Πέμπτη 25 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

“Far” Infrared Saunas. What Does “Far” Mean?

Far infrared versus infrared. What’s the difference?
There seems to be some confusion over the meaning of “infrared” light and “far infrared” light. There are many who search for far infrared saunas, yet most others search for infrared saunas.
Is there any difference between “far” infrared and infrared, or are they the same thing?
You’ll be familiar with infrared rays, even if you don’t yet know what they are. When the sun comes out and you immediately feel warmer that’s the result of heating by infrared light rays from the sun. You might also be familiar with an infrared bathroom heater, switch it on and you immediately feel the heat.
Infrared rays come from the invisible part of the suns light spectrum. Specifically they come from the part of the spectrum that is between visible light and microwaves.
There are a range or wavelengths for infrared light, just as there are for the different visible colors of the spectrum. Infra red can range from “near” infrared to “far” infrared, depending on the wavelength. So yes there are different wavelengths of infrared rays.
“Near” infrared has wavelengths closer to the visible wavelengths, whereas “far” infrared has wavelengths closer to microwaves. I’m sure you know how microwaves heat food, that’s be the use of even shorter wavelengths than far infrared.
Far infrared rays heat us up, however near infrared rays do not. They are used, for example, in TV remote controls and if we point one at ourselves there is no heating effect.
The bottom line then, is that there is infrared light, and an infrared sauna uses the portion of the infrared spectrum that heats, known as “far” infrared, to create the heating effect.
However there is no difference between a farinfrared sauna and an infrared sauna, they both refer to the same thing

Tips For Infrared Sauna Use.

Here’s a few ideas for infrared sauna use, (and regular saunas too.)
There are some things you should do when you take a sauna of any description, including an infrared sauna. Here’s a few tips on sauna use for you. Of course a lot of it is common sense, so use your common sense like you would for anything else.
Saunas are not for everyone. For example those with heart conditions, high blood pressure and the like are advised to consult a doctor before starting a regime of sauna use, both with Finnish saunas and infrared saunas. If you are in any doubt about using a sauna always ask your doctor first. Next time edyou’re visiting see what your doctor says.
And if you’re under the influence of anything, be it drugs, both recreational or medicinal, or alcohol or anything at all that affects your conscious state, then don’t use a sauna, period.
You need to be aware of dehydration. You sweat a lot in a sauna, that’s why you’re there. But sweating dehydrates you unless you pay attention to it. So before you get into your infrared sauna take a drink, either water or mineralized water. It’s not such a good idea at all to drink alcohol in the sauna, so don’t. And remember that the dehydration continues when you come out, so take another drink or 3 afterwards.
And don’t eat a lot before heading into the sauna, keep that for later if you wish.
Don’t wear your contact lenses in the sauna.
You only need light clothing or just a towel for your modesty in the sauna, none if that takes your fancy. Don’t wear a lot. And it’s handy to have a towel to sit on, it gets hot and you’re going to sweat, although you won’t get nearly as hot in a infra red sauna as you will in a traditional sauna. Infrared saunas do not heat the air like rock saunas do.
And once you get out recognise that you’re going to keep sweating for a while. So it’s worth taking it easy for a little while till you cool down and stop sweating. Otherwise you’ll have a shower and need one again in half an hour.
And remember, a sauna is meant to be taken slowly, and enjoyed. Don’t rush it, either before or after. Give yourself plenty of time to enjoy it, after all, you’re there to de-stress, not get stressed out.
And remember, whether you’re taking a rock or Finnish Sauna or an infrared sauna, enjoy it. That’s what you’re doing it for. Even if you’re there for your health it helps to relax and enjoy yourself. Take it easy and you’ll love it. Rush and it won’t work for you.
And in our view you’re much better taking a far infrared sauna than a Finnish sauna. Much more comfortable, and much more enjoyable.

How does an infrared sauna work?

Firstly how does an infrared sauna work?
Infrared light, or far infrared as it can often be called, is a wavelength of light naturally emitted by the sun. But whereas some wavelengths of light are visible, infared, or far infrared, is not. An example of the visible wavelengths from the sun is the light that you see when you see a rainbow. This is the visible wavelengths broken into their individual wavelengths for you to see. But you cannot see infared.
Infrared is thermal radiation, meaning that it carries heat. The most common demonstation of this is one that everyone will recognise. You know how, when the sun comes out from behind the clouds there is an immediate sensation of heat on the skin? This is the warming effect of the infrared radiation from the suns light spectrum.
A radiator or electric heater emits infrared light and therefore thermal radiation and this is what causes the heating effect. Or you may even have an infrared heater in your bathroom right now.
Infra red radiation does not heat the air as some forms of heat do, and penetrates the body extremely well, producing heating effects in the body below the skin.
Use of infrared light as a therapy is not new. For many years the healthcare industry used heatlamps utilising infra red technology, but these lamps were difficult to use and became hot to the touch, and were difficult to keep at a constant temparature. Now it is more common to use ceramic infrared heaters where far infrared heating is required. And ceramic heaters are used in modern infrared saunas.
Strangely, as infrared heaters do not rely on the air being hot to work it is quite possible for one to work outdoors or with the door open, except that the user may well feel cold on the skin.
So what is the difference between this and traditional saunas? Traditional saunas are usually known as Finnish saunas, or rock saunas. These use various types of heaters to produce heat to heat up rocks inside the sauna. Very traditional types can produce heat from the burning of wood.
Rocks are heat stable and so keep the heat inside the suana more stable too. The heat, sometimes up to or even over 200 degrees, causes the body to sweat. The humidity is usually increased by throwing water on the stones to “improve” the sweating effect, and this can be uncomfortable. In a very traditional sauna the skin is even flaggelated with birch twigs to increase the effect.
So the bottom line is that an infrared sauna heats the body by direct application of far infrared light rays, whereas traditional Finnish saunas heat the body with hot air.