Infrared Sauna: How Is It Different From Normal Saunas?

Infrared saunas make use of a special heater that produces infrared radiation rays. The person using the infrared sauna is being heat up by the heaters such as ceramics, charcoal, and the like that give off far infrared radiant heat. The difference between a traditional Finnish sauna and the infrared sauna is that the former uses steam which increases the air temperature, and in that way the occupant, while the latter uses infrared radiation to immediately warm up the user. The objective of the deep infrared rays that infiltrates through the body is to make sure that most of the body parts, if not the whole body, are targeted. This method is called conversion.

An infrared sauna can be assembled easily. It is typically a box made of wood which contain several infrared heaters. For those who can afford, the infrared heaters can also be in a small wooden room. For those living in a warmer climate, it is suggested that an infrared sauna be assembled in an open area. One should not worry since it will not affect the efficiency of the facility. This is because the heaters being used in the infrared sauna do not generally rely on the air temperature as long as the body is warm and does not cool down without sweating. Being in a room and letting the air temperature to rise would give an impression of a traditional sauna. In effect, the sauna box sets up an air of the sauna while the heaters offer the actual infrared therapy. Dr. Tadashi Ishikawa of Fuji Medical developed the heaters technology in 1965.

In a normal sauna set-up, the traditional type is also known as the Finnish or rock saunas. For this type of sauna, a number of heaters are used in order to heat up the surrounding air and the stones in the room. In assembling a Finnish sauna, the materials used for the walls of the room can be logs or any materials that are more or less lined with wood. In today’s version of a Finnish sauna, there is a thermostatically controlled stove with chimneys, which is either electric or wood. The temperature of the air in a normal sauna set-up has to be maintained from 169 to 190°F in order to warm the body and produce sweat.

Since various kinds of heaters can be used for an infrared sauna, an owner has an option to choose from older tools like steel incoloy rods and ceramics to a more modern type of carbon heaters. In the process, the heaters generate infrared waves which heat up the body directly and not through the surrounding air. Unlike in a traditional sauna, the standard temperature that is being maintained is much cooler. It ranges from 110 to 140°F.

One of the many outcomes of an infrared sauna is its ability to cause too much sweating while having a treatment. This observation about the amount of sweat produced can be attributed to the fact that the longer the user stays inside an infrared sauna, the more time his body sweats.