Choosing Infrared
The reason behind the sauna…
Our High Tech Health Infrared Sauna
Why did we choose to have infrared saunas here at Big Wave?
When we first started thinking about choosing a sauna, we had a few key factors that needed to be considered…
Athletic Performance
With much of our client base being heavily involved in jiu jitsu, not overtaxing the body was a goal. While we know that stress is actually good for the body, it is critical to not over do it. Pushing ourselves over our system’s threshold on a regular basis does more harm than good and actually slows our progress. Far infrared saunas are a perfect solution to this.
Doing any kind of martial arts is taxing on the body. Generally, this is one of the things that draws people in; having to push your body to the limit and maintaining control, intelligence and skill. Watching this community continually push themselves, many times over their physical limits into injury, burnout and out of their nervous system’s window of tolerance, the idea of asking them to sit in a dry heat or steam sauna for an hour or more at a time seemed counterintuitive to progress. Don’t get us wrong, we also love steam and dry saunas, however, our initial goal was how to get maximum benefits without causing unnecessary stress to those who are chronically stressing their bodies.
There are numerous other reasons for athletes to sauna, such as cardiovascular benefits, muscle growth, and recovery, but we’ll get more into depth on that in another post.
Detoxification
Infrared is ideal for detoxing. It’s all about the penetration of the rays into the body, so the cool thing is that the heat is secondary! That being said, you’re actually going to sweat more, from a shorter time in the sauna.
The Science
“Far infrared waves penetrate into our body and activate the sweat glands. The sweat glands are one of the tools that the body has at hand to eliminate toxins. The skin is actually the largest organ of the human body and has been called many times; “the third kidney” because of its ability to discharge large amounts of waste material through the sweat glands. It is one of the best mechanisms the body has for elimination.
A research paper that was published decades ago by researchers S.Inouye and M. Kabaya showed that far infrared has the ability to cause a vibration in human tissue of wavelengths similar to the ones produced by the body. This is similar to the effects demonstrated in infrared spectroscopy. When introduced in the proper wavelengths of 9.3 to 9.4 dmicrons, water molecules can begin to vibrate. This vibration reduces the ion bonds of water and the eventual breakdown causes encapsulated gasses and other toxic materials to be released to be eliminated.``
We want to be able to eliminate waste and detoxify at a more efficient rate, while not having to expose the body to as much stress for an extended period of time. This makes the most amount of sense for someone who is already getting a significant amount of stress activation from intense workouts, jiu jitsu and MMA, or someone with a chronic health condition.
Time and Temperature
Far infrared saunas are going to give the same benefits quicker, and at lower temperatures. Our saunas are optimally run between 100 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This is much more tolerable for some and while the recommended protocol in our saunas is 30 minutes at 130 degrees, that is meant to be worked up to. However, even spending 10 minutes receiving infrared rays is going to give you benefits.
*Please consult your doctor before engaging in any services offered by Big Wave Industries. This is not to be taken or substituted for medical advice.*
Written 12/29/22
References
https://infraredsauna.com/infrared-sauna-detox/
