Comparing Traditional Saunas to Infrared Saunas

If your first thoughts at the word “sauna” are something along the lines of “stifling” and “hard to breathe”, then I’m guessing you’ve never been in an infrared sauna. The differences between a traditional, “ladle-water-over-hot-rocks” kind of sauna and an infrared sauna really are astounding.

Heat Technology

A conventional sauna relies on indirect means of heat. The air is heated (convection) and then the hot air makes contact with the user’s skin (conduction). In an infrared sauna, the radiant infrared energy heats the air only slightly, heating the user’s body directly (conversion).

For those who get a little nervous when we start talking about invisible light bands like infrared, it is important to note that the sun produces most of its energy output in the infrared segment of the spectrum. Unlike sunbathing, infrared sauna use will not cause your skin to burn.

Infrared heat technology can heat the body much more efficiently because of the conversion process – it doesn’t waste any energy heating the air. This is an enormous difference between the two and can explain why clinical studies have shown tremendous health benefits through infrared sauna use.

Health Benefits

Some of the health benefits that users can experience with regular infrared sauna use include pain relief, detoxification, increased circulation, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, and cellulite removal. We are aware of no data to support such health benefits from conventional saunas (although many do find them relaxing). We know many health care providers who have infrared saunas in their clinics or who recommend infrared sauna use to their patients.

Infrared saunas increase the body’s core temperature thus resulting in a much deeper, more detoxifying sweat from the cellular level of the skin where many toxins are housed. In sweat content analysis, it has been determined that infrared sauna use produces sweat containing 80% water and 20% toxins while conventional sauna use produces sweat containing 97% water and only 3% toxins.

Conventional hot rock/steam heat saunas heat the air with steam, which can often be unbearably hot and will cause you to only sweat at the surface of the tissue. Steam also makes the air difficult to breathe. An infrared sauna uses soothing dry infrared heat that is well ventilated and extremely comfortable and relaxing.

If you would like to read more about the amazing benefits of an Infrared Sauna please head over to our blog Infrared Sauna Health Benefits to learn more.

For any further information please check out our frequently asked questions or give our friendly team a call on (03) 8578 6544. The team at Your Body Hub are here to help you revitalise and thrive naturally.