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.
