Far Infrared Saunas

Far Infrared Saunas are also called "dry heat" saunas, as opposed to steam saunas. They produce infrared heat, which are invisible light rays. Infrared heat is also produced by the sun, which is why you feel warmer when you step out of shade and into the sun. Imagine being able to feel the warmth of the sun, any time on any day that you want!

Most infrared saunas are "wooden boxes" and made from panels so that they can be easily shipped, assembled, disassembled and moved. New the price for a far infrared sauna can range from $1000 - $9000, depending on size, features, quality of construction, and exterior wood surface. Given the investment, many people try to find a health club with an infrared sauna to try it out, though obviously it is difficult to find one with exactly the manufacturer and model that most interests you.

The far infrared sauna has some tremendous health benefits that make the high cost worthwhile to its many fans.

Far infrared heat provides all the healthy benefits of natural sunlight without any of the dangerous effects of solar radiation. Far infrared rays are completely safe and used in hospitals to warm newborn babies. So what are some of the many health benefits of infrared heat?

An infrared sauna is dry sauna. Since you are hot and the air is dry, you sweat a lot. Sweating burns calories. People can burn as much as 500 calories during one session while sitting and reading a book. It is also believed that cellulite, pockets of fat, water and waste trapped below the skin, are often cleared by profuse sweating.

Sweating removes impurities from your body. Therefore infrared saunas are used for detoxification, the removal of unhealthy toxins such as mercury, lead or cholorine, from the body. Sweating opens clogged pores and pushes out dirt, oil, and makeup. This generally leads to improvements in skin problems such as acne, rashes, burns, eczema and psoriasis.

The sauna heat offers pain relief and relaxation of associated tense muscles for both chronic pain relief and reducing pain from injuries or muscle fatigue. Heat increases circulation which promotes healing.

Far infrared saunas also just make you feel good and studies indicate they may help people suffering from mild depression. A study out of Psychosomatic Medicine looked at a group of 28 mildly depressed patients with appetite loss and subjective symptoms and treated half of the patients with sauna once a day for 4 weeks and half with just bed rest for 4 weeks. The sauna group showed a significantly greater improvement in their sleep, appetite and relaxation scores as compared to the control group.

As you can see the health benefits of far infrared saunas are many and substantial.

Given the high prices of far infrared saunas, I started hunting for the lowest price. However, this was right about the time that more than one toy was recalled for being made in China with unsafe paints. Sauna panels are glued together and it occurred to me that it is an item with a lot of safety and health issues. I personally decided to go with a made-in-America sauna.

This still gives you a few choices. Items to consider (aside from price) include the type of wood used. Some woods contain oils that when heated give off unhealthy vapors. Aspen is one wood that is known to have no harmful health effects when heated. This is very important since most sauna users are looking to improve their health.

Another factor is how the sauna regulates the heat. Does the infrared heater simply shut off when a certain internal temperature is reached, or does it run on reduced power, so that a more continuous stream of infrared rays are produced.

Finally consider the number of heaters inside the unit. Fewer heaters are more likely to leave spots in the sauna that aren't receiving the full infrared rays. Good luck with your purchase!