Healthy Home Highlight - Saunas

A bonus highlight on Saunas

Links: 

Dynamic Saunas

Sunlighten Saunas

Transcript

Natalie: 0:00

Welcome to this week's Healthy Home Highlight. We're talking more about saunas. They're not just a great way to detox, they're also a wonderful luxury to have at home. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to incorporate a sauna into your space, with options to fit different needs and budgets. So to do a quick recap of the last episode, as we discussed, one of the key benefits of a sauna is its ability to support detoxification. Our bodies naturally eliminate toxins through our sweat and saunas really enhance this process. A traditional sauna uses wood or hot rocks to heat the air and it reaches temperatures about 150 to 195 degrees. These high temperatures promote relaxation, deep sweating, pain relief, and improved circulation, which really benefits our cardiovascular health. On the other hand, infrared saunas work by directly heating the body rather than the surrounding air. They use far infrared light to penetrate deep into the tissues, helping to expel toxins from within. If you're considering an infrared sauna, make sure you look for one that includes all three wavelengths, near, mid, and far infrared. If you missed our detox episode, I recommend going back for a full breakdown of how infrared light works. But as a quick recap, far infrared penetrates deepest into the tissue to break down the toxins, while near infrared generates the most surface heat and really enhances circulation. So, The first thing we need to look at is choosing the right sauna material. Now whether you opt for a traditional or an infrared sauna, the type of wood used in the construction matters. The two I recommend are hemlock and cedar. Now hemlock wood is highly durable. It's really efficient at retaining the heat and pretty low maintenance. Hemlock has a subtle scent and this makes it really ideal for those people who are sensitive to strong aromas. That was me. Cedar was just a little too strong for me, so the hemlock has made it a lot more enjoyable to be in the sauna. Aesthetically, hemlock is a really light color, and it has a very straight grain, and so it gives it a really clean, modern look. Now, cedar is the traditional wood that saunas are made from, and it's known for its really pleasant, natural aroma. which can enhance the sensory experience for some in the sauna, but it is definitely a stronger smell. It's naturally resistant to moisture, but may require a little more maintenance like sealing it occasionally. Cedar is better suited though for the higher temperature saunas. Now, indoor versus outdoor, what's better? If you're considering an indoor sauna, you really have two main options. Prebuilt saunas, and these are the saunas that come in a kit. They plug directly into a standard outlet in your wall. You just need to make sure that it has a dedicated 20 amp circuit in your electrical box. And it's very easy to install, move around your home if you need to. You can put them in a bonus room, a basement, home gym, even a garage. Now, built in saunas, these require a dedicated space and professional installation. Many companies offer customization to fit how many people you want to use the sauna and the sauna type. And since they do need direct electrical wiring, an electrician will be necessary to set them up. Now, for outdoor saunas, they can be a really nice place to unwind in the backyard after a long day and can be a great addition to your outdoor living space. There are some beautiful saunas that can create a perfect outdoor oasis. However, if detoxification is your main goal, you need to consider a few things. Glass heavy saunas that have the beautiful panoramic glass, while they're visually stunning, too much glass can make it very hard to retain the heat inside the sauna. And the A frame or modern slanted roof saunas, these look really stylish, but can also struggle with heat consistency due to the high ceilings. Now barrel saunas, they have a really great circular design that promotes heat circulation. This keeps the hot air constantly flowing and it maintains a really steady temperature. They're great for colder climates because they handle snow really well with the curved roof design. The downside to barrel saunas is you really just get the one main bench. You can't do an upper bench because of the height of the curved roof. Now most outdoor saunas use a wood fire heater. This means that it might take more maintenance because it's being exposed to the elements and it requires frequent firewood use. So as far as recommendations for companies, there are many sauna brands out there, but the two companies that I personally recommend are Dynamic Saunas and Sunlighten. Dynamic saunas offer several far infrared saunas, but they recently just introduced a full spectrum model, which includes the near mid and far infrared that we've been looking for. These saunas are relatively affordable, and sometimes you can even find them at Costco. Now, Sunlighten is a fantastic company that has a really compelling origin story. They were founded to help a family member recover from chronic illness using infrared therapy. Sunlighten has a lot of scienced back, really cutting edge technology, they do have higher price points, but you're going to get a lot of exceptional quality for it. They have a couple of different options. They do have a solo sauna that is a portable sauna tunnel. It's really compact. You get the far infrared. And as you lay inside, your head stays out, and it's great for detoxification, really easy to collapse and to store, and is very portable. Now, their M Pulse series from Sunlighten is my favorite. These are available in one to four person models, and it's a smart sauna, which means that it has preset programs and features that are tailored to different health goals. So when you go in to use the sauna, you can program it for what your goal is during that sauna session. It also includes Red Light, which is a really great therapy for skin, health, collagen production, acne treatments, tissue regeneration, red light is a really great add that they have in the sauna. So how much should you expect to spend? Dynamic saunas are probably going to run you about$1500 to$3,000 for a two person model, depending on the features that you get. The Sunlighten saunas, again for a two person model, will probably be closer to$7,000, to$10,000 depending on your features. And the Solo Portable Tunnel that we spoke about is roughly around$2,000 Now, if you go with a custom built in sauna in your home, this is going to start around$10,000, and go up from there. There's a variety of features that you can add on, a lot of sizes, a lot of materials. So it's best to get a quote specifically for what you're looking for in your home. And if you're looking for an outdoor barrel sauna, you're probably around the range of$3,000 to$4,000 Now, if purchasing a sauna isn't feasible, many local gyms and wellness centers offer sauna sessions, which are a great alternative. And, if you're looking for a sauna like experience at home, a hot Epsom salt bath is a really great alternative. The magnesium in the Epsom salts promotes relaxation, reduces inflammation, and really supports with your detoxification, while the hot water encourages the sweating. So, a few final thoughts. As with any wellness practice, make sure you take it slow and listen to your body. Saunas can be incredibly beneficial, but it's important to find what works best for you. I personally have found that using a sauna 3-4 times a week has made a huge difference for detoxification and a better big part of my successful healing process. Now, as I've mentioned previously, I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, and I don't receive any compensation,

Natalie (2): 9:29

I'm not a physician or a medical professional.

Natalie: 9:32

All of these are simply recommendations based on my own research and my own experience. So check the show notes for links to my recommended sauna options and until next time, take care and stay well.

9:50

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