While it might seem silly to strip naked in your living room or bedroom, climb into a gleaming dome of what looks like sleeping bag material, and sweat bullets until your favorite podcast is over, trust me, IT’S WORTH IT.
You’ve probably heard that sitting in a sauna is a great way to detoxify, right? But did you know that you can burn up to 600 calories in one 40 minute session by doing absolutely nothing but sitting down?
Today, I’m breaking down the benefits of infrared saunas, three different models for different budgets, and why you might want to consider purchasing one for your own home!
Where To Begin?
First, let’s rewind so that I can explain how saunas entered the picture in my own life. When I first started having auto-immune issues, I really had no idea where to even begin. After many years of figuring out food sensitivities, getting rid of environmental toxins, removing mercury fillings, getting acupuncture and energy healing, there were really only a few things left for me to do to improve my health.
Why Choose A Sauna For Detox?
One of those things, it turned out, was using a sauna to eliminate toxins. From my research, I found out that infrared saunas eliminate roughly SEVEN TIMES more toxins than traditional saunas. As soon as I heard that, I was like “SIGN. ME UP.” That was the beginning of my deep dive into researching saunas and why I’m bringing you this breakdown today!
Types of Infrared Saunas
There are a few different types of infrared saunas, but before you get overwhelmed, just know that the differences are actually quite simple. Each of the three types
In addition to providing pain relief and aiding in weight loss, near-infrared saunas are reportedly better for things like increasing immune function and wound-healing. Middle-infrared saunas seem to be best for improving circulation, while far-infrared saunas seem to be better for relaxation, weight-loss, and detoxification.
By heating the body, rather than the air around it, far-infrared saunas are able to raise the core temperature of the body which is why, for detoxification, this seems to be the best option.
Benefits Of Infrared Saunas
With benefits like weight loss, heavy metal detox, relaxation, improved circulation, and clearer skin, I couldn’t have been more excited to try my first infrared sauna session. I’m not gonna lie, burning up to 600 calories in one 40-minute session sounded pretty appealing to me too. I quickly made an appointment at the nearest place that I could find and dove right in with a 20-minute session.
Like A Day At The Beach
It was hot, as expected, but a different kind of heat than I was anticipating. Instead of the heat coming from the outside of my body, it almost felt like it was warming me up from the inside. Such a weird
The Best Sleep Ever
I was reminded again of the beach that night, as I climbed into bed with blissful exhaustion. The same type of exhaustion that I’ve only ever experienced after a few too many hours in the sun. It was heavenly. I then preceded to have one of the best nights of sleep that I’ve ever had in my life and immediately began researching my options for an at-home infrared system.
EMF Radiation
The main thing that I was disturbed to find out during my research is that many infrared systems emit crazy levels of EMF radiation. Now, the entire point, for me (besides an amazing night’s sleep) was to detoxify my body. So, filling it with more radiation was definitely not what I had in mind.
So, Which Infrared Sauna Is Right For You?
With a little bit of research, I was able to find a few great options and finally settled on the best one for my budget. I know that we all have different budgets in mind, so I am going to share the top 3 options that I found, each in a different price range.
Option One – The Best Model For At-Home Use
The first sauna is, in my opinion, the best option for an at-home infrared sauna. It also happens to be the most expensive option. If you don’t have the finances or the space required to install a permanent sauna in your home, this one seems to be the next best thing. With a low EMF rating and virtually all 5-star ratings on Amazon, this portable sauna heats up quickly, is reliable (my acupuncturist has had hers for years) and definitely seems to get the job done.
For me, at around $1,200, it was, unfortunately, way out of my budget. But, if at some point in the future I want to upgrade, this is definitely the one that I will choose. I have used this model several times at my acupuncturist’s office and I can verify that, in my experience, it’s a great value for the price.
Option Two – The Best Value For The Price
The next model is actually the one that I ended up choosing. It has the lowest price that I could find with a
When you are sweating bullets for roughly half an hour at a time, a few times per week, having a removable piece of fabric that goes around your neck becomes incredibly luxurious. I love being able to zip it off, throw it in the washing machine and use the backup neck collar throughout the week.
Having two collars and being able to switch them out when another person in the house wants to use the sauna is also incredibly convenient. So far, my husband hasn’t ventured into the sauna, but if he did, I would appreciate the fact that we would both have dedicated collars to use each time.
For me, this was definitely the best option for the price. While it was still a little bit more than I wanted to spend, this has proven to be the best value for the price, by far, as compared to any of the other models that I found during my research. That being said, I do understand that this one may still be way over someones initial budget for an infrared sauna.
Option Three – The Most Affordable Option
The third option is the most affordable option that I could find, and with the best ratings. However, the reason that I didn’t go with this unit was that it does not have verifiably low EMF ratings. For me, as someone who has already done a lot of detoxing, having low EMF’s was super important to me.
If, however, you are just starting the detox process, don’t have a lot of money to invest up-front, or just want to make sure you even like using a sauna, I could see how this would be a good option.
During my research, I didn’t find any reviews that mentioned this one sparking or catching fire. Yes, I did, in fact, see that in reviews for some other models. So, if you are looking for a sauna with an affordable price tag, this seems to be a great option.
The Benefits That I’ve Experienced
I was very skeptical about the effect that an infrared sauna would have on my health until I actually experienced it for myself. Now, I can’t seem to get enough.
Experts Recommend Starting Slowly
Most experts recommend starting slowly if you are new to infrared saunas, with a session between 5-10 minutes. I started with about 20 minutes at 130º during my first session and have gradually worked my way up to 30-minute sessions at 150º. Of course, e
Skin Clarity, Sleep Improvement, And Muscle Relaxation
The benefits of infrared saunas have been pretty clear to me throughout this process. I have noticed an improvement in my skin clarity, which has been extremely exciting. The amount that it has improved my sleep is unparalleled. If you suffer from insomnia, I would highly recommend that you try an infrared sauna. There are so many spas that have them now, it’s easy to try one out just to see if you like it enough to buy one.
Let Me Know If You Try It
It’s truly been a luxury to have an infrared sauna in the house and I’m so happy I found one that works well for me. I hope that if you end up trying one, you experience just as many benefits! If you do try an infrared sauna, please let me know! I would love to hear about your experience!
share the love