After a long tiring week at work, all you want to do is find a way to melt all the stress you are feeling so you’ll feel recharged for the coming week. While staying at home and getting a goodnight’s sleep during the weekends is actually a good idea, don’t you think hitting the nearest spa salon in your area sounds better? One of the perks of spas is having a relaxing sauna that really helps in soothing tired muscles and relieves body pains. But which do you prefer, infrared vs steam sauna? Do you know the difference between the two?

Infrared vs steam sauna: Sauna by definition

<Saunas, in general, are small rooms made of glass or tiles that use hot air or steam to make the space humid and conducive to sweating. This facility is usually part of a spa session where a person goes in and feels refreshed coming out. Traditional saunas use steam, they throw water on hot stones to create humid steam that envelopes the room, creating a very hot environment.  You would usually see people coming in sauna half-naked with towels on their heads and come out looking red and refreshed.

Benefits of sauna

It is believed that saunas have great health benefits for people who regularly use them. Here are some of the advantages you will get when using saunas:

• Relieves common cold
• Detoxifies the body through sweating
• Rejuvenates the skin by opening pores and producing natural body oil
• Decreases risk for pneumonia
• Clears the airway and makes it easier to breathe
• Lowers high blood pressure
• In theory, it lowers the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Infrared vs steam sauna: The difference

Modern technology allows us to innovate and come up with better inventions and products. In the case of saunas, manufacturers created a new type that uses infrared rays to heat up the room. Some who tried it said that it is better than steam saunas. And while many sauna goers still prefer using the traditional steam, some are also curious about which is better, infrared vs steam sauna?

Let us dig deep from what infrared saunas can benefit us since we have already tackled what steam saunas are all about. For one, infrared saunas are made with wood, unlike steam rooms with glass or tile walls. Instead of using steam from hot stones and water, it uses infrared rays that penetrate the body directly. The heat, since the effect starts from inside coming out, is much lower so as not to shock the body and be uncomfortable.

Benefits of infrared sauna

Experts note that infrared saunas also detoxifies and alleviates pain in the body.  They may insist that the body sweats more using the infrared rays than steam, allowing the body to lose more harmful toxins and regulate blood flow better. Some would also attest that using infrared saunas help them reduce weight and the appearance of cellulites, thanks to the heating technology of the room.

Infrared vs steam sauna: Which to choose

Because both saunas work and improve a person’s health, the choice will all boil down to your needs. There are even claims that infrared only works just as good as the traditional ones, so choosing would not be a problem, really.  If you are merely going to use one as part of your spa experience, decide on whether you would want to have cardiovascular and respiratory relief (use the steam sauna) or you would prefer detoxifying your body and look a bit slimmer (use the infrared sauna). Either way, the fact that you are going to use a sauna is a health benefit on its own.