Saunas have been used for centuries for therapeutic purposes. They can improve circulation and provide sore muscle relief and relaxation. Most people go to a gym or health spa to sit in a sauna, but you can create your own at home without the cost or travel.

A paraffin treatment uses warm oil-based wax to provide pain relief to hands, feet and sore joints and muscles. This treatment has skin-softening benefits as well.

The heat of a sauna room raises your skin temperature to 104 degrees F and your internal temperature to 100.4 degrees F, causing your heart rate to speed up and your blood vessels to dilate. Sessions in a sauna room are usually short; you only need 10 to 20 minutes to create a good sweat and reap the sauna’s benefits.

Achieving a perfect, healthy tan any time of year is easier than ever with spray tanning services offered by salons and spas. But while sunless tanning can be a healthier alternative for your skin than basking in the sun's ultraviolet rays, ingredients in spray tanning products may come with side effects of their own.

In a sauna, an electric or wood stove provides dry heat that can reach up to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. After a tough exercise session or a long day at work, a few moments in the sauna feel like a luxurious indulgence. Saunas aren't just relaxing -- dry heat may have other benefits for your body.

The sauna, referred to as a fountain of youth in Finnish writings, has been touted for centuries as a wonderful place to experience relaxation and total body cleansing. According to Harvard Health Publications, the dry heat provided by the sauna has profound effects on the body.

Saunas have been used throughout the world for health benefits for thousands of years. Sweating has been proven to effectively flush toxins and disease out of the system while maintaining optimum health of the body.

The benefits of bathing in a sauna or steam room include stress reduction, muscle relaxation and pain relief. Sweating in a sauna cleanses your pores and can make your mind and body feel energized.

While using a private steam room means you have more leeway in what you wear to sweat, using a public steam room in a gym requires more extensive etiquette.

Sauna, a Finnish word and essential part of Finnish health, is considered a standard rather than a luxury. Primitive saunas dug into a slope on a hill, had a fire pit in the middle. After the industrial revolution the sauna evolved to a small wooden room with heated rocks or used infrared lights to create heat.

Due to sedentary lifestyles and air conditioning, most people in the modern world don't sweat much. As a result, the pores of the skin may become clogged from not sweating out enough toxins.

Steam baths bathe you in warm, moist heat. They relax muscles, can ease pain in joints caused by arthritis and other ailments and lower your pulse rate and blood pressure, according to Columbia University's Go Ask Alice health column. Temperatures in steam rooms can average 110 to 114 degrees.