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Few things feel as relaxing as time spent in your own personal sauna. More and more homeowners are adding the luxury of a home sauna which have become more affordable to buy and less expensive to operate thanks to improvements in materials and design. Modern personal saunas can be purchased as a single unit and many come in easy to assemble kit form. Also popular are small, portable saunas that can be moved to another location with little effort.

The sauna has been a stable in Scandinavia for many years based on the concept of using hot rocks to heat an enclosed space. Water would be applied to the stones thereby raising the relative humidity in the space enhancing the heat produced by the hot stones. Early saunas were not used for personal care but rather as a warm space to get out of the Scandinavian cold. In Finland, the sauna evolved as place to relax and cleanse impurities from the body and spirit. For over a thousand years, the Finns have made time spent in the humid warmth of the sauna as a chance to relax, meditate and even give birth to children. The use of sweat therapy and steam baths is also popular among other modern cultures including the Turks and Russians. Native Americans were known to use sweat lodges as part of cleansing and spiritual rituals.

The period after World War Two saw the development of sauna stoves that were electrically powered, replacing the wood burning stoves of previous designs. The principle of heating stones was retained and combined with the convenience of electricity. The electric heating systems again evolved this time taking advantage of infrared heating technology. Soldiers who saw service in Norway and Finland returned home touting the benefits of the sauna bath as the sauna was often referred to. The popularity of this healthy and relaxing pastime spread to North America and the rest of Europe.

Modern saunas have steadily gained in popularity and were once thought of as available only in health clubs, resorts and spas. Manufacturers have responded to the growing demand for home sauna units by developing personal saunas large enough for one to two people. Making use of electricity to supply heat, home saunas are clean to operate and modern insulating materials have increased energy efficiency. Many personal saunas feature a range of unique options like piped in music, aromatherapy dispensers and digital control systems.

A revolution in the personal home sauna is portable models that can be quickly and easily disassembled and reassembled in a new location with a minimum of effort. Consisting primarily of four wall sections, heater and control panel, these innovative units have an advantage over built in saunas not only because of their portability but the easy of installation. Modern digital controls help to hold very precise heat settings and some models offer off timers that automatically shut the unit off within a safe period of time. Many models are available that operate on normal 110 volt household electrical service and do not require any sort of special wiring, though some manufacturers recommend having a dedicated electrical circuit.

Sauna aficionados point to a variety of health benefits that can be had from regular use of a sauna. It is estimated that the body can burn up to one thousand calories an hour while in the sauna, though it recommended that no more than twenty to twenty five minutes should be spent in the sauna. It is said that exposure to the warm, moist air helps to detoxify the skin.