6 Health Benefits Of Infrared Saunas

Saunas and steam baths are beneficial to our health in many ways. From promoting the skin the health of your skin to supporting weight loss, pain relief, and helping you relax to relieve stress, taking regular sauna sessions can have many benefits to your physical, mental, and emotional health. But unlike conventional saunas, infrared saunas operate in a slightly different manner and tend to provide benefits that are more pronounced. So what exactly are infrared saunas and what are some of their benefits to your health?

What are infrared saunas?

An infrared sauna, as you can tell from the name is a sauna that uses electromagnetic waves known as infrared to heat your body directly instead of heating the air around you as a conventional sauna would. In other words, the heat warms up your body first before it heats up the air. As you will notice from MBISR's ultimate guide, they are also available in many forms, sizes, and designs depending on the manufacturer. But despite the fact that the benefits of infrared saunas are somewhat similar to those provided by the regular type, the infrared type is superior in two major ways. These are:

• The heat is more forgiving to your body - One of the advantages infrared saunas have over the conventional types is that the heat is more forgiving to your body, which also means that you can even stay in the sauna for longer without worrying about extreme heat.

• Deeper heat penetration - It is estimated that about 80% of heat from an infrared sauna goes to heating up your body while the rest 20% heats up the air. This heat also penetrates deeper into your skin, thereby creating a more beneficial effect in your body.

With this in mind, let’s look at the 6 major benefits of infrared saunas.

Assists in Weight Loss

The heat from the sauna has been found effective in helping with fat-burning. It is one of the reasons why you sweat when in a sauna session. The many other benefits such as unclogging the pores, promoting your mental health, promoting your sleep quality also aid in enhancing weight loss.

Promotes Skin Health

The skin is the largest and one of the body’s most important organs. Besides playing a role as the first defense of the body against disease, the skin is responsible for excretion, sensation, temperature regulation, and much more. When it gets heated up in the sauna, circulation is improved, the pores get unclogged and the skin gets rid of toxins from your body. As a result, your skin becomes softer, clearer, and healthier-looking.

Enhances Detox

Excretion through sweating is one of the ways the body gets rid of toxins and potentially harmful substances. An infrared sauna session will get you sweating and you will probably feel a little thirsty from the water you’ve lost, just like the case in working out.

Provides Pain Relief

Studies have found the heat produced from saunas to be effective in easing both short-term and chronic pain. As a matter of fact, infrared sauna therapy has been used successfully to relieve pain in patients with conditions such as arthritis, backaches, and joint pain. It mainly does so by promoting blood circulation and reducing inflammation.

It Relaxes Your Mind and Body

Regular sauna visits can help provide stress relief and promote your mental health. Infrared sauna therapy, for instance, has been found to be effective in providing a balance in the body’s level of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. Additionally, the heat from the sauna is also known to relieve muscle tension and promote relaxation in body tissues.

Boosts the Immune System

In addition to boosting the health of your skin (which is part of immunity), infrared saunas promote circulation, reduce stress (which is an enemy of the immune system), promotes sleep, and enhances detox. By doing all this, the sauna simply enhances your body’s defense mechanisms against disease.

The above are only a few of the many health benefits you can get by regularly taking infrared sauna sessions. They also happen to be more economical in terms of electricity consumption, which makes them friends of the environment. You now have every reason to find one in your local area as soon as you can.