What most of us imagine when we hear the word “sauna” is the traditional Finnish steam bath, where steam is created by pouring water over hot rocks. However, this term can also apply to dry heat baths, which can provide the same benefits and more, without the higher heat levels of conventional saunas. There are two main types of dry heat bath – infrared lamp saunas, which use incandescent lamps to provide heat, and far infrared sauna, which use ceramic or metal elements for their heat. Both types use infrared energy to provide their heating, but infrared lamp saunas emit mostly near and middle wavelengths of infrared energy, whereas far infrared saunas, as their name implies, emit mostly in the far end of the infrared range.
Far infrared saunas offer some benefits over conventional type saunas. They operate at lower temperatures – about 100-130 degrees Fahrenheit, as opposed to the 180-220 degrees of conventional saunas. Because the air is cooler, it is easier to stay in the sauna for longer, receiving more benefit. Although they operate at lower temperatures, far infrared saunas heat tissue more effectively, allowing the body to cleanse itself of toxins as or more effectively than conventional saunas, and induce as much as two to three times the volume of sweat. Sweating in saunas is said to have many health benefits, including detoxification, conditioning of the cardiovascular system, and increasing the number of calories burned by the body. The lower heat ranges may also be safer for people with cardiovascular problems that can be aggravated by high heat.
Because far infrared saunas do not need wood burners or other appliances to heat rocks, they are more portable than conventional saunas. They also require no plumbing hookup, as they do not use water. This removes the danger of bacterial growth, the need for cleanup, and the cost of additional plumbing. Many models of far infrared sauna pump in fresh air, improving the breathability of the atmosphere inside the sauna. Less than twenty percent of the infrared energy used to create heat in the sauna actually heats the air. The remainder heats the body directly, resulting in more efficient use of energy to receive the same or greater health benefit. Warming up a far infrared sauna for use takes only five to ten minutes, compared to the half an hour or more that a conventional sauna requires.
Far infrared energy has the greatest ability to penetrate the human body, heating tissues to a greater depth than conventional saunas or other types of infrared energy. When far infrared energy penetrates to the subcutaneous tissues, it is absorbed as heat, which causes the blood vessels to dilate. This allows better blood circulation, and the heat also permits the body to excrete toxins at a greater rate. These toxins are removed through sweat. A greater sweat volume removes more toxins. Heat from a far infrared sauna is also said to speed up the metabolic processes, improve energy, reduce stress, and renew the skin. Far infrared heat may have a positive effect on the immune system, improving its ability to fight off disease.
About the Author:
Chad Milhouse writes exclusively for http://www.hot-sauna.com. Follow the links for additional information from Chad Milhouse about a
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