What is Infrared Sauna Therapy

Copyright (c) 2008 Konstantin Koss

There is no need to ask as I am sure you are one of the millions of people who are stressed every day from work. You may even be a little bit overweight because all your waking hours are spent sitting in the office and laboring with household chores when you get home so there is really no time to go the gym for a workout or go out and do sports.

What if I tell you that there is an easy but sure way to burn those excess fats and rejuvenate your whole body? Would you be willing to try it?

Here is the good news... Have you ever heard of the Infrared Sauna Therapy? No, it's not like the traditional sauna therapy that uses different types of heaters, warming stones and the air in a room.

The infrared sauna therapy uses heaters of either the carbon heaters that directly heat the body through infrared waves or the steel incoloy rods or ceramic heaters. These types of heaters produce heat from between 43 to 54 degrees in Celsius or between 120 and 140 degrees in Fahrenheit, emitting infrared rays directly to the body. The infrared rays are like the heat of our sun but without the harmful ultraviolet rays. The infrared heat, which produces invisible band of light, warms the body and makes it sweat profusely without hurting the skin.

Infrared sauna therapy has a lot of health benefits to offer. The first and foremost benefit is that it helps relax and calm the body and the mind, distressing you from all your cares and worries at home or in the office. So you feel light and relaxed. The second benefit is detoxification of your body. The body absorbs a lot of toxins each and every day, with all the smoke, dust and the unhealthy food people eat. Since we can't avoid these pollutants getting into our bodies, we need to detoxify it by cleansing it. And this is where infrared sauna therapy can help.

Infrared sauna therapy is one of the most effective and safest ways of eliminating toxins in our body like chronic infections and toxic metals. The infrared heat is absorbed by the body causing it to perspire and expel the toxins out from the skin. Since the body absorbs 93% of the heat, it increases the body temperature by up to three degrees. The body temporarily goes into a fever-like state, activating its immune system, which defends the body against diseases and illness. This process helps the body to speed up the healing procedure of small ailment in the body.

Another benefit of the infrared sauna therapy is its cardiovascular workout property, which helps the body lose weight and get rid of ugly cellulites. Regular infrared sauna therapy rids your body of excessive salt, moisture and subcutaneous fat. This is achieved by the infrared rays' deep penetration into the body, creating a deep heating effect in the internal organs and muscular tissues.

As a reaction, the body increases the heart rate and volume through a hypothalamic-induced response. This process provides the necessary cardiovascular conditioning while the body tries to cool itself. The best thing about it is that people with physical disabilities, who are stuck in their wheelchairs and can't do exercise, can now also get the cardiovascular workout they need. Since they cannot run nor do physically vigorous activities, infrared therapy would do them good because they also need exercise for their hearts.

The weight loss is achieved by making the fat water-soluble when the temperature reaches 100 degrees in Fahrenheit. The infrared heat dissolves the fat, which in turn enters the bloodstream and ready to be expelled from the body through sweat. One sauna session for around 20 to 40 minutes can burn as much as 200 to 500 calories.

For people undergoing physical or massage therapy, Infrared sauna therapy helps as a pre-warm up, calming and readying the body for the actual sessions of the physical or massage therapy. Moreover, it also helps people suffering with severe cough by loosening the lungs' secretions and stimulates it to discharge and expectorate the mucus out to the throat. The infrared heat helps dissolve the thick mucus that is filling the lungs, making breathing much easier.