SaunaSpace: First Impressions Review
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What if you could get big overall health improvements just by sitting still and sweating for 20 minutes, 3 times a week? There's a reason why our ancestors, the world over, routinely sweat it out in hot rooms. Sweat during exercise serves the purpose of cooling the body down and is not an affective way to rid the body of toxins. The body is too busy focusing on surviving, in fight or flight mode (sympathetic). Instead, when the body heats up while relaxing in a hot room, it enters a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state that causes increased blood and oxygen circulation, switching the organs into productivity mode, and pushing toxins out through the skin through passive sweating. The health benefits are countless, as the sauna practice provides full body therapy. There are different ways to create a hot room, such as traditional Finnish (wood-burning) sauna; smoke sauna; Turkish steam sauna; and electric sauna. In our modern era, there is also the option for near or far infrared saunas.
Back in 2018, I wrote a blog post titled The Health Benefits of Sauna. Earlier that year, I'd listened to a Wise Traditions podcast interview with Brian Richards, owner of SaunaSpace, which totally convinced me that I needed to incorporate sauna into my life. He explains that the benefit of his incandescent-based full spectrum sauna is the combination of light (600-1000nm) and heat, mimicking the sun. We are stressed out by constant exposure to blue light from screens and LED lights. The light from the sauna provides energy to cells, turning on mitochondria, which respond to light, resulting in boosted metabolism, decreased inflammation, DNA repair, and anti-aging affects, among many other benefits. I very much wanted to buy his Tungsten 4 Light Panel back then, but it's a big investment at $999. Instead, at the time, Wiehan added me to his gym membership and I used the sauna at the gym every so often.
In the blog post mentioned above, I go into some detail about my initial sauna experiences at the gym. To summarize, the experience was far from ideal in terms of convenience, cleanliness and peacefulness. Additionally, we questioned the health benefits in general of the gym, deciding at the beginning of 2020 to cancel our membership. We mainly had the membership for access to the indoor and outdoor swimming pools when we were training for triathlons. But whenever we swam, we felt as though our immune systems took a knock from all the chemicals in the water. We've instead turned mainly to outdoor exercise in the form of gravel cycling for Wiehan and gardening for me.
As much as I was not too keen on the sauna experience at the gym, I certainly enjoyed sauna. But unfortunately I went without sauna for an entire year and definitely missed it. A few weeks before writing this post, SaunaSpace ran a flash early Black Friday deal and this time around I could not pass it up! I purchased the Tungsten 4 Light Panel on a 20% discount, for a total of $800, with free shipping. It arrived two weeks ago and in this blog post, I'm sharing my first impressions. But first let's back up and talk about why I was so taken by SaunaSpace.
Why SaunaSpace?
First of all, I've found the Weston A. Price Foundation to be a trustworthy source for health information. If they recommend a brand, it's surely a high quality company that doesn't cut corners. After listening to Richards' podcast interview, I was convinced of the value of a SaunaSpace product. And when you dig into their website, you can see that they've truly thought of everything in terms of health. All materials used for the products are nontoxic and completely chemical-free, with hypoallergenic basswood, organic canvas, organic bamboo and stainless steel. But the even bigger benefit is the fact that the light panels are free of Electro-magnetic Frequencies (EMFs), something from which our bodies desperately need breaks, in our constant modern day exposure to electricity, WiFi radio waves, etc. To learn more about EMFs, check out Arthur Firstenberg’s book titled The Invisible Rainbow. The craftsmanship and design of the SaunaSpace products are flawless. Additionally, near infrared lighting is the way to go, if you’re looking for phenomenal deep healing benefits. For more detailed information on the science behind infrared saunas, Richards wrote a post for the Nutritional Therapy Association.
The Setup
Traditionally, the space of a sauna is supposed to be void of all chemicals and germs, a safe haven for healing. Saunas are made with wood, which has antibacterial properties. Clothing and shoes are often not permitted in a sauna, to prevent the introduction of germs. SaunaSpace provides indoor enclosure options, along with a stool and a base for the light, free from materials that could off-gas and slow down the healing nature of passive sweating. For now, I've opted just for the Tungsten 4 Light Panel, but having now used the panel, I can definitely see the benefits of purchasing the full Faraday or Luminati system. The average home these days is chock full of chemicals in the building materials, creating a constant exposure to off-gassing. If you are interested in sweating with SaunaSpace, and you have the extra funds available in your budget, I would strongly suggest investing in the full setup.
Before the Tungsten Panel arrived, I pictured different ideas in my head for where I'd put it, what I'd sit on, etc. The box arrived 6 days after I'd placed my order and I was incredibly impressed with how well packaged it was. I'd been puzzled by how I'd prop up the panel since I hadn't ordered the other sauna components. But the design is so clever in that the bottom light's metal cage actually props up the whole panel. For now, we put the panel in a spare bathroom, on top of a small table that I built in a woodworking class in grad school, which was finished with Tried & True wood finish consisting of linseed oil and beeswax. At first, I faced the panel toward the bathtub and sat on a towel on the rim of the tub. But that didn't give enough distance between me and the lights. Additionally, the tub would remain cold, so when rotating to face my back toward the light, my feet were in the tub, cooling down my body. Now the panel sits between the toilet and the tub, and I sit on a stool with treated wood. And there is the exposure to the chemicals of our homes' building materials, unlike when in a SaunaSpace enclosure. It's not a perfect setup, but hopefully we can come up with some solutions in the coming months.
My First Impressions
An operation manual came with the Tungsten panel, which includes guidelines for use, in addition to set up instructions. The recommended frequency of use is 20 minutes 3 times per week for the first 3-4 weeks. Then it's recommended to increase the amount of time per session before increasing the number of sessions per week. With that being said, I've had 6 sessions so far and I am totally hooked! As someone who tends to carry a lot of stress, anxiety and pressure to perform, those 20 minutes have been incredibly helpful for putting aside all work and distractions, relaxing, breathing deeply and letting go. When the timer goes off, I find myself wishing for a few more minutes. While it's not recommended to use the Tungsten Panel without an enclosure, because the air temperature around can cool down the body, my core does get very warm and I have worked up at least a little sweat during each session. It also takes repeated exposure to the sauna practice before the body begins to really sweat. To help warm up the space, we close the cotton shower curtain to close off the tiled shower and tub area. Additionally, we closed the air vent to the room and put hand towels at the bottom of the two doors in the room, to keep air from coming in or going out. I also made sure to give the bathroom a good scrub down before use and removed the plastic shower curtain lining from the room.
While some people choose to read or listen to music, I really enjoy a completely void space for totally shutting off and soaking up the luxurious, spa-like experience. Afterwards, I've been practicing the ability to take a cold shower. Initially after a sauna, I get into a warm shower (not hot) and gradually turn the temperature down. It's exhilarating! The sauna so far is a wonderful experience and I feel a mood shift to a more calm and peaceful demeanor. Otherwise, I'll have to continue the practice to see what other health benefits come about. I've also converted other family members to the practice! Wiehan loves to lay out in the sun during the summer, and he says that when he closes his eyes and sits in front of the Tungsten panel, he gets the same soothing feeling. We both love warm sunshine and the winters are a little difficult for us, so we are really looking forward to the comfort that the Tungsten panel will bring us during the colder days in the coming winter season. Stay tuned for a long term review in the coming months, after I've had more time to see health benefits from my new home sauna setup!
And tell us! Do you love to sauna? If so, what is your preferred sauna type?
- Christin
