Infrared Saunas can provide many health benefits.  Infrared heat is actually composed of light rays that are invisible to the naked eye.  These rays are completely harmless and feel the same as far infrared heat from familiar sources such as fireplaces, radiators and the sun, but without the harmful ultraviolet rays that cause sunburns. Just as visible light has a range of wavelengths when you look through a prism, so does infrared light, but invisible.  Many health studies have shown far infrared heat is the most beneficial form of heat, penetrating deeper into the skin, increasing circulation, and helping to detoxify the body of harmful toxins through sweating.  Far infrared saunas are the most efficient method of achieving these results.

 

The ideal temperature for infrared saunas is between 104 and 140 degrees F, which does not put pressure on the heart or irritate the skin. The radiant heat of far infrared saunas penetrates deeply, up to 1.5 inches below your skin for maximum absorption and health benefits. The results create 2 to 3 times more sweating than conventional saunas. Traditional saunas superheat the air to anywhere from 180 to 200 degrees F, which must remain in a tightly sealed room and creates a suffocating environment. Touchstone Far Infrared saunas include a fresh air vent, which allows fresh air to circulate for maximum comfort.

 

Here are just some of the health benefits you may receive from using an infrared sauna:

 

Increased Blood Flow
Using an infrared sauna can expand capillaries in the body which stimulates increased blood flow, regeneration, circulation, and oxygenation. Increasing blood circulation helps to causes one's metabolism to speed up, aiding in weight loss and supplying oxygen and nutrients to the body. It also increases cardiovascular activity, strengthens the heart and provides increased levels of endorphins.

 

Detoxification
Infrared sauna therapy is excellent for detoxification of the body. The infrared heat stimulates sweating, while penetrating deeply and releasing toxins that can then be eliminated by the body through the sweat

 

Increased Metabolism
Spending time in an infrared sauna can burn hundreds of calories by increasing your metabolism and core temperature. Far infrared heat also breaks down cellulite, trapped water, fat, and wastes as part of the detoxification process.

 

Elimination of Bacteria & Fungi
Using a far infrared sauna also promotes the killing & elimination of many disease causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

 

Healing of Cuts, Bruises, & Scars
Daily use of your infrared sauna can also promote rebuilding of injured tissue by having a positive effect on the tissue cells necessary for the repair of injury. Furthermore, it increases growth of cells, DNA synthesis and protein synthesis, aiding in tissue repair.

 

Relaxation of Muscle Groups
Far Infrared heat relieves muscle tension and helps your body to make the most of its intended healing abilities. Infrared heat reduces soreness on nerve endings and muscle spasms as muscle joints and fibers are heated in the infrared sauna.

 

Boosting of Your Immune System
During a normal 25-35 minute sauna session, the infrared sauna will raise your body temperature, inducing an artificial fever. Fever is the body's natural mechanism to strengthen and accelerate the immune response, as seen in the case of infection. This enhancing of the immune system, combined with improved elimination of toxins and wastes via intense sweating increases your overall health and resistance to disease.

 

Increasing of Cardiovascular Activity
As your body increases sweat production to cool itself, your heart works harder pumping blood at a greater rate to boost circulation, providing the conditioning benefits of continuous exercise. Heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increase while in the infrared sauna, while diastolic blood pressure drops, thus boosting overall cardiovascular fitness.

 

Healthy Arteries
Deposits of fat, calcium, fibrin, and cellular debris can clog arteries and lessen the ability to expand and contract while slowing blood circulation. Infrared sauna heat can potentially help to clean arteries by loosening these toxins and increasing blood flow throughout the body.

 

Cancer and Free Radicals
When you think of rust, think of the free radicals that caused that rust. These similar culprits (free radicals) are molecules with an unpaired electron that travel throughout your body and cause mutations, resulting in cancer and many other diseases. Free radicals exist all around us and are consumed by us daily. They are found in pesticides used on fruit and produce, antibiotics and hormones in our foods, tobacco products and household cleaning compounds, to name a few. Free radicals are stored in the body and continue to build up over time. Infrared saunas aid the body by bringing up the body's core temperature to induces sweating. This in turn helps the body to expel stored toxins. Infrared Therapy aids the body in this detoxifying process without the extreme heat of regular saunas and without strenuous exercise.

 

Blood Pressure and Infrared Sauna Use
Infrared saunas make it possible for people who cannot or do not exercise enough to achieve the effects of cardiovascular training. It also allows for more variety in any ongoing training program. Most important to understand is that just like any other type of exercise, the benefits for your blood pressure while using an infrared sauna will only come with frequent use. If you get in the infrared sauna every day, however, it can certainly have benefits with regards to blood pressure.

 

Recommendation from the American Heart Association
“...Saunas — if not misused — pose no risk to healthy people. People with high blood pressure who have no symptoms should tolerate saunas well. The relaxing of the blood vessels associated with the heat is about the same as from a brisk walk. Any active symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath that would cause a person to avoid moderate exercise would also be a reason to avoid a hot tub or sauna. Alcohol and saunas aren't a good combination. Don't drink while in a sauna. Also, moving back and forth between cold water baths and saunas or hot tubs can raise blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, don't do this."

 

When people use traditional saunas, they typically go from the hot sauna into a cold shower or for a swim, because they feel the need to cool off after the intense heat experience. This does not happen with an infrared sauna, because the body does not experience the heat shock associated with the 200 degree temperatures of a traditional sauna. Because of the lower temperatures, one can easily stay in an infrared sauna for 30 minutes or more without feeling the need to “get some air” or cool down with a shower.

 

While in an infrared sauna, blood flow rises from about a normal five to six quarts a minute too as many as 13 quarts a minute while the heart rate increase by about 25 beats per minute. Because infrared rays penetrate the body over 1-1/2 inches, there is a deep heating effect in the muscle tissue and internal organs. The body responds to this heat with a hypothalamic-induced increase in both heart volume and rate, leading to beneficial heart stress, cardiovascular training and conditioning effect. Medical research has suggested that the use of an infrared sauna provided cardiovascular conditioning as the body tries to cool itself. During the use, infrared heat causes your capillaries to expand and thereby improving blood flow, which has clear benefits for blood pressure. It is important to use the infrared sauna daily to achieve these great benefits to your cardiovascular system.

 

Weight Loss
Infrared sauna can definitely be a useful tool for weight loss, but there are some important things to consider when you are buying one specifically for weight loss. The most important thing to remember is that an infrared sauna will act as an important part of a comprehensive healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise program. A good comparison is to running for a couple miles every day. While extremely helpful, running alone won't cause you to lose weight unless you combine it with a healthy diet and other types of regular exercise.

 

The infrared sauna can help contribute to weight loss through the effect that it has on your cardiovascular system. As your core temperature rises due to the infrared heat, this increases your heart rate, cardiac output, and metabolic rates. These all in turn cause you to sweat.

 

The use of a sauna for weight loss is nothing new. As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on August 7, 1981, “A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna, consuming nearly 300 kcal—the equivalent of running 2 to 3 miles. A heat-conditioned person can easily sweat off 600 - 800 kcal with no adverse effects. While the weight of the water loss can be regained by re-hydration with water, the calories consumed will not be."

 

"many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, not to build big leg muscles. Regular use of a sauna may impart a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise."

 

 

Disclaimer
Any and all information provided by this site is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended to be substituted for valid medical advice from a licensed physician. Always consult a physician before using a sauna if you have a certain medical condition(s). The information contained on this site should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. The information and statements on this site have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or affliction.