Infrared Sauna? if IF is a form of radiation - how can it be good for you?

Question

I am a big fan of the traditional Finnish Sauna - and I would love to have one...but for the time being I can't afford it.....
However, I see everyone and his brother selling infrared saunas.....hunh? I thought IF was a baaad thing?

Am I tottally wrong about this?
If you know, woould you please let me know?

Thanks a bunch
Be well - Peace

Answer 1

Radiation, in the terms you are talking about, is electromagnetic radiation.
This includes Radio, Microwaves, Visible Light, Heat (Infrared), Ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma rays, and more.

So *some* radiation is (pretty much) harmless - like radio and visible light, some can be harmful, if you're not careful (infrared, ultraviolet), and some you want to avoid as much as possible (X-rays , gamma rays).

A sauna is pretty safe unless you overheat. However - I should point out that there are two kinds of heat: radiated heat and conducted heat.
Radiated heat is the infrared radiation, and is what you might get from a heat-lamp, from the sun, or from putting your hand under a grill. It is electromagnetic radiation moving to you and vibrating your molecules.
Conducted heat is the vibration of molecules, transferred from molecule-to-molecule through a medium like the air or water, and this is what you would get by sitting in the bath or in the sauna.
So the sauna doesn't actually involve radiation at all (except from the lightbulb).

Answer 2

An infrared sauna uses electromagnetic radiation, not ionizing radiation.

Answer 3

Infrared is basically heat. It's ultraviolet you're probably thinking of - that's the one that causes skin cancer and is used in most tanning beds.