We all have the mental image of a sauna, with hot sweaty bodies, billowing clouds of steam, and birch branch whippings before plunging into an icy fjord
Life in Australia is just a little bit different !
Generally unless you live in the tropics our heat is a dry heat, and its quite “do-able” most of the time, because of that dryness. It allows you to perspire freely and the moisture evaporates off trying to keep you cool. It’s the way our bodies are designed to work
Traditional steam saunas most certainly do give you benefits , but the exact same benefits can be had with Infrared Saunas too
Rather than wasting your money heating the all the air in your sauna, as occurs in a traditional one, Infrared heats your body directly because it is a light source. Even though the human eye cannot detect it, it hits your body and warms it like the rays of the sun
The difference with Infra-red to visible light is its wavelength. Infra-red (or IR for short) has a long wavelength and is not scattered and reflected as easily as visible light, therefore it cuts through the air with minimal energy loss until it hits you and is absorbed. IR does NOT waste its time heating the air, which is very inefficient method at transferring heat to you … instead it simply heats YOU and not the air !
This, combined with the fact that your body can use its full natural sweat response in the IR Sauna means you can have longer sessions, without needing “cool down” breaks like you need to in a traditional sauna
An Infrared Sauna also does not present a big humidity source inside your home, which can lead to mould and other nasties over time, Traditional saunas are best placed outside, or might require expensive ducting and ventilation when installed to prevent this humidity transfer
IR saunas can also be sized much smaller than traditional ones, the heat emitters are simply flat plates on the inner wall, there is no bulky hot rock unit, no water source taking floorspace away from you, and no need to constantly ladle water onto rocks!
IR Saunas still give you that great sweaty cleansing experience, and the febrile heating that gives you all the health benefits, but they do it more effectively, with much smaller running costs , and a 100% usable footprint in your home
