Is an Infrared Sauna Better Than a Traditional Sauna?
Similar to ordinary saunas, infrared saunas have been associated with numerous health advantages in recent times. These benefits include relieving specific medical issues, detoxifying, and relaxing. But, how do infrared saunas compare to conventional ones, and which type should you opt for?
This article compares traditional and infrared saunas to help you understand. Whichever one best meets your demands will also be revealed.
What Is an Infrared Sauna?
Carbon heaters that emit infrared heat waves warm the item used in infrared light therapy or an infrared sauna. In this type of sauna, unlike most, only the building is heated, not the air inside. Because of its heat resistance, natural softwood is used for infrared sauna cabins. Carbon heaters' electromagnetic wave spectrum is carefully chosen to avoid health risks.
Two components of an infrared sauna help to encourage healing. The heat induces the softwood in the building to emit phytoncides, substances found in many plants that fight bacteria and fungi. Your immune system can make more white blood cells that fight cancer when you breathe in these phytoncides. They benefit the human respiratory system as well.
Benefits of Infrared Sauna
There are numerous ways that infrared saunas are beneficial. A few of them can also be used in traditional saunas, even if many of them are just important for infrared saunas. You might be eager to use an infrared portable sauna for these few benefits.
Improved Blood Circulation
Using a sauna helps the heat enlarge your blood vessels, increasing blood flow all around your body. Although sauna sessions elevate blood pressure, regular sauna trips lower it, which is good for your arteries and heart. Increased circulation improves muscle oxygen delivery, exercise ability, and stiffness recovery.
Boosted Metabolism
Your core temperature rises in a sauna, which accelerates your metabolism and heart rate. Some of the many benefits of having a faster metabolism are burning more calories and getting rid of waste faster.
So, not only can you purify your body in the sauna, which, in conjunction with a better lifestyle, can aid in weight loss, but you'll also burn more fat as you rest.
Improved Heating Method
The traditional dry sauna warms the air inside the room, which then warms the body from the outside in, warming the organs slowly but surely. Depending on your tolerance for heat, these saunas could be too much for some. The carbon heaters of an infrared sauna emit warm rays that penetrate deep into the body, warming you up from the inside out.
Because they can reach the organs inside you, they make you sweat more intensely, but they are much cooler than regular saunas. Thus, most people find them more relaxing. Doing so guarantees that your body receives the restorative benefits of healing.
Restored Skin
Sweat baths have been around for a long time, and people still use them now for self-care and beauty. The skin's natural moisture levels are restored and it becomes clean and transparent after a sauna.
Furthermore, sweat increases the amount of oxygen in the dermis and brings nutrition to the skin's surface. This helps cells grow and die, regenerating skin cells and giving them a healthy, glowing look. An increase in collagen production makes skin more flexible and stronger. It also makes skin look better and can reverse the signs of aging.
Served as a Non-Physical Workout
Your body undergoes several amazing changes throughout exercise, and each one of them is vital for your well-being. A faster heart rate, better lymph flow, bigger blood vessels, more lung capacity, and other things can happen just by sitting in an infrared sauna.
Using the sauna lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, much like working out does. Remember that sauna sessions cannot replace other kinds of workouts. The sauna is not the place to develop strength. For optimal results, use it alongside a solid exercise routine.
Improved Central Nervous System
One of the amazing advantages of infrared saunas is the more blood flow and oxygen throughout the body—including the brain. Among these advantages are ones related to neurogenesis and the development of fresh brain cells.
They produce more dopamine and facilitate the body’s adsorption of this natural sedative, dopamine. This temporarily reduces the level of cortisol, the stress hormone influencing your mood and general feeling of well-being.
Infrared saunas relieve symptoms of depression, insomnia, anxiety, and other Central Nervous System disorders. Individuals suffering from these problems can overcome their negative feelings and improve their threshold of resistance against stress by regularly receiving treatment in an infrared sauna.
Recovered Muscle Injury
Oxygen and other vital nutrients reach the muscles faster when there is increased blood flow to them. In addition to reducing inflammation, this promotes faster muscle development and repair. As well as helping the muscles get rid of lactic acid and other cellular waste, better circulation makes this process easier. For this reason, athletes of all levels of expertise often choose the infrared sauna.
Accelerated Detoxification
Pollutants from vehicles, smog, and other sources reach even the healthiest individuals. For city people, daily exposure to quite high levels of pollutants is a fact. This load is made worse by smoking, drinking too much, and eating foods that are high in chemicals, preservatives, and artificial sweets.
Your lifestyle choices expose you to a wide array of toxins, and you frequently don't even realize it. So, it's important to find ways to help your body clear these pollutants. For this type of relaxation, an infrared sauna is an excellent choice.
But sauna time will not undo any damage you purposely inflict upon yourself. Apart from frequent sauna visits, a healthy diet, consistent exercise, and enough sleep will produce the best results.
What Is a Traditional Sauna?
Conventional saunas date back thousands of years, and their heat sources can range from wood-burning fires to hot stones. Temperatures in standard saunas often fall between 150°F and 195°F, with an air humidity level between 20 and 30%. However, the temperatures in infrared saunas often range from 120°F to 150°F.
Those with illnesses that make high temperatures difficult or who are easily bothered by heat may not want to try this.
Benefits of a Traditional Sauna
While infrared saunas do not seem to possess any advantages compared to traditional saunas, there are advantages associated with both kinds of saunas. Regardless of whether the infrared sauna is outside your budget or all you will be looking for in a sauna is just the heat and intensity of a dry sauna, you must suffer through it. It is worth it in terms of health benefits.
The advantages of conventional saunas are as follows.
Detoxification
Detoxification is made easier by the opening of pores brought about by the dry sauna's greater temperatures. Increasing the humidity in a dry sauna helps the body to be more heated, which accelerates other physiological reactions like detoxification.
Elimination of Bacteria and Viruses
Like fevers, saunas induce the body to create more white blood cells by their high temperatures. By protecting the body from dangerous intruders like viruses and bacteria, white blood cells are vital in blood repair. Large white blood cell count in the blood increases one's ability to resist illness.
Being exposed to the high temperatures of a sauna can kill viruses before they can infect you since some viruses have lipid (fat) layers that prevent them from surviving in the absence of these layers.
Fat Burning
As in an infrared sauna, the higher warmth within the booth increases both your heart rate and blood flow. Your respiration rate will quicken more rapidly in the dry sauna, which is hotter than an infrared sauna, giving you the impression of working out even when you are not.
You will thus burn more calories than at your resting metabolic rate, which will help to lose subcutaneous and adipose tissue.
Pain Reduction
In addition to improving mood and raising overall well-being, sauna heat also dilates the peripheral blood vessels. This reduces some pains associated with inflammatory diseases, such as bursitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
A relaxing sauna session is an excellent way to reduce swelling, ease aches and pains, and potentially even get rid of infections.
Relaxation and Positive Mindset
It’s thought that a dry sauna might aid in mental and physical relaxation. People say that after going to the sauna on a regular basis, they feel in a better place emotionally to regulate their feelings. That's because saunas elevate levels of dopamine while lowering cortisol levels.
Visits to saunas will help with the regularity of feelings of sadness, anxiety, and insomnia, and general health and wellness.
Infrared Sauna and Traditional Sauna Comparisons
An infrared sauna offers quite different sensations than a regular sauna. Still, there are several comparable aspects. Here are some important things to think about when comparing the two:
Health Benefits
When it comes to the health benefits they offer, traditional saunas and infrared saunas are very similar. You can reap many health benefits from both of them, such as:
- Enhanced blood flow
- Improved athletic recovery
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Relaxation of sore muscles
- Relief from several crippling disorders including cardiovascular illnesses and rheumatoid arthritis
- Weight loss
Heating
The main way that infrared saunas are different from regular saunas is how they make heat. In conventional saunas, one heater is used to heat both the air and the person using it. A single electric heater, packed with pebbles and functioning like a wood-burning fire, makes this possible. One of these sauna heaters heats a room lined with wood, creating an ideal environment for this sort of sauna.
The process of pouring water over hot rocks produces hot steam, which in turn raises the temperature. The steam heats all the inside of the sauna and increases humidity.
Infrared saunas use a series of heating panels that generate an electromagnetic field. Sometimes infrared saunas are called electronic field saunas and use waves of electromagnetic field, or EMF, that pass through the body to elevate the core body temperature. This is different from regular saunas, which heat the air around the person.
Humidity
Since infrared saunas are dry, there isn't much chance of problems caused by humidity. Contrary, traditional saunas create a lot of dampness. Some people believe that saunas are better for you because they make you sweat more. However, traditional saunas need to be taken care of regularly to stay in good shape. And, if appropriate, their surrounding interior surroundings are mold- and mildew-free.
Installation
A DIY infrared sauna installation is simple and fast. Although you may want a helping hand depending on the model, the technique is often simple and suitable for beginners. Due to the heater's need for specific wiring and hookups, conventional sauna installations tend to be more involved.
Hiring a local sauna installation is your best bet unless you have prior experience constructing saunas. You should also seek someone who can help you to acquire the required licenses.
Maintenance and Cleaning
Typically, saunas do not require a lot of upkeep. Having said that, you should expect to clean them occasionally. Humidity and wetness are especially byproducts of conventional saunas. Under some circumstances, this could cause mildew and mold to develop inside the hardwood.
These problems do not occur with infrared saunas since the only moisture developed in operation results from user respiration. This usually is translated into ease of use and lower maintenance for infrared saunas compared to traditional ones.
If, however, you are into history and want your sauna experience not to differ a bit from those received by previous generations, then a traditional sauna is all you need.
Price
Usually speaking, infrared saunas cost less than their conventional counterparts. A simple infrared personal sauna may run you two thousand dollars or more. A high-end one might also cost more than $10,000, whilst a medium-range one might go between $5,000 and $10,000.
Mid-range saunas cost between $10,000 and $15,000, regular saunas cost between $4,000 and $7,500, and luxury models cost more than $15,000.
Running Costs
It depends on the unit size and how much power is used that traditional and infrared saunas use different amounts of electricity. One good thing is that infrared saunas usually cost less to run than regular saunas because they use less power.
Temperature
Between 140 and 176 °F, or 60 and 80 °C, the air of a typical sauna is heated. As a result, up to 20–40% more steam and humidity are made, which makes people sweat even more. An infrared sauna, on the other hand, is usually warm, between 125 and 155 degrees Fahrenheit (52 to 68 degrees Celsius).
Time to Optimal Temperature
In a regular sauna, it can take up to forty minutes to get to the right temperature for use. As the sauna heats up and while it's running, you need to slowly pour water over the hot rocks to keep the right humidity level. The infrared sauna warms the user in ten to fifteen minutes since it immediately heats her body.
Versatility
Nowadays' saunas aren't as good for use inside or outside. Traditional baths are. If you live in a very hot area, you might want to think about putting your standard sauna outside. This way, when you use it, it can heat your home.
Conversely, infrared saunas could not function optimally in cold weather. This is why infrared saunas cause a large amount of insulation.
Which Type of Sauna is Best for You?
As you decide between an infrared sauna and a normal sauna, think about what you like, what you need, and what you want. A traditional sauna is the most authentic way to enjoy a sauna because it has all the high heat and humidity. If you don't like being in very hot places, an infrared sauna might be better for you.
Additionally, it takes a lot more time for a conventional sauna to heat up. Should this disturb you, an infrared sauna could be an excellent solution. There is no reservation; you can unwind in the sauna whenever you so want. Your utility bills will drop too.
Lastly, infrared is the best option if you want something that even a novice can do. Infrared saunas often have no wiring and can be easily set up by a couple of persons. A normal sauna, on the other hand, is very hard to put together and generally needs to be wired and hooked up by a professional.
Choose the Right Sauna for You
Both traditional and infrared saunas have many health and wellness benefits. For example, these two saunas can help the blood flow and lower worry and anxiety. But a sauna's real benefits depend on how useful it is, how comfortable it is, and what you like.
No matter if you use an infrared sauna or a normal sauna, going to the sauna regularly can be good for your body and mind in many ways. Buy a portable infrared sauna today and have a relaxing experience anytime and anywhere you want.