Using a comfortable warm infrared sauna to support health and well-being has become a popular alternative to traditional super hot saunas. These units heat up your body and produce the same effects without excessive levels of heat.
Unlike a regular steam sauna, infrared saunas deliver about 80 percent of the generated heat right to your body, and the gentle penetrating heat triggers your sweat glands at a much lower temperature than traditional saunas. If you are planning to use a sauna created with infrared technology for the first time, knowing how to prepare will ensure you have the most rewarding experience.
1. Get your body hydrated.
Hydration is vital to have a good sauna experience. It is recommended to drink a glass of water before your session, but you may also want water to drink while in the sauna as well. Further, hydrating after your session is going to replenish hydration lost through the body’s natural sweating process.
2. Skip the alcohol the day before infrared sauna sessions.
Alcohol interferes with the natural bodily process of maintaining water levels. In fact, alcohol can actually force more water from your body than what is normal, which can rapidly lead to dehydration. Because you do need to be well-hydrated before your infrared sauna session, make sure you skip alcohol the day before and the day of your sauna session.
3. Make sure you wipe off the sweat with a dry towel.
If you wipe off your skin as soon as sweating begins, you encourage more sweat to emerge. This helps the sweat grow more profuse over time, say 20-30 minutes.The more you sweat, the better you feel. That’s the point of the infrared sauna.
4. Time your sauna sessions around what your body needs.
People enjoy their time spent in an infrared-powered sauna for a lot of reasons. Relaxation, relieving sore muscles, getting energized for the day, eliminating toxins—whatever your purpose may be for sauna use should determine when you do your session. For example, if you have problems falling asleep at night, you could try a sauna session an hour before bed to get your body more relaxed. If you simply want a session to fight the winter blues through the day, a morning sauna session may work best for you.
5. What should I wear? NOTHING!
Ceramic infrared heating elements are all natural, and so should you be. Exposing maximum skin allows the infrared heat to penetrate your skin, trigger your sweat glands after 15-20 minutes and do the job you want it to do. If your sauna location is not private enough to allow for a nude session, then wear swimwear that exposes as much skin as possible to the infrared heat. If you do choose to wear clothing in your sauna, opt for lightweight clothing with natural fibers like cotton that still leave substantial amounts of your body exposed to the infrared heat.
Find the Right Infrared Sauna for Your Home
When used properly, a naturally made infrared sauna can deliver a long list of potential benefits. Even better, residential saunas are now more accessible and easy to implement. If you are interested in learning more about implementing a sauna in your home, reach out to us at SaunaRay for more information.