The Heart Of Your Sauna The Sauna Heater

The sauna heater, it's the life and blood of any sauna if you intend on enjoying it for it's heat rather then just a nice quiet place to sit and think. Sauna heaters have come a long way from the days back in Finland when they built a fire in a cave and enjoyed the heat it gave off in the enclosure. While you can still get wood burning sauna heaters, most health clubs and home sauna owners opt for something a little cleaner, and more up to date.

It was in the 1950's that the electric sauna heater first came to market. It was with this sauna heater that the sauna began to catch on around the globe in health spas, and homes. It heated up reasonably quickly compared to a wood fired heater, and rid the awful smoke that was also associated with wood burning. By using an electric heater sauna users were able to enjoy both a wet or dry sauna experience.

Along with electric came propane and gas fired sauna heaters, functioning in much the same way except deriving their heat from a gas burner rather then an electric element. They produced fast heat, but were a little more expensive to use. Not to mention the sauna required special plumbing to handle the gas lines, and people weren't especially keen on having a gas line inside their home.

Then came todays best solution an infrared, also known as a FIR infrared sauna heater. By far it was the furthest technological advance that occurred with the heaters that had come before it, and offered the safest and most efficient to be used in a home sauna.

The biggest advantage an infrared sauna heater offered was it heated the individual in the sauna but not the heat around it. The waves the heater emitted (while similar to a microwave, but not dangerous) it heated the tissue, and below the tissue surface, but left the rest of the air in the sauna reasonably cool. This meant less electricity, and as we soon came to discover more medicinal properties.

By heating below the skin level the infrared heater helped to increase blood circulation, detox the body of toxins, and reduce fatigue and aches/pains. Said to also penetrate the organs, and deep tissues it offers healthy side effects to any one suffering from poor circulation, and multiple other medical conditions.

While this is more of a natural medical technique, before using an infrared sauna you should consult with your doctor, to ensure you will not experience any ill side effects. For most people a sauna provides a relaxing environment, but it's always safe to fend on the side of caution.