What You Need To Know About Saunas Before Getting One

We’ve all spent some time in a sauna at some point in our lives. But consistently visiting the sauna has additional health benefits that you can only experience from routine visits. Visiting the sauna at the gym or a spa is not as convenient as having it installed in your home, but other considerations must be taken into account before you proceed.

Whether it’s an infrared sauna or a traditional one, you will still get many benefits that saunas are so famous for. Since they are not relatively cheap, you need to take your time to figure out the exact type you need for your home to avoid late regrets. Fortunately, we’ve created a guide that should help you know all you need before purchasing a sauna.

Infrared Sauna

Like a traditional sauna, the goal of an infrared sauna is to help you sweat and cleanse your pores, keeping you refreshed. The room you will be sitting in will be lined with wood as well, but the main difference is that the source of heat will be infrared rays, compared to the rock heater in traditional saunas. The infrared heater uses infrared waves that can vibrate the molecules of a material to heat it. One of the most popular benefits of infrared saunas is that the room reaches the desired temperature much quicker than its traditional counterpart. The drawback is a lower maximum temperature as infrared saunas usually don’t exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s important to note that the infrared technology used in these saunas can actually make the body react differently to room temperature. Since the steam in traditional saunas heats the entire room, it is only indirectly heating your body. Infrared waves will penetrate the body and cause it to heat up, which produces sweat while increasing the body’s core temperature. There has been some commotion regarding the safety of these types of saunas. According to this page, the safety of an infrared sauna is dependent on the thorough quality testing done by the manufacturer. The average infrared sauna session is 10 to 15 minutes, but users reported that they could handle more time thanks to the lower temperature average. However, it’s still heavily recommended to stay hydrated.

Traditional Saunas

Known as the Finnish sauna, the traditional sauna is one of the most common sauna forms that are available almost anywhere in the world. It doesn’t stray away at all from the central concept of sitting in a small room with a high temperature. In a traditional sauna, you are in a wooden room that is receiving heat from the inside through a heater filled with rocks. Once the stones are heated enough, you can enjoy the experience of pouring water on them and see steam come out. You can reduce the amount of water or temperature of the rocks to have more control over the room temperature. Compared to infrared saunas, traditional saunas will have you sweating more because you’ll be affected by the humidity as well.

The average temperature of a traditional sauna is between 150 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The users can gradually increase the heat by managing the temperature and humidity of the room. Infrared saunas cannot control humidity and rather focus on the temperature only. It’s easy to mix aromatic essentials in the water to maximize the benefits that you get out of the steam. The only drawback is that a traditional sauna can take up to 45 minutes to reach the desired temperature, so it’s not instant. If you plan on staying in the sauna for longer than 10-15 minutes, make sure you are well-hydrated and take constant breaks.

The Size of the Sauna

When people think about getting a sauna, they can sometimes rush into buying something that can be way bigger or smaller than their needs. Since sauna can be a social activity, you should never ignore the fact that maybe you’d like it to accommodate more than one or two persons. You should always take the limitations of space into your consideration before you purchase a sauna; things like a low ceiling can drive a wrench in your plans. Traditional saunas usually require more space to function well, so you can go for infrared saunas if you need a more customizable size.

Knowing what the most popular types of saunas are popular for should help pick up one. There are many variables that you need to account for before you make the purchase, so make sure that you do enough research to avoid regretting your purchase. Always adhere to the safety tips and recommendations when you are using any type of sauna.