Saunas have been used for healing purposes for many decades. There are a few different types of saunas, even though the far infrared sauna is thought to have greater advantages over the others. These far infrared saunas are built of wood just like any other sauna, but the heater is what makes them special than others. This kind of sauna use a radiant heat opposed to a moist heat that utilizes steam. Infrared heaters directly heats the user without heating the room. This allows for the home sauna to use open air instead of an enclosed room because the user is being heated not the environment. This will not dramatically affect on the out come of the experience. Some contend that the far infrared sauna has more to offer the user than that of a Finnish sauna.

Infrared is a form of radiation that is not harmful to humans and has a wavelength above visible light and shorter than radio waves. The sauna heater heats the skin directly without heating the room. These infrared waves are the same kind of radiant waves that the sun emits, but sauna heaters do not emitt harmful ultraviolet rays that you receive from the sun.

The far infrared sauna contains a special heater that was designed specifically for a home sauna. The unit is normally located in an enclosed space in the home sauna. The room is just like any other home sauna and the sauna heater actually emits the infrared waves. This allows the operating temperature to be less than a traditional sauna. The average far infrared sauna temperature is about 130 degrees. This still allows the body to sweat during the cooling off process. This is when the body releases the unwanted toxins that are in the body. The reduced temperatures in the home sauna allows for the user to stay in for a longer time. This forces the user to sweat more helping the body to release more harmful toxins and gives additional time to relax.

Many people derive health benefits from the therapy that the far infrared sauna provides. The heat can help eliminate pain associated with Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. The heat can also help reduce swelling that coincides with these conditions. Saunas can also help with reducing stress, though there are precautions for those who have had strokes that want to partake in a sauna. There is the traditional cold plunge after the use of the sauna this is not a good idea for these people. The abrupt change in temperature can reduce blood pressure to dangerous levels so be cautious when participating in this type the process.