History of Infrared Saunas

Saunas have been around for as many years and it might sound strange but the history of saunas starts about at the same time anno domini occurred. Saunas have been with us for about two thousand years and at first they were regarded as places where people took real bathes, cleaning themselves. But over time, some cultures also insisted that saunas are great to use when a woman is delivering her child or when someone that’s sick needs caring after.

The roots of our modern hot sauna lie in Finland, as the Finnish people were the first to build such chambers based on hot air flow, probably because the weather in their country was cold most of the year. But similar constructions can be found in different easy cultures such as the Romans, that had their public warm baths, named thermae, or the American Indians that used a sweat cottage, an inipi as they called it. Also, in Russia we encounter a traditional sauna like room named banya, a lot similar to Roman thermae, and the Turkish people were amongst the first to use steam baths.

Historians tell us that the Finnish saunas were situated beneath the earth in their early ages. Often dug into hills, they slowly evaluated in above ground constructions that were placed on big wood pillars. They were heated by a fireplace placed beneath, were lots of carefully chosen rocks were heated. After a while, the sauna room would fill up with smoke that slowly heated the air. When the right temperature was reached, the smoke was released and people could commence their bathing.

Over the years, different techniques were used to improve the sauna’s efficiency. The emplacement was changed from wood to metal or ceramics, the rocks would get sprayed with water once in awhile to be forced to produce more steam, cleaning accessories begun to be placed in saunas.

In modern eras, somewhere at the middle of the 20th centry, the sauna industry was revolutionized by the introduction of electric sauna. These were sauna that used electricity to heat the air and produce steam. A couple of years later, another great discovery was brought to the public: the infrared sauna. Using energy beams and direct rays to warm the persons inside, they are much more effective than the traditional saunas. The far infrared saunas represent a step forward in the worldwide sauna history.

Sauna adepts are still divided between old and new, and some prefer the traditional method, others incline to choose the more modern infrared option. But no matter what they choose, there’s no denying that infrared sauna are still here to stay and that no one forgot about the many undeniable benefits that come from regularly bathing in a far infrared saunas.