Saunas have been perceived as a luxury item. And the other reason they have gotten attention is the role they are able to play when it comes to losing weight. Interestingly, the new age infrared saunas are much better compared to the old classic steam saunas when it comes to any of the above.

Let’s go over the key things to consider when buying your sauna. Interestingly, in each of these cases, an infrared sauna works much better than a conventional steam sauna. The list of aspects goes on.

· Detoxification: This is the most important aspect of a sauna that you should consider. The better the detox capabilities, the better off you are with your sauna. The detoxification aspect is related to the stress relief aspect described below.

Weight Loss: According to Guyton’s Medical Physiology Textbook, it takes 0.568 kilocalories to produce 1 gram of sweat. With a good infrared sauna, an average sauna user can produce 500 grams of sweat. A therapeutic session is therefore capable of burning around 350 calories. This is equivalent to running a couple of miles or more. Infrared saunas also help your body get rid of cellulite. Cellulite is a substance generated by the body’s fat cells, water and waste. So sauna weight loss is not “water loss” as many perceive it to be, it’s real weight loss if you use the right kind of infrared saunas.

· Pain relief: Infrared saunas lead to pain relief. Infrared energy can penetrate up to 1.5 inches into our muscle tissues. Interestingly, almost 95% of this energy is absorbed through the skin. As a result, the dynamics of blood circulation are positively affected, leading to the reduction and even elimination of painful conditions such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Evidence has been found through studies that with the correct type of infrared sauna, injury healing is accelerated if heat is applied 24-48 hours after injury.

Stress relief: Some high-quality saunas, especially the one mentioned at the end of this article (explore the resource link on the last line of the article to find more), are equipped with Carbon 360 far-infrared technology or its equivalent. This requires better blood circulation and quick stress relief. In other words, you cool better in some saunas compared to others, and the best coolness comes if your sauna has Carbon 360 technology or equivalent built in.

Safety – This is important – you would want a shockproof sauna with a comprehensive warranty, no matter what the manufacturer says. I strongly recommend that you never buy a sauna that is not certified by an authority. An ETL certified sauna, for example, is perfectly safe to use and is at the top of my list of recommendations. ETL stands for Electrical Testing Laboratories.

Yes, to ensure that you are getting the best out of your sauna, it is exactly the five aspects above that you need to focus on, although I can think of many other benefits that you get from a sauna.

And I’ve seen such huge lists of benefits and features on various websites, and none really tell you what the real things are that you, as a sauna user, should really be concerned about.

If you are planning to buy a sauna, I recommend that you go for carbon-based infrared saunas. Avoid ceramic saunas and avoid steam saunas, strictly. I know it might mean a couple hundred extra bucks, but then if that’s hard for you, then I think not having a sauna is a better option.