Infrared saunas apply heat using infrared radiation that is similar to the suns UV rays. Compared to traditional saunas that use heated steam, this kind of sauna do not contain heated air. Instead, the rooms include a wooden box that contains infrared heaters.

The head from radiation directly goes into the skin without warming the room’s air. A radiation heater is responsible for producing radiant energy that warms the room with the needed heat.

An infrared sauna is marketed as safe saunas that can stimulate tissues reduce toxic substance and helps arthritis therapy and other tissue disorders. In addition, it also works similarly to traditional steam saunas in promoting sweat.

Health Benefits Of An Infrared Sauna

Infrared saunas are known to provide various health benefits. Among these benefits is increased energy and improved circulation. As human cells absorb radiation from infrared heaters, it revitalizes the body and results in a better metabolism, enhanced blood circulation and increased heart rate without escalating blood pressure.

Weight loss is also achieved with infrared saunas. It speeds up metabolism of endocrine glands and other organs, providing a significant fat loss during a session of infrared sauna. Due to the raise of metabolic rate, it promotes detoxification through the skin when a person perspires. Each session could eliminate around 10 to 30% of body waste.

Infrared saunas can also speed up recovery from injuries because the heat brings oxygen to your joints and other extremities, allowing fast healing of strains, sprains, arthritis and other body pains. Thus, it can speed up a body’s recovery from certain injuries.

With one session of infrared sauna, you will experience an artificial fever that will have a positive effect on your immune system. As a result, it can reduce the development of virus and bacteria. Colds and flu can easily be prevented with one sauna session.

Just like other traditional sauna methods, infrared saunas provide obvious benefits, such as relaxation, stress reduction and skin beautification. Saunas are known to loosen muscle tissues, making it easier for therapists to massage effectively, providing you with an instant relaxation and stress reduction effect. In addition, proper blood circulation carries essential nutrients to a person’s skin. As a result, it promotes a healthy skin texture and tone while providing a natural cleansing of your skin.

Simply put, infrared saunas provide the same benefits of traditional saunas, but can improve both your internal and external physical conditions.

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There are many different ways to enjoy a sauna bath, regardless of whether the setting of that sauna bath is in a traditional hot Finnish sauna room or a modern, state-of-the-art far infrared sauna cabin. And, as so many veteran sauna enthusiasts discovered soon after they first began taking sauna baths, it doesn’t take long for a novice sauna bather to learn how to ensure that his or her every session in the sauna is a safe, pleasurable experience. Here are just a few tips to help you reap the greatest rewards in your sauna:

1. Sauna bathing is not recommended for people with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disorders or pulmonary diseases, and anyone who is pregnant or has multiple sclerosis, hyperthyroidism, hypertension should consult a qualified health professional before using a sauna. If you have any other health concerns, a talk with your doctor may help to put any worries regarding your use of a sauna to rest.

2. Do not use the sauna while under the influence of any type of alcohol, drugs, anticoagulants, antihistamines, vasoconstrictors, vasodilators, stimulants, hypnotics, narcotics or tranquilizers.

3. Avoid eating heavily before you take your sauna bath. If you do eat beforehand, wait at least an hour before beginning your sauna session.

4. Remove all metal objects, such as watches and eyeglasses, and jewelry from your body prior to entering the sauna.

5. Do not wear contact lenses in the sauna.

6. Take a shower before entering the sauna, and be sure to dry your body completely after you wash yourself.

7. Drink some mineralized water before your sauna.

8. Bring at least two towels, one for sitting or lying on and wrapping in and another for drying off afterwards. Don’t try to dry a clean body with a towel soaked in sweat.

9. Sauna etiquette and sauna customs can vary greatly from country to country, especially regarding what to wear in the sauna and whether men and women can bathe in the same sauna at the same time. If you are visiting a public sauna, be aware of what the applicable rules, customs and protocols are. If you are bathing alone in your own home sauna, though, feel free to wear whatever will make you most comfortable, be it a swimsuit, a towel, or nothing at all.

10. Allow yourself a reasonable amount of time for your sauna session. The sauna is no place for anyone in a rush. For many sauna enthusiasts, a typical sauna sequence consists of: a warm shower; 15 minutes in the sauna heat; a cool shower and optional dip in a swimming pool, lake or pond, and then a 10 to 30 minute rest. Most sauna fans repeat this sequence, or one similar to it, many times during a morning, afternoon or evening. People with heart problems or high blood pressure, however, are advised to avoid swimming in cold water after their sweat bath.

11. Don’t smoke in the sauna. Also, if you are bathing in a sauna with other people, realize that the sauna door should not be kept open so long that it cools the sauna for those sharing it with you. In a traditional Finnish sauna, courtesy also dictates that you be considerate of others when you’re tossing water on the sauna rocks.

12. It goes without saying that a sauna bather would be unwise to engage in sexual activity amid the intense heat of the bath. Also, to do it in front of other bathers might be viewed by some as being very rude.

13. Leave the sauna immediately if you feel faint or dizzy. One of the most important principles to follow when you are in the sauna is to listen to the messages your body sends you. A sauna bath should never be considered as a test of your endurance, so respect your body and its limitations.

14. To prevent dehydration, be sure to replenish your fluids after you come out of the sauna. Drinking mineralized water is recommended, although some sauna enthusiasts believe a beer can be quite refreshing. Just don’t drink any alcohol while you’re in the sauna itself - only afterwards if you wish and, even then, not to excess.

15. Get dressed only after your body temperature has returned to normal and you have stopped sweating.

Follow these basic guidelines for a safe, satisfying and soothing soak in the sauna, and you’ll be a veteran sauna enthusiast before you know it.

Pertti Olavi Jalasjaa is the Finnish-born author of “The Art of Sauna Building,” an acclaimed reference book on sauna construction. He is also the general manager of Great Saunas, which has been manufacturing and selling high-quality saunas and sauna kits to sauna enthusiasts around the world since 1974. Visit Great Saunas online at http://www.greatsaunas.com.

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Many people first discover the joy of sauna bathing in a spa or a health club. Others may be introduced to the pleasures of the sauna by friends who already own their own traditional Finnish or far infrared sauna. However a person may experience a sauna bath for the first time and however wonderfully relaxing or invigorating that experience may be, it simply does not compare with the delight of being a home sauna owner.

With a commercial sauna or a residential sauna that belongs to a friend, you can never be sure of its availability, what other people have been using it, how clean the sauna is, or how properly it is being maintained. You also have only so much control over the sauna’s temperature, supplies and accessories.

If the sauna belongs to you, however, you can be in complete control of its operation, and you have access to it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You don’t need to worry about who may have been in the sauna before you, not being able to sit or lay down where you want, or rules about what to wear or not wear in the sauna. It’s your sauna, so you can do with it just about whatever you wish.

In addition to control, two other great reasons to buy a home sauna are privacy and convenience. Public saunas may offer some good opportunities to socialize, but there’s never any guarantee that you’ll find complete peace, quiet and undisturbed alone time in a sauna that’s not your own. As for the positive social aspects of communal bathing, there’s nothing stopping you from hosting a sauna party at your place whenever you feel the need for fellowship. But when it’s two o’clock in the morning and you feel like soaking solo, your own home sauna is pretty much your only - and best - option.

Monetary cost is another important factor to consider. Certainly the initial expense of buying a home sauna can be significant, but the increasing number of sauna manufacturers and sauna dealers has resulted in more affordable prices on home saunas and sauna kits. Besides, imagine what it would end up costing you in membership fees and gas expenses to make use of the sauna at the nearest spa or gym on a daily basis for, say, the next 20 years. Now think how much easier and cheaper it would be just to walk a few steps into your bathroom, basement or backyard to utilize your personal sauna.

Perhaps the most important consideration of all is the many health benefits associated with regular sauna use. Increased cardiovascular strength, improved lung function, stress and headache relief, and alleviation of muscle stiffness and joint pain are just some of the positive health outcomes reported in medical studies that have examined the merits of sauna therapy. Given these findings, it seems logical that a home sauna owner would have the advantage over a gym or spa patron, as the sauna owner has fewer obstacles and deterrents to accessing the sauna on a consistent basis and, in turn, reaping the rewards of its use.

Today’s home saunas can be found in many styles and sizes. Available as permanent installations or portable devices, they can also vary significantly in how they operate. The far infrared sauna, for example, functions quite differently than the traditional Finnish dry sauna.

Prospective home sauna buyers would be wise to assess their individual needs and expectations and then conduct the necessary product research and analysis before making any final purchasing decisions. If you shop for, select, purchase and accessorize your home sauna with the appropriate amount of knowledge and confidence, you are almost guaranteed to know the tremendous delight of being a happy and satisfied home sauna owner.

Pertti Olavi Jalasjaa is the Finnish-born author of “The Art of Sauna Building,” an acclaimed reference book on sauna construction. He is also the general manager of Great Saunas, which has been manufacturing and selling high-quality saunas and sauna kits to sauna enthusiasts around the world since 1974. Visit Great Saunas online at http://www.greatsaunas.com.

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