A traditional sauna, or what is known sometimes as a Finnish sauna, or hot rock sauna, relies on pure heat to work. It's hot inside. An infrared sauna, on the other hand, relies on the heating effect of the infrared portion of light, or what is found in the infrared spectrum of the suns rays.

Infrared light heats. You feel that every time you are outdoors in the clouds and suddenly the clouds clear and you feel the warmth of the sun. The temperature hasn't instantly heated up. But the infra red portion of the suns rays has been allowed to reach you as the clouds clear and it heats you up.

That's the principle behind infra red saunas. Infrared light is just a part of the spectrum of sunlight, just as UV rays are part of the suns light spectrum and the visible light that you see broken up in a rainbow. Infrared light in invisible, but it has a heating effect.

There are in fact different parts of the spectrum of infrared too, and it is the far infrared light that heats. Near infrared doesn't.

So infra red saunas, or what are sometimes known also as far infrared saunas or FIR saunas, have a heater that heats by producing infrared light. The effect of that infra red light on the skin heats us up just like the sun, but to a greater degree.

Why would you want to use a far infrared sauna? Well many people find that a traditional sauna is very hot, too hot in fact, and can be quite unpleasant. A FIR sauna, on the other hand, doesn't produce that gasping oversweating sensation, and is much more comfortable. But it still produces all those beneficial effects that you get from going into the sauna.

It is claimed, and many scientific studies have suggested, that there are many health benefits from regular sauna use. These can include weight loss, cardiovascular improvements, improvements in various skin conditions, loss of cellulite in women, reduction in blood pressure and quite a lot more.

An infrared sauna can be quite small, for one or 2 people, and it's even possible to get portable infared saunas so you can take them with you, something you could never do with a traditional sauna.

There's lots of benefits to infrared saunas, so next time you're thinking of having a sauna, or for that matter buying one, consider an infrared sauna. You won't regret it.