Far Infrared Sauna - How It Works
A relatively new type of
sauna has emerged in recent years. Unlike traditional
saunas that use wood or electric stoves to heat them,
this new far infrared sauna uses infrared heaters. In
traditional saunas the heater heats the air of the sauna
but infra red saunas only heat the people and objects –
not the air.
Because the air is not heated, infrared heaters
can be used anywhere – even outdoors – and still have a
heating effect on human bodies. They are used in sauna
enclosures simply for the atmosphere – people are used to
going into saunas and may be more comfortable in an
enclosure than in an open space.
Infrared is actually a frequency band of light
that is invisible to the human eye. The heat from infrared
is sometimes called infrared radiation (IR) – very
different from ultraviolet radiation that can cause
sunburn or atomic radiation from nuclear weapons. Most of
the heat that warms the earth is IR from the sun, and the
earth and even the human body gives off IR.
Proponents of infrared saunas say that
infrared sauna health benefits far outweigh the
traditional sauna
health benefit.
Portable infrared saunas come in two basic
styles. The first, which is truly portable, is a folding
box-like structure that one person can sit in. The
advantages of a portable infrared sauna are obvious – you
can have a personal sauna anywhere you go. When used at
home they are tremendous space-savers. When you have
finished your sauna you can fold it up and store it under
the bed.
There are also portable infrared saunas that
look like traditional saunas. They are wood-lined and have
doors and benches. This second type is portable in the
sense that a bed is portable – you can take it with you
when you move, but you wouldn't want to take it on a
weekend excursion.
Traditional or Infrared Sauna? You decide!
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