How Infrared Saunas Work

Infrared Sauna vs. Traditional

In traditional saunas, the air within the sauna is heated to 200 + degrees and that heated air heats the body, but stops at the skin level.  Infrared works as a penetrating wavelength, not losing its energy in the air and having the ability to penetrate the body’s soft tissue. This allows for infrared saunas to offer a much more relaxing temperature and a far gentler air to breathe than a traditional hot sauna. Our Clearlight infrared saunas are full spectrum, meaning they produce near, mid and far infrared wavelengths. Each of these types of wavelengths have unique characteristics and present different healing capabilities within the body.

Types of Infrared

Near is the shortest wavelength, which cannot be captured by water in our body therefore penetrates the deepest.  Near infrared is the most effective for wound healing and deep cellular repair.

Both mid and far infrared are captured by water molecules and with the heating of our body, vasodilation occurs.  With vasodilation, blood vessels open up and blood pressure goes down, causing the body’s sensors to tell the heart to pump more blood.  This lowered blood pressure, increased heart rate and muscle relaxation is referred to as passive aerobic exercise.

Vasodilation also causes the body to automatically adjust from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state. Sympathetic is a stressed, fight or flight state in which most of us unknowingly live in daily. Parasympathetic is a rest, digest, and heal state. The human body will not put proper energy into healing and cannot work optimally in a sympathetic, stressed state. When you’re ill or living in a stressed state, the body’s set point between sympathetic and parasympathetic gets skewed. Using the sauna regularly can reset this set point in the body’s autonomic nervous system (involuntary body functions – heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, digestion) which allows the body to effectively restore it’s natural processes. This being the case, both mid and far infrared saunas are well known for stress reduction, improving circulation, heart health, burning calories and boosting overall metabolism.

Far infrared is the closest of the wavelengths to the heat given off by our own body. The human body puts off infrared at 9.4 microns and a large percentage of infrared sauna heat is produced at this same level so that it is familiar and natural to the body. This matched wavelength creates a resonant frequency, which causes the water molecules in our cells to vibrate which causes toxins to be released. A traditional sauna or work induced perspiration cannot produce a resonant frequency therefore, detoxification occurs at a much higher rate (up to 7x) in an infrared sauna.  Far infrared offers our body numerous healing abilities but may be best known for its profound detoxification benefits.

Infrared sauna technology allows us countless healing benefits that cannot be reproduced at the same level in any other setting, which is why we call it “the smart type of sweat.” Visit us anytime to learn more about how infrared saunas work and how they can improve your health and well-being.