Simply put, the infrared sauna warms you from the inside out (on a cellular level), and the traditional sauna (our complimentary community sauna) warms you form the outside in. While the heat of a traditional sauna is an external heat that’s felt mostly in the skin, lungs and in increased circulation, the experience of infrared sauna feels many report as feeling a deeper sensation of heat with infrared.
Temperature:
Imagine a cool, crisp day, the air surrounding you is cool, but the sun (much like spectrum of infrared) warms your body and penetrates. Infrared warms us without warming the air around us to a harsh degree. Because of this, the temperatures in an infrared sauna are typically set between 100-150 degrees. It still feels hot upon entering the sauna, but the sensation of heat increases significantly as the light warms you on a cellular level.
A traditional sauna, like our community sauna at Root, is generally set at a higher temperature – around 170-220, because the benefit of the community sauna is simply the high external temperature, which encourages the body to sweat, thereby promoting mild detoxification and relaxation.
How Infrared Saunas Work Differently:
The benefits of infrared sauna include detoxification at a deep cellular level, pain relief, improved metabolism and circulation, lymphatic movement, weight-loss, tissue regeneration, and much more.
Infrared is part of the natural spectrum of light and is classified into three categories: Far, Mid, and Near. Each level offers different health benefits. The infrared sauna at Root Northwest has simple settings, so you can easily choose the treatment you prefer: detoxification, relaxation, anti-aging, weight-loss, or pain relief.
Therapeutic Value:
The infrared frequency emitted is similar to that of the sun and is absorbed by the tissue in the human body. This process is called “resonant absorption,” and it occurs when the frequency of the water in the body cells match the frequency of the infrared waves. This process stimulates the release of toxins into the blood stream, which are then excreted from the body via sweating. This is a vastly different form of detoxification than simply being in heat and sweating, as the cells are literally being stimulated to excrete toxins.
Adding infrared sauna to your wellness regime can complement other modalities in an amazing way.