Work hard, train harder, and remain healthy, stay active. Busy and “non-stop” lifestyles are played out in so many ways and everyone needs some kind of retreat or way to physically and mentally recover.
Adding the daily practice of steam to one’s daily routine is even better. Fitness takes its toll on every athlete; man or woman, young or old. From professional athletes training like spartan warriors, to recreational fitness enthusiasts, taking care of your body is almost as important as the sweat and grind itself. Stretching, yoga and vitamin supplements are popular strategies for attaining and maintaining peak health performance. However, one of the most important and necessary means of maintaining a healthy body has yet to be fully explored: Steam. More and more, the benefits of steam on both body and spirit are becoming essential components in gyms, spas and even rehabilitation centers.
Typically, steam is used in luxury spas and gyms around the United States, though since 1958 with the creation of the first residential steam shower by ThermaSol®, steam has become a popular enhancement in the home. Having a steam shower in the privacy of your own home – in your shower – provides all of the positive effects a daily basis.
The Benefits
Steam therapy creates a moist heat, which has been proven to have many therapeutic and physiological benefits:
- Respiratory Health: Steam has been known to soothe throat irritation, loosen phlegm in the lungs and loosen mucous in the nose. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), steam inhalation also alleviates the symptoms of cold and nasal congestion.
- Better Sleep: For anyone, fitness lover or not, getting a good night’s sleep will have a profound and positive effect on their day. In terms of fitness performance and muscle recovery, deep sleep is a necessity. With steam having been scientifically proven to improve quality of sleep patterns, getting to that stage of deep sleep is much more realistic – in that 4th stage of the sleep cycle is when growth hormones are released which allows your muscles to repair themselves at a quicker rate than otherwise.
- Muscle Relaxation: Steam showers release heat causing vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels, promoting healthier blood flow and circulation. This process plays an important role in the maintenance of skeletal muscle tissue.
- Overall Wellness: Along with all of the fitness benefits that steam has, it has been known to have have a positive effect on the overall quality of life and mental health.
- Natural Hydration and Skin Rejuvenation: Long known for its benefits to the respiratory system, steam can be used as a therapeutic and natural beauty treatment to help increase circulation and enhance your skin’s look and feel, no matter the season. Dermatologists recommend steam baths to help create a healthy glow and it is well-known that the best time to re-hydrate skin with moisturizers is after a steam, when pores are open.
ThermaSol’s passion to educate homeowners on the health and wellness benefits of steam showers is evidenced in their use of state-of-the-art technology to enable homeowners to easily retrofit steam generators into their existing bathrooms or incorporate steam into new construction. Their products are designed to combine all of the benefits of scent, sound, light, steam, heat and more in ways that give users the ultimate luxury home spa experience. Even a users interaction between activating and controlling their steam is taken into consideration.
In fact, they recently introduced a controller that enables users to even more easily control their home steam experience. Named MicroTouch, this high-tech controller is similar to a smartphone screen; utilizing Capacitive Touch Technology (CTT) it allows users to operate the control with just the touch of a fingertip – eliminating the need for push buttons. MicroTouch also utilizes precise Infrared Temperature Sensing (patent pending – currently only available from ThermaSol), which reads temperature more accurately and much faster than standard contact temperature sensors. Along with its technical capabilities, MicroTouch was designed with a low profile and crisp and clear screen display for an understated yet high end look. The control is available in five styles and 14 finishes to suit any bathroom’s style, fixtures or fittings.
Not sure how to determine the size of the steam generator you might need in your shower? ThermaSol has a useful Steam Shower Planner on their website which helps guide you through the process of determining the size of the steam generator and accessories that you’d need. ThermaSol has been helping homeowners benefit from home steam showers since 1958, when they invented the first residential steam generator. They haven’t stopped innovating since.
