Home Made Near Infra Red (NIR) Sauna

[Mr_Luke]

I cover it with canvas tarps and I sit in it for 30-45 minutes every morning.
It gets up to about 120℉ in there after I warm it up with a ceramic heater.
It has improved my skin, circulation, and other things.
I took the instructions from Larry Wilson, MD.
He has a lot of info about the NIR sauna if you're interested.
I built it using 1" PVC.

 

[LazyDog]

What kind of bulbs are you using???

Can you also describe your set up???

 

[Mr_Luke]

What kind of bulbs are you using???

Can you also describe your set up???

I use three 250w Philips bulbs that cost about $10 each at Lowes.

All the info you need is right here. https://drlwilson.com/Articles/sauna_therapy.htm

It cost me about $100 to build but I've seen them selling for $700 or more.

 

[LazyDog]

Thanks for the info

 

[DriveHard]

any comments on how this compares to a hot tub?

 

[Kawiguy454]

you can get equivelent LED NIR lights and panel arrays online with a fraction of the wattage. The light itself penetrates the skin and has therapeutic effect. The heat of the bulb is wasted energy and those bulbs can explode if any water drops hit them.

 

[Mr_Luke]

you can get equivelent LED NIR lights and panel arrays online with a fraction of the wattage. The light itself penetrates the skin and has therapeutic effect. The heat of the bulb is wasted energy and those bulbs can explode if any water drops hit them.

According to Dr WIlson those LED bulbs aren't anywhere near as beneficial.

 

[Mr_Luke]

any comments on how this compares to a hot tub?

Saunas are way more beneficial.
Hot tubs are meant to be comforting, not really therapeutic.
Hot tubs as I see it, are not much more than a warm bath.

The NIR sauna heats the body and penetrates up to 3" inside the body.
That's real good for people who have a naturally low body temperature like me.

 

[DriveHard]

Saunas are way more beneficial.
Hot tubs are meant to be comforting, not really therapeutic.
Hot tubs as I see it, are not much more than a warm bath.

The NIR sauna heats the body and penetrates up to 3" inside the body.
That's real good for people who have a naturally low body temperature like me.

Any facts/data behind your claims? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just want to learn. I also run low body temps - usually in the 96 range. My hot tub certainly warms my body temp up to the point I am sweating profusely...my wife likes to run it at 103, and I prefer 101. The hot tub warms the entire body to the core...to the point the temperature on my head will be up in the 99-100 range, and my head is never in the water, so I would assume my core body temp has been raised to that point.

Unless there is some sort of radiation benefits, I'm not seeing much of a difference.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Any facts/data behind your claims? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just want to learn. I also run low body temps - usually in the 96 range. My hot tub certainly warms my body temp up to the point I am sweating profusely...my wife likes to run it at 103, and I prefer 101. The hot tub warms the entire body to the core...to the point the temperature on my head will be up in the 99-100 range, and my head is never in the water, so I would assume my core body temp has been raised to that point.

Unless there is some sort of radiation benefits, I'm not seeing much of a difference.

The light in itself has benefits. The heat is what really helps.
The hot tub sounds nice, I've never used one.
The water is probably chlorinated and / or fluoridated, so you may be getting exposed to a lot of those.
I've done lots of dry heat saunas at gyms before Covid19.

I think Dr Wilson speaks of hot tubs somewhere in his Sauna Therapy book.
He has a lot of info here. Sauna Therapy

 

[Kawiguy454]

The light has benefits you can research. The light output and wavelength can be made equivalent so the source is not relevant. Deep penetrating heat opens up blood vessels like a good workout after ~20 mins. Hot water blasting you under pressure has additional massage qualities and the heat there works like a convection oven to push the heat in more quickly than hot air or steam sauna.

Dr Wilson had no comment on these points... It's Friday please laugh

 

[Mr_Luke]

Other therapies may be beneficial but I'd say the NIR sauna is the most cost effective one of them.
Have a healthy weekend.

 

[Leo99]

Any facts/data behind your claims? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just want to learn. I also run low body temps - usually in the 96 range. My hot tub certainly warms my body temp up to the point I am sweating profusely...my wife likes to run it at 103, and I prefer 101. The hot tub warms the entire body to the core...to the point the temperature on my head will be up in the 99-100 range, and my head is never in the water, so I would assume my core body temp has been raised to that point.

Unless there is some sort of radiation benefits, I'm not seeing much of a difference.

96.4°F is about normal for me. Was down 95.7°F last week but came back up. I get overheated and pass out in hot tubs. When my wife and I were first dating we stayed a B&B with a hot tub. We were the only ones there and it was winter with a light snow falling. Very romantic until I got dizzy.
This thread, though, is one the great things about this forum. I've long since lost interest in oil but a homemade NIR sauna... Now that's interesting.

 

[DriveHard]

96.4°F is about normal for me. Was down 95.7°F last week but came back up. I get overheated and pass out in hot tubs. When my wife and I were first dating we stayed a B&B with a hot tub. We were the only ones there and it was winter with a light snow falling. Very romantic until I got dizzy.
This thread, though, is one the great things about this forum. I've long since lost interest in oil but a homemade NIR sauna... Now that's interesting.

I'm the same way...I actually have what my bride calls "an old man seat" which allows me to sit with most or my chest out of the water. If I were to sit in the tub at her temp at full depth I doubt I could make 5 minutes.

 

[Mr_Luke]

96.4°F is about normal for me. Was down 95.7°F last week but came back up. I get overheated and pass out in hot tubs. When my wife and I were first dating we stayed a B&B with a hot tub. We were the only ones there and it was winter with a light snow falling. Very romantic until I got dizzy.
This thread, though, is one the great things about this forum. I've long since lost interest in oil but a homemade NIR sauna... Now that's interesting.

Glad to hear it. Dr Wilson speaks of people who tend to over heat easily in his book Sauna Therapy.
I think he says you can overcome it by taking several short NIR saunas of 10-15 minutes and work up to an hour a day or more.

 

[Mr_Luke]

The light has benefits you can research. The light output and wavelength can be made equivalent so the source is not relevant. Deep penetrating heat opens up blood vessels like a good workout after ~20 mins. Hot water blasting you under pressure has additional massage qualities and the heat there works like a convection oven to push the heat in more quickly than hot air or steam sauna.

Dr Wilson had no comment on these points... It's Friday please laugh
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I've seen those LED lights on amazon and eBay and was interested in them but when I went back to reading Dr Wilson's info on NIR saunas again it made me realize that this is exactly what I should get back into again. I do believe those LED lights have some benefit, I just don't personally think they get anywhere near the benefits of the NIR sauna. They're a hot seller online at this time, possibly a fad.
It's time consuming but I'm into taking good care of my body and I think the time investment will be worth it.
The NIR sauna is calming, relaxing, and the best way to start the day.
Then I follow it with a warm, and then very cold shower.

 

[V70tdi]

I belive more in the Finnish Sauna with pouring water on the hot stones to get an wapor thats heat me up.

 

[Owen Lucas]

All you need now is a slowly spinning chair to make sure you get even roasted. Great job though, glad NIR is working for you.