Any sauna is better than no sauna. A sauna brings relaxation and many health benefits. It can clean and refresh the body, skin & mind.
It is often debated which one is better- a steam sauna or an infrared sauna?
Steam saunas are designed with wood and utilize heated stones from a fireplace. When water is poured over them this causes steam to be produced. This heats the room warming the user from the outside in.
An infrared sauna is a room with infrared waves that heat the body from within. The rays penetrate deep into the skin and heat the body. Thus the user directly gets heated within and while keeping the outside environment moderately warm (not as warm as steam rooms).
Health Benefits:
There are many shared benefits of both types of saunas.
But if you are wondering, which one is better than the other; that is a matter of personal choice. There is no concrete evidence that infrared sauna is better than steam sauna or otherwise. Each have their uses and each person can use them based on their requirements.
Let’s learn about few of their shared benefits.
Both steam and infrared sauna provide thorough detoxification of the body by sweating , improved circulation by increasing heart rate, boost in immunity, clearer skin, lower blood pressure, better sleep, better metabolism, relief from muscle strain or joint pain, relief from minor illnesses such as flu or cold, better respiration and so on.
But they are still quite different:
- Steam vs Heat
In a steam sauna, you are sitting in a room with a lot of steam coming out from water poured on piping hot rocks. An infrared sauna uses electricity and infrared waves to heat up the area.
- Temperature
Steam saunas are much hotter than infrared saunas. This is because of the heating mechanism used by steam sauna as well as the steam. The length of time spent in steam rooms is less than infrared due to this reason. You can take cooling off periods while in a steam sauna to keep the heart rate from increasing too much or feeling uncomfortable.
- Humidity
The air in steam saunas is quite moist making it much more humid than infrared rooms. Infrared baths emit dry heat which makes the humidity content extremely low. This makes it much easier to endure infrared rooms than sauna rooms without the need to take a break.
- Overall experience
Steam saunas can usually be used by a lot of people. They are installed in the gyms and are available for use by a larger number of people on a daily basis. However, infrared saunas are accommodated by fewer people than steam saunas, making it more relaxing for those who prefer solidarity.
- Time spent
You can spend much more time in infrared saunas than steam saunas. You can spend up to 40 minutes per session in infrared rooms as opposed to 15-20 minutes in steam rooms. The high humidity levels makes the heat in steam rooms intolerable for extended periods of time. This means you sweat more in infrared saunas because you can spend more time inside the bath. Additionally, there is a temperature control available to the users in the infrared sauna. This makes your experience smooth without the need to stop.
Since traditional saunas have been in use for a long time, some sauna users stick to them. These originated in Finland and are getting widely popular in the US as well. There has also been a fast growing demand of infrared saunas because of deeper penetration into the skin and proved results in reducing weight and cellulite.
It is safe to say it totally depends on you, what you choose. Many sauna users swear by the amazing properties of sauna.
Bonus tip:
You can enhance these benefits with a body scrub or dry brushing equipment made to exfoliate your body to get rid of dead skin. Apply the scrub gently all over your body and then wash it with water in cold shower later. It will leave your skin smooth, radiant and healthy.
Generally, saunas are safe. Still you must take these precautions. Before you go inside a sauna, make sure that you don’t have any existing condition that will make the use of sauna dangerous – consult your doctor about this. While inside the sauna, make sure that you are well hydrated. You should also regularly monitor your body’s temperature to ensure that it will not overheat.
Whatever the case maybe, you will feel relaxed and rejuvenated afterwards.
So start sweating!