Introduction
Red light therapy vs infrared sauna- are you wondering about how these are similar and different? This is a common question people ask me, and I wondered about the same thing for quite some time. I know own both an infrared sauna and a couple of red light therapy devices and wrote blog posts about them separately. Check out my post on infrared sauna here or my post on red light therapy here. Both of these therapies have grown in popularity in recent years for many good reasons. Other than essential oils and changing my diet, infrared sauna and red light therapy have had more of an impact on improving my health and wellbeing than anything else.
Understanding Red Light Therapy
What exactly is red light therapy? Red light therapy (RLT) is a type of photomedicine, which is “the use of light to treat skin and other health conditions. Some of the things that red light therapy can help with include: Skin health and rejuvenation, Pain relief and inflammation reduction, and Improved muscle recovery. I personally have used it to help reduce inflammation in my knees, back and thyroid. I’ve noticed that if I do a session of red light therapy and target my neck/thyroid area any pain or swelling I’m experiencing goes down almost immediately. It’s really amazing. Most devices can only be used for 10 minutes at one time on one body part and should not be used for more than 20 minutes per day. I also noticed that after I had my knee surgery, it helped with quicker recovery.
Exploring Infrared Sauna
Infrared sauna is a sauna that has infrared lights in it. Even if you have never used an infrared sauna, you have likely used a steam or hot rocks sauna at the gym or another wellness center. Infrared saunas are similar except that there is infrared light in it. There are a variety of kinds of infrared saunas- from the more expensive cedar wood saunas to blankets, tents or in home saunas where you sit inside a sack on a chair and your head sticks out. The later one is the kind that I bought as it takes up a lot less space and is a lot more affordable. Check out the one I bought here.
What are the health benefits of infrared sauna? The main benefits include: 1. Detoxification and sweating 2. Cardiovascular health 3. Stress reduction and relaxation. I’ve also seen a boost to my immune system and in fact, I haven’t been sick at all since I bought mine almost a year ago from the date that I am writing this. I use mine for 30-40 minutes every day. This is about the right amount of time for most people. You do have to be careful if you have a heat sensitivity or if you are taking certain kinds of medications or have medical devices. If in doubt, I would ask your doctor.
Red Light Therapy vs. Infrared Sauna
Red light therapy is designed to target a specific area of the body and usually comes in the form of smaller portable devices. For example, I have this infrared light therapy wrap for the knees. Whereas infrared sauna is designed to target the entire body and works better for sweating and detoxing from chemicals. I’ve also found that infrared sauna is better for boosting your immune system. Both of these are great for improving your skin, muscles and joints and for inflammation and pain reduction. If at all possible, I recommend purchasing and using both of these. Red light therapy devices are usually cheaper so if budget is a concern you can start with one of those and then get an infrared sauna. This is what I did. I had my first red light therapy device for about 2 years before I finally bought an infrared sauna.
Check out my infrared sauna and red light therapy devices here.
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Thrive Market - healthy gluten free, sugar free and speciality online food and household products
Silk and Sonder Monthly Journals and Planners
My Portable Infrared Sauna
Self Care Journal
Martie discounted food
Olipop - healthy soda with probiotics and prebiotics
Digestion Kit
Stress Oils
