What is infrared sauna?
Generally speaking, people associate saunas with sitting in a room that has a water-evaporating system to heat the ambient air. However, infrared sauna uses a different technology to heat your body by emitting electromagnetic radiation from fixated infrared lamps.
Unlike a traditional sauna, infrared saunas don’t heat the air around you. The infrared panels will improve the penetration of the heat to the body, which reduces time of exposure and offers more benefits than conventional saunas.
Moreover, the temperature of the infrared sauna can easily be controlled to range between 49-60 °C (120-140˚F), which is lower than the temperature of traditional saunas 65-82°C (150˚F and 180˚F).
This article will focus on the major benefits of infrared sauna and how it compares to the conventional type.
What are the benefits of infrared sauna?
Infrared sauna offers numerous health benefits that affect most organ systems, including the musculoskeletal system, brain, and heart. There is nothing quite like a sweat session in an infrared sauna. Sweating is one of the best and natural ways to detoxify the body. Unlike traditional saunas, infrared saunas have been proven to be superior to regular sauna in eliminating the body of toxins.
Some of these benefits include:
Improves the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis, is a relatively rare disorder that’s characterized by severe tiredness that does not respond to any treatment or activity and cannot be explained by other underlying mechanisms.
In one study, researchers analyzed the effects of infrared sauna on 10 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and found that this treatment significantly improves the symptoms of CFS when combined with other therapeutic approaches.
Helps control blood pressure
While chronic blood hypertension is often treated with pharmacological drugs, it is recommended to add some healthy lifestyle habits to your daily routine in order to control your blood pressure.
When researchers studied the effects of infrared light therapy, they concluded that it can help regulate blood pressure through several mechanisms that are not fully understood.
Accelerates recovery after strength training
Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common condition that people experience after strength training, where it presents with symptoms of pain, soreness, and decreased mobility of the affected muscles.
In one study, infrared sauna helped decrease the duration of DOMS and accelerated the processes of recovery and tissue repair.
Other benefits
Aside from the benefits listed above, infrared sauna also offers other positive effects, including:
- Improved sleep quality
- Sensations of relaxation
- Weight loss
- Enhanced symptoms of arthritis
- Optimization of metabolism
- Improved blood circulation
The adverse effects of infrared sauna
Fortunately, there are no reported side effects of infrared sauna so far. The use of the Infrared Sauna is completely safe. All objects give off and receive infrared heat, including human bodies that naturally send and receive infrared waves, which are part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. In fact, infrared is so safe, that hospitals use similar heaters to warm newborns. Infrared is a part of nature and essential for life. In addition, Infrared light kills all bacteria, fungus and many airborne. That is why Infrared Saunas are considered as a superior modality for healthy skin. Even medical offices use infrared light to sterilize equipment.
The commonly mentioned side effects are shared by all sauna types and include the risk of overheating, dehydration, and the interference with medication.
Takeaway message
Infrared sauna is a fantastic activity that offers numerous health benefits to the body, including –and not exclusive to– the one cited above. For more information about infrared sauna, please visit our FAQ page
Hopefully, this article helped introduce this innovative technology and its potential positive effects.
If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by calling us at (212) 719-3611 or email wellness@atlanthealth.com.
