Our SaunaMed Infrared Saunas are constructed using various 2 types of wood; Canadian Red Cedar and Canadian Hemlock, but why?

Besides the disparity in price, there are several other key differences that are important to understand and we encourage our customers to do the research and learn the differences for themselves. Since the farming of wood is such a huge part of the sauna it should play a part in any purchasing decision.

Canadian Hemlock wood does not give off toxins, under high temperatures, which pine and Sitka wood do. The wood in our saunas has a fine grain and virtually no knots, which eliminates the chances of splinting or any rough surfaces and gives a softer feel. Hemlock is known for its natural strength and durability; it is naturally resistant to decay therefore ideal for sauna uses. Its longevity is 300 -1000 years, most other woods average 200 years. Hemlock is commonly used for bridge timbers, house sills; the grain patterns are dramatically beautiful so it is prized as material for flooring, panelling and trim. Hemlock is a strong, safe, very attractive and has an even grained wood texture.

Canadian Cedar wood gives off a pleasant aroma that can also have a therapeutic effect, as shown by thousands of years of tradition. Cedar wood has been used throughout the ages by various races. The first documented use of cedar wood oil was by the Ancient Egyptians 2000-3000 years before Christ. They used cedar wood oil in the mummification process and also made the coffin from cedar wood. The Egyptians and the Greeks used cedar wood oil to ward off infections and as an ingredient used in cosmetics. They impregnated papyrus leaves with it to repel insects.

Early Europeans used cedar wood oil to help heal the sick and to prevent outbreaks of disease. The English herbalists Nicholas Culpepper, had observed that cedar wood was a remedy for heart failure, coughs, shortness of breath, tuberculosis and menstruation. American Indians seemed to have used cedar wood oil for almost any health condition. When used for burning, cedar wood strengthens and harmonises, while the essential oil has a calming and soothing effect on nervous stress. The Indians used cedar wood for all respiratory problems as well as for arthritis, rashes and menstrual pain.

Below is a quick summary of the pro’s and con’s of each wood. We hope that this information will be of use to you and aid you in your choice. Don’t forget if you’re still not sure which wood would be right for you give us a call or send us an email and we’ll be happy to help.

Hemlock Wood Saunas

Light colour wood
Wood comes from the Canadian hemlock tree
Lower in price
Slight natural wood aroma
Non-allergenic
Non-toxic

Cedar Wood Saunas

Dark colour
Wood from the Canadian cedar tree
Natural cedar aroma
May cause allergic reaction in sensitive persons
Non-toxic

Do you suffer from depression and mood imbalances? Recent studies on the Far Infrared Heat therapy have show significant benefits to people suffering with these symptoms. Those of us who live in locations where sunlight isn’t a year round commodity know how much the sun’s energy and lack thereof, affects ones moods. The associated symptoms have been attributed to a lack of light, but today scientists are realizing that other aspects of the sun’s electromagnetic wavelength might be just as beneficial.

Endorphins have long been attributed to mood and the body’s ability to fight depression. Athletes are very familiar with endorphins because they are what give them the workout “high” or uplifting mood swing one experiences when partaking in physical exercise. They also know the lows or depression that can follow when the body is deprived of exercise. When the body undergoes physical strain the brain releases endorphins in large quantities. These endorphins are carried throughout the body through the blood stream where they stay for hours providing an uplifted mood and happier outlook. Far Infrared heat therapy has been documented to boost the body’s endorphins just as if it were exercising. When meditation is added to the sauna session the body can achieve many other documented health benefits, including mental wellbeing, fighting depression and maintaining a healthy physical and mental balance.

One recent study at the Kagoshima University Hospital in Japan observed twenty-eight mildly depressed patients with general fatigue,  appetite loss, and somatic and mental complaints were randomly assigned to a thermal therapy group  or non-thermal therapy group.

Patients in the thermal therapy group were treated in a Far Infrared ray dry sauna for 15 minutes at a temperature of 60°C and were then kept at bed rest with a blanket for 30 minutes once a day, 5 days a week for a total of 20 sessions in 4 weeks.

The results of the study demonstrated a significant improvement in patients suffering from somatic, hunger and relaxation complaints. Mental complaints also slightly improved in the thermal therapy group compared to the non-thermal therapy group. A significant increase in calorie intake was also witnessed in the thermal therapy.

If you suffer from depression or are affected by low light levels then sauna therapy using one of our Far Infrared Saunas could aid your recovery.

Sources: Psychosomatic Medicine, Respiratory and Stress Care Center, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan (A.M.); the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki, Japan (M.N.); and Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Metabolic Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan (T.K., S.M., C.T.).

It costs only a few pence to use your sauna for 30 minutes, but did you know that in that 30 minutes you could burn up to 300 calories? How? Well it’s actually quite simple.

As the body works to cool itself, there is a substantial increase in heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate.

Many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, not to build big leg muscles.  Regular use of an sauna imparts a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective as regular exercise.

A moderately conditioned person can sweat off 250 grams of sweat. While the weight of the water lost can be regained by rehydration with water, the calories will not be.

The heart receives a workout similar to a 6-mile run in a 20-30 minute Far Infrared sauna session and the body perspires the same amount as a 6-mile run. Infrared saunas are perfect for those that do not have time for regular exercise or suffer from injuries that inhibit rigorous activity.

We recommend using an infrared sauna alongside regular exercise.

Sources:  Journal of the American Medical Association,  Department of Internal Medicine and University of Oulu, Finland, Division of Cardiology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C.

In today’s marketplace, there are two types of saunas: far infrared or the traditional variety and we stock both variants here at Aqualine Saunas. Both products perform the basics of sauna therapy by cleansing the body via perspiration. The soothing heat causes the pores of the skin open up, releasing impurities from the body and leaving skin re-toned and refreshed. But which one is right for you? Today we’re going to examine both types and hopefully determine which one would best suit your needs.

Infrared Saunas
The far infrared sauna has been around since the mid-1960s. Using modern technology, heat is generated by ceramic heaters converting almost 100% of the energy supplied into infrared thermal heat waves. Far infrared radiation warms only the object and does not raise the temperature of the atmosphere. To understand how infrared heat works, picture yourself outdoors on a summer day with the sun beaming down. Your body feels warm from the sun and you become hot. Then a cloud passes overhead, blocking out the sun. The temperature outside has not changed, but you feel cooler in the shade. Your body was being heated by the sun’s infrared rays. Infrared heaters warm the body in the same manner as natural sunlight.

While the far infrared causes you to sweat, the composition of chemicals found in the sweat is quite different from that produced by a traditional sauna. The sweat of people using a Far Infrared sauna will not only contain water, but will also contain cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, heavy metals such as mercury and aluminium. Normal sweat produced by other methods, including exercise, is mostly water and sodium chloride. Sweat produced in this way is 97% water and 3% toxins but sweat produced in a far infrared sauna is 80% water and 20% toxins.

Traditional Saunas
The traditional sauna is what everyone pictures when they hear the word sauna. The steam and heat sauna has been used for centuries by cultures all over the globe. A small room or hut is used and the burning of wood provides heat. Once the fire has been extinguished the sauna is ready for use. Steam is provided by water being splashed onto highly heated rocks. The steam evenly distributes the heat, which can reach 100 degrees Celsius.

Steam saunas raise the temperature of the surrounding air so that within the sauna some people have diffi-culty breathing. This may be considered an advantage for young people with healthy lungs but isn’t so great for the older generation or people with breathing related health problems. The steam helps release toxins and potentially harmful viruses from the lungs but for those with problems breathing, a steam sauna could worsen the condition. The opposite can be said for infrared saunas which as previously mention heat the body directly without effecting the surrounding environment. The body still perspires without aggravating breathing problems.

Another big factor in your decision is the availability of space. Traditional saunas need a large area to place the cedar-lined room with enough room to provide for benches that seats at least four people. Also, you must make sure that the room in which the sauna is to be placed is waterproof and has the necessary electrical connections so that the heater can operate safely. Sizes of units can be made to order and the design made especially for your project.

In comparison infrared saunas are require much less space and have little set-up time. Even people that live in an apartment can find room for an infrared sauna. As all of our infrared products are designed for home assembly they can also be relocated with only a little effort. However the main advantage to an infrared sauna is the set up and running costs; the infrared sauna is much cheaper than the traditional alternative and running costs are very reasonable. If you where to use an infrared for 30 minutes a day over a month the typical cost is £4pcm. For a traditional sauna you’re looking at least £30! It can up to an hour for a traditional sauna to become useable; 5 minutes is all an infrared sauna needs.

Some people really do prefer thing the old fashioned way and there’s nothing wrong with that, but infrared saunas have many more health benefits.

To people diagnosed with arthritis, and the millions already suffering from arthritis pain, the fact that there is no cure is heartbreaking. It’s hard to be a productive, positive person when simply getting out of bed in the morning is a painful experience. If there can be no cure, then arthritis sufferers want to know, can you give me some pain relief?

Anyone who has ever taken a warm shower has felt how heat relieves pain and helps to relax tense muscles. Due to their nature Infrared saunas provide this same almost instantaneous pain relief over the entire body. In turn this allows arthritis relief in every affected joint and also relaxes tense ligaments and tendons.

Arthritis causes joint inflammation which often restricts blood flow and the heat from an infrared sauna dramatically enhances circulation to the joints.  This increased circulation provides the transportation needed to help evacuate the oedema, which can help stop inflammation, decrease pain and help healing.

Recent case studies in Sweden have shown that patients with patients with rheumatoid arthritis show good tolerance, short-term improvement of pain and stiffness, and a trend towards long-term beneficial effects. To add to this a clinical trial in Japan reported the successful solution in seven out of seven cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis treated with whole-body infrared therapy and sauna treatment.

Today, the new treatment for skin is the infrared sauna instead of the traditional steam sauna. There are many health benefits to using infrared therapy including treating skin problems like acne. While some individuals won’t encounter this condition many people will at some stage in their youth develop acne. Acne can be an upsetting experience for the sufferer and it can lead to permanent scarring.

While an infrared sauna might not cure acne completely there are many reports of users finding their skin has improved dramatically while regularly using a sauna. You’re probably wondering how it works, well it’s actually quite simple; sweat. Sweating is powerful way to cleanse your body from accumulated toxins. Sweating opens pores forcing out clogging cosmetics and loosening dead outer skin. Infrared sauna therapy also allows increased blood circulation to carry great amounts of nutrients to the skin, thus promoting a healthy tone and texture and reducing swelling.

Before rushing out to purchase an infrared sauna we recommend visiting your local leisure facilities that normally provide access to one. This way you can make sure that sauna treatment is right for you.

Sources:
McGraw/Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Dr. Masao Nakamura of the O & P Medical Clinic in Japan



We wish to address the question “Can you tell me if Infrared Saunas are safe?” which was published in the Sunday Mirror.

The answer to this question is without a doubt, yes.

What is Infrared?
First of all, infrared can simply be described as a particular spectrum of light which is used in all kinds of everyday life applications. Certain frequencies of Far Infrared are actually a natural by product from our own cells and are emitted by our own body. Infrared is therefore not potentially harmful like Ultra Violet, X Rays or Microwaves.

Infrared energy is literally everywhere and an essential ingredient for life. Infrared light energy has been researched and used in medical practices for over a hundred years. Specialists in burns often use infrared to enhance the healing processes of the skin and sports medicine has long accepted and used Infrared to promote healing of sprains and strains. Over the last 20 years much wider applications of infrared energy have been investigated and throughout this time it has been shown to be benign and beneficial to the human body.

Infrared Saunas vs Traditional Saunas
Infrared saunas are also more energy efficient than their traditional counterparts. Conventional steam saunas actually heat up the surrounding air, thereby heating you. The surrounding air has to be heated to temperatures of up to 200° degrees before you start to perpetrate.

With an infrared sauna, you won’t have to deal with the extreme heat of a steam sauna. Temperatures of an infrared sauna only reach about 140° degrees. This allows you to stay for longer in the infrared sauna, giving you more desirable results.

Far infrared energy effectively breaks down water molecules that accumulate and store unwanted toxins in our body that block blood circulation and impair cellular functions. Exposure to far infrared waves steadily circulates blood, removing blockages in the blood vessels and allowing for proper oxygen distribution to all parts of the body. This greatly reduces the risk for developing diseases.

Researchers in American have shown that conventional sauna users sweat out 95% to 97% water while far infrared thermal system users excrete 80% to 85% water with the non-water portion being cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, toxic heavy metals, sulphuric acid, sodium, ammonia and uric acid. These heavy metals are not discharged with the sweat from normal exercise. The release of unwanted toxins is not the only medical benefit to using infrared saunas. Some of the other benefits include: pain reduction from arthritis, increased energy, healing of skin ailments, or fibromyalgia or sore and aching muscles. Infrared can also penetrate deep into your muscles and joints – promoting oxygen; hence increasing blood circulation. Recent studies have also show that regular use of a far infrared sauna can lower blood pressure.

The best part? Owning an infrared sauna doesn’t have to cost the earth. Here at Aqualine Saunas there is a vast range to choose from, our lowest priced Infrared Sauna is only £795. To top it all off we only stock the SaunaMed brand so you can be sure you’re getting the very best quality.

Be sure to check back soon for more information and tips.

You may have seen Aqualine Saunas recently make a star appearance in the Sunday Mirror’s ‘Tricks of the Trade’.  Their readers had expressed interest in infrared saunas. As industry leaders, Aqualine Saunas were then approached by the editor and asked to comment.

Are infrared saunas safe?