Is The Infrared Sauna Safe For Me?

What exactly is radiant heat? No need to worry -- it has nothing to do with either

ultraviolet radiation (which gives you a sunburn and damages your skin) or atomic radiation

(the kind from a nuclear bomb).

Radiant heat is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process

called conversion, without having to heat the air in between. Radiant heat is also called

infrared energy (IR). The infrared segment of the electromagnetic spectrum is divided into

3 segments by wavelength, measured in microns or micrometers (a micron= 1/1,000,000 of a

meter): 0.076-1.5 microns = near or close; 1.5-5.6 = middle or intermediate; 5.6-1000 = far

or long wave infrared. The infrared segment of the electromagnetic spectrum occurs just

below or “infra” to red light as the next lowest energy band of light. This band of light

is not visible to human eyes but can be seen by special cameras that translate infrared

into colors visible to our eyes. We can, however, feel this type of light, which we

perceive as heat. Our sun produces most of its energy output in the infrared segment of the

spectrum. Our atmosphere has a “window” in it that allows IR rays in the 7-14 micron range

to safely reach the earth’s surface. When warmed, the earth radiates infrared rays in the

7-14 micron band with its peak output at 10 microns.

According to Dr. Tsu-Tsair Oliver Chi in his summation on the mechanism of action of

infrared devices tuned to the human body, these rays are selectively absorbed by the

tissues needing a boost in their output. The internal production of infrared energy that

normally occurs within our tissues is associated with a variety of healing responses and

may require a boost to a maximal level to insure the fullest healing response possible in a

tissue under repair. After boosting a tissue’s level to maximum, the remaining rays pass

onward harmlessly. This phenomenon is called “resonant absorption.”

The sun is the principal source of radiant energy that we experience daily. Have you ever

been outside on a partly cloudy spring day of about 50° and felt quite comfortable when

suddenly the sun was obscured by a cloud? Although the air temperature had not had time to

drop, you felt chilled, as the cloud would not let the warming infrared rays through to

reach you. The infrared heat in this health system is just like the heat from our sun or

that which our own bodies produce as they burn fuel to keep us warm.

Our Bodies radiate infrared energy out through the skin at 3-50 microns, with most of their

output at 9.4 microns. Our palms emit infrared energy at between 8-14 microns. Palm

healing, which has a 3,000 year-old tradition in China, has been based on the healing

properties of these natural infrared rays. The Yogis of India also use such palm healing

and recommend it especially for relieving eyestrain. Sauna use has been popularized by the

Finns whose old religion used it as a ceremony for mental, spiritual and physical

cleansing. This religion came with the Finns when they migrated from an area northwest of

present day Tibet, between 5,000-3,000 years B.C. to their present location in Finland.

Dr. Tadashi Ishikawa received the patent on the zirconia ceramic infrared heaters used in

these thermal systems in 1965, after five years with Fuji Medicals R. & D. Department. The

thermal systems based on these heaters were used exclusively by medical practitioners in

Japan until 1979 when they were released for public use. The idea has now been further

refined into the Infrared Thermal System that has been sold in the United States since

1981. Panels that produce similar infrared rays are used in hospitals to warm newborn

babies.

The heaters in the Infrared Sauna emit about one-third of their output in the middle

infrared band, from 2-5.6 microns, for super-deep penetration and the other two-thirds in

the long band, from 5.6-25 microns with that part of the output evenly spread around the

9.4 micron pivot point of peak human output. This distribution maximizes the higher

penetration of the middle-band waves and combines them with the long waves that produce a

resonant absorption amplification of healthy tissue output. The Chinese researchers

consider the band from 2-25 microns as the most therapeutic.

The source of infrared heat is actually sand, warmed by an

electrical resistance coil embedded within it. This is the same luxurious radiant heat we

all enjoy while vacationing at the beach. The sand and coil are contained in a long, thin

ceramic tube also tuned to our bodies.

This zirconia ceramic emitting tube is shielded by a metallic grill that is covered by a

soft coating of suede-tex, and is safe to touch while it is operating.

Recent books such as Cross Currents, by Robert O. Becker, M.D., have detailed the hazards

of exposure to certain kinds of electromagnetic fields such as those encountered under high

tension power lines or while working at computer display terminals. Japanese researchers

have reported that infrared radiant heat antidotes the negative effects of such toxic

electromagnetic sources. The Infrared Sauna have been tested and found to be free of

such so-called “toxic” electromagnetic fields. The Swedish National Institute of Radiation

Protection has concluded that the heaters in the Infrared Saunas are not dangerous.

ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND AVAILABLE

Why Is This Infrared  sauna Unique?

It uses infrared radiant energy to directly penetrate the body’s tissues to a depth of over

1 ½ ”. Its energy output is tuned to correspond so closely to the body’s own radiant energy

that our bodies absorb close to 93% of the infrared waves that reach our skin.

A conventional sauna must rely only on indirect means of heat: First, on convection (air

currents) and then, conduction (direct contact of hot air with the skin) to produce it’s

healing effects on us. In an Infrared Sauna, less than 20% of the infrared energy heats

the air, leaving over 80% available to be directly converted to heat within our bodies.

Thus an IR based system can warm its user(s) to a much greater depth and much more

efficiently than a conventional sauna as it’s energy output is primarily used to convert

energy directly to heat in us and not to create excessively hot air that then only heats

the skin superficially. This crucial difference explains many of the unprecedented benefits

reported to be available through an Infrared Sauna that are not attainable through

the use of a conventional sauna.

The infrared energy applied in these thermal systems may induce up to 2-3 times the sweat

volume of a hot-air sauna while operating at a significantly cooler air temperature range

of 110° to 130° F. vs. 180 to 235° F. for hot-air saunas. The lower heat range is safer for

those concerned about cardiovascular risk factors that might be adversely affected by the

higher temperatures encountered in old style hot-air saunas. German researchers report

beneficial effects from hour long whole-body infrared exposure in two groups of

hypertensive patients that they studied in 1989 including a 24-hour long increase in

peripheral blood flow and decreases in high blood pressure.
It is distinctly more pleasant to breath air that is from 50°-125° F. cooler while

saunaing. Due to its “user-friendly” nature, people naturally prefer to use the Infrared

Sauna and will continue to do so on a regular basis due to the ease of breathing

much cooler air while feeling as warm as they choose, and to a distinctive feeling of well

-being reported by users as an after effect. These Saunas may even be used with

the door fully open if the only effect desired is infrared penetration or if a very cool

no-sweat experience is desired as in a pre-activity warm-up while fully clothed. This

approach might be used in warming up prior to stretching, working out, running or exposure

to cold weather.

These Infrared Sauna systems are easier as well as more comfortable to use than old-fashioned hot-air

saunas. Hot-air saunas require extensive warm-up periods of 30-90 minutes, making them much

less practical than the modern Infrared Saunas, which warm up in only 5-10 minutes

from room temperature. Consistent and convenient at-home use is thus, again, much more

likely with an Infrared Sauna.

Significantly lower operating costs make the Infrared Sauna more desirable than a

regular sauna. A 20-minute session, including a 10-minute warm-up in the Infrared Sauna,

costs about 5 cents of electricity. A comparable session with a full warm-up in a

conventional sauna costs about $.75 - $1.00. Daily usage of the Infrared Sauna

will raise your electrical bill by only $1.50 a month compared to $22.50 to $30.00 a month

in a conventional sauna, if each is used for 20 minutes after warm-up.

These Infrared Sauna bring you the same infrared rays experienced in the

traditional American Indian sweat lodge, but in a much more convenient and easily used

form, in the privacy of your own home, or office. The cleansing and purifying benefits

attributed to the traditional sweat lodges are now available for daily purification without

the time-consuming and extremely labor-intensive set-up process that a sweat lodge

requires.