What type of sauna should you use – steam or dry heat? This seems to be the biggest question in the debate and it does not seem as if this debate will ever have a complete and definitive answer. Much of it will depend on a person’s own particular preferences.
Many people adhere to the traditional steam sauna and it’s benefits. They say that it feels much more healthy and invigorating, plus, since you have more control over the amount of heat, steam and humidity, you can adjust everything to accommodate what you need and want from your sauna experience. They feel that it is much conducive to healing, especially any sinus or respiratory conditions, because it induces your body to sweat more and thus removes more toxins from your body than the alternative dry heat known as a far infrared sauna.
Additionally, you can add aromatherapy oils to the steam to create even more of a healing and relaxation experience. You can’t do that with a dry heat sauna.
Most Traditional steam saunas used in the United States operate at temperatures that range from one hundred and eighty to one hundred and ninety degrees Fahrenheit. Aside from the additional plumbing you’ll need to install for your steam sauna, it also can take up to an hour to sufficiently warm up before you can use it, so the operating costs are much higher for this type of sauna. For some, the high heat produced is very comfortable to sit and relax in; for others, this can prove to be not only uncomfortable, but actually very dangerous, especially if they have any type of cardiac issues.
The benefit to using a far infrared sauna is that it, too, removes toxins from our bodies; some say it does so at an even higher level than a steam sauna can. The far infrared sauna uses frequency waves to induce a resonant absorption process in our bodies. This process is activated right down at the cellular level, so it initiates a much quicker and more direct release of toxins from within our systems than a steam sauna can.
Another plus to the far infrared sauna is that the old-fashioned steam saunas produce such heavy air from both the steam-induced humidity and the inefficient gas and wood-burning heat sources that it can be difficult to breathe. Also, the resultant evaporation can severely dry out the mucous membranes in the nose and eyes, but this could be a moot point in that some say that due to it’s dry heat, the infrared sauna has the same irritating effect.
Another drawback is that the extremely high temperatures of a steam sauna tend to overheat the wood benches and any metal surfaces within the sauna, increasing one’s chance of getting burned. This does not happen with the dry heat sauna.
The infrared sauna loses into the air under twenty percent of the heat it generates. The other eighty percent is absorbed directly by your body, so this beneficial dry heat sauna has a much more cost effective and efficient way of operating. It works at a much lower temperature, from between one hundred and one hundred and thirty degrees Fahrenheit, so, besides saving money, time and energy in heating up the sauna, it is much safer as the only hot surface you need to worry about are the infrared heaters themselves. Although there weren’t any visible burns, some users claim to have felt sunburned after an infrared sauna, possibly due to the fact that you have to sit within a foot of the heat source to obtain the maximum benefits.
Some will say that any type of radiation is detrimental, even if it is only infrared.
Of course, each side has it’s own documentation of studies done. That is why it is so important for you to do your own research to enable you to make an informed decision. Whether you decide on the traditionalism and personal healing rituals of a steam sauna or the cost effectiveness of a far infrared sauna, the decision is yours, and yours alone, to make. Choose wisely.
