due to increased work stress, or even just the anxiety and worry of ever-rising costs of living, finding ways to beat stress has become an important part of everyone’s health regime.
Stress in people expresses itself in many ways – including irritability, anger, depression, anxiety and many others – and is becoming more common.
Fortunately, there are several ways to treat and beat stress, and many of them are habits and routines that can be incorporated into our everyday lives.
One of the best stressbusters is simply to look after our general health.
Here, we will explore:
- What is stress?
- Why is stress reduction important?
- How the Banya experience can help*
*The Russian Banya experience has positive effects on us physically, mentally and socially, and we will be looking at each of these in turn.
But first, let’s take a brief look at what stress is, and what we can do to promote stress reduction in our lives.
What is Stress?
According to the World Health Organisation, stress is a state of worry or mental tension created by a difficult situation. It is a perfectly natural human response, designed to help us recognise and deal with challenges and potential threats.
It is important to understand that stress and stress hormones are perfectly normal – and in the past were very useful and often lifesaving.
However, the human body is not designed to live under a long-term stress condition; stress is supposed to be a short-term experience. Today, though, modern life keeps many in an environment of almost perpetual stress, and this can have serious health implications.
Often, the problem is not so much that we experience stress that matters (we all do) but it is, rather, how we deal with it that matters.
Why is Stress Reduction Important?
As we have already touched on, long exposure to stress can have serious consequences on our health and well-being.
Stress has been associated with many physical and mental conditions, including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Depression
- Obesity
- Sleep disruptions
- Alzheimer’s disease and
- Even premature death
Stress affects different people in different ways, but regardless, anything that can be done to reduce the effects of stress on our bodies and minds is an important part of good general health practice.
With so much extra potential for stress in our day-to-day living, introducing regular practices and regimes that can counter its effects is only going to boost our health and wellbeing.
Stress reduction improves mood, improves sleep and aids relaxation. More importantly, stress reduction means better health for us all, and potentially the avoidance of some of the issues listed above.
How the Banya Experience Can Help
Physical Benefits of a Russian Banya
One of the best ways to combat both the physical and mental effects of stress and anxiety is to use regular sauna sessions. Russian banya and regular sauna sessions have several different effects on the body and mind.
The first thing to say here is that not all stress is bad for you! Exercise is a form of physical stress, which is very good for you as long as you don’t overdo it! And exercise is an excellent method of stress management.
First, there are the physical effects of the heat treatment. When you are in a sauna or steam room, your body experiences similar (good) physical stress as when you exercise. In other words, your heart rate is raised by the heat, and in turn, delivers more blood to your cells. This in turn elevates your breathing and oxygen intake, enriching and oxygenating your blood.
So, your body gets a workout (which is a very positive thing) but the effects do not stop there.
Now add to this the other treatments that Banya No.1 offers (such as massage, Parenie and more) and you can begin to understand all the positive physical impacts that the banya experience can have on your health.
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Mental Benefits of a Russian Banya
As a result of all these physical effects, your body begins to release endorphins – sometimes called the happy hormones, because that is how it makes you feel. Your mood lifts and you benefit from a range of positive emotions.
This is the same reason why physical exercise makes us feel good – but you are achieving this while sitting in a sauna, relaxing with friends or family.
In other words, one of the key benefits of Russian banya is to combat the negative effects of stress.
Banya treatment and regular sauna sessions also are a great way to combat inflammation, (as discussed elsewhere on our blog) and given the known relationship between depression and inflammation, the benefits of Russian banyacan be discovered here also. This is not the place to take a deeper dive into this complex area, but there is a great study on the use of heat to treat depression, which can be found on this government website.
Social Benefits of a Russian Banya
The next benefit to consider is the social aspect of the banya experience. At Banya No.1, we always say that a solo banya visit is great, but with friends or family, it is the best.
Banya is at its heart a social experience, and time spent in relaxation with friends is itself a great stress relief. Company and conversation are well known as being excellent for mental health, and so is itself another way to beat stress. Sharing time with family or friends improves mood in all of us.
A key part of the banya experience is relaxation – it is as important as the steam room or other treatments – and is again enjoyed more with those we love to spend time with. In itself, this aspect of Russian banya is mood-lifting and triggers happy hormone release.
And relaxing properly (something we never do enough of) also improves sleep, which in turn better enables us to deal with stress.
In conclusion
To sum up, then, Russian banya is relaxing – it is away-from-stress time. Not only that, it actually gives a host of benefits that help you to combat and actually beat stress.
The banya experience helps you to tackle stress by giving you physical, mental and social experiences that all improve your mood and actively work as stress reduction tools.
Regular sauna sessions, such as those at Banya No.1 Chiswick will help you beat stress, even when you may not be aware of quite how much it is affecting you.
If you haven’t been along to banya recently – and especially if you are new to Russian banya – then come along and find out for yourself just how much of a difference a single session can make to your physical and mental well-being.
