People have been enjoying the benefits of saunas for centuries. Spending just a short while relaxing in a sauna can help you destress, invigorate your skin, alleviate muscle pain, and help you feel calmer. Sweating in a sauna is also considered healthy by most doctors, provided you stay hydrated. Until recently, saunas were only available at health clubs and spas. Now, however, many people are able to use sauna kits to install a sauna in their own homes.

Home saunas can come in a wide range of sizes ? from a large bedroom to a medium sized closet. They're usually made of wood and have benches along one or more walls. Depending on the kind of sauna, you can use an electric heater to heat the air directly, a special heater that conveys warmth to stones, or an infrared sauna heater, which heats the body. The kind of sauna that uses heated rocks is of interest to people who want to be able to maintain the humidity in their sauna. Water can be poured onto the rocks, creating steam and allowing you to make it more humid as you choose.

Most saunas have fairly low ceilings ? only about seven feet high. Users can choose to move to higher or lower benches to adjust how much heat they are getting. Sauna size is dictated by the number of people it is expected to accommodate. Generally, you'll need around two feet of bench space for each person the sauna will hold.

You can situate your sauna anywhere ? bedrooms, bathrooms, basements, spare rooms, etc. However, you should pay attention to the wiring in your house. You'll need a dedicated circuit to operate the sauna properly. Smaller heaters may be able to operate on a hundred and twenty volts, but many heaters are wired to use two hundred and forty. The head output is usually regulated by a switch or a timer. Some advanced sauna heaters have several different heating modes. Remember, when you install your home sauna, have all wiring done by a qualified electrician. Make sure that the sauna door opens outward and has a wooden handle to avoid burns. Also, never treat or finish the wood in your sauna, since heating these finishes can cause them to give off fumes which can be toxic. By taking care of these precautions, however, you can easily install a premade or kit sauna in your own home, and enjoy all the benefits that used to be relegated to the spa.