The day has finally come, and you are over the moon to be the proud owner of an in home sauna! All you want to do is jump into your new far infrared sauna and let wavelengths heal and soothe your whole body. However, before you can sweat the stress away, it’s important to know some facts about what you should or shouldn’t do in your brand new sauna.

9 Tips To Get The Most Out of Your In Home Sauna

Home saunas are the newest household addition for health-conscious individuals. While others may head to the bar to score a cocktail or two after work, the health-savvy ones head home to their 2 person sauna for an evening of infrared sauna sessions.

Infrared saunas are totally different from the traditional ones, which date back about 2,000 years ago. For starters, infrared saunas emit an invisible light that can deeply penetrate the body’s tissues and kick-start an extreme level of detoxification, which leads to more muscle-soothing effects and a sense of euphoria.

On the other side of the spectrum, a traditional sauna produces hot air that heats your body and makes you sweat, which is opposite to an infrared sauna, where the body absorbs infrared heat to emit sweat.

Now before you set a time for your first in home sauna session, you need to read these important tips from sauna professionals.

Stay Away From The Booze

Drinking alcoholic drinks before your sauna session is a big, fat “NO!'' Excessive drinking the day before or just a few hours prior to your scheduled sauna session can make you feel dehydrated in the sauna. If you have a look at a prune, that is basically what you would feel like! The best advice is to be a teetotaler way ahead of your sauna time.

H2O Is The Way To Go!

This is the golden rule for sauna use. Many of us are offenders of not intaking enough Adam’s ale as it is. To get the most health benefits from your infrared sauna, you have to sweat! Stating this, your body can only sweat large quantities if you intake a lot of water. A sauna session is very similar to an intense workout, so it is important to stay hydrated and drink more water than you would usually do in a day.

To help you out, a good rule to follow is to divide your body weight in half and drink that sum of ounces in water every day. Just keep drinking at least a pint to three pints of water before, during and after your sauna session. It is not recommended, nor is it safe to drink alcohol in a sauna.

Don’t Use Skin Lotions

There is no need to go head to toe with your favorite moisturizer if all you are going to do is sweat it off. Also, skin lotions tend to prevent you from getting a good sweat going and it blocks pores. If you have sensitive eyes, you won’t enjoy your skin lotion running into your eyes either.

Skin lotions before your sauna session are just an opportunity for a messy disaster. So, do yourself (and your sauna) a favor and wait till after your sauna session when you have cooled down and showered to start laying on your favorite cream. Prior to your sauna session, we suggest wiping your skin with a towel, loofah or damp cloth.

Sauna Fashion

When it comes to sauna chic, less is more! So, if you are an exhibitionist, getting your Birthday Suit is A-Ok. If you are on the more conservative style, go for lightweight shorts and a t-shirt. If you are somewhere in between the two, wear a swimsuit or workout gear. At the end of the day, the more skin you expose the easier it is to wipe the sweat away.

After your sauna, you may continue to sweat. Therefore, strapping yourself into a tight pair of jeans or getting into a pair of compression leggings, while your legs are steaming isn’t a grand idea. Instead, opt for apparel that is loose, breathable and comfy. We do recommend a quick detox rinse in the shower!

Sit In An Upright Position

Although the bench just calls to be laid on, sitting up can give you more health benefits. When you sit upright in an infrared sauna, the heaters can directly target the front and back of your body. When you have a sauna session, you are always aiming for your body to absorb as much infrared light as it possibly can. Therefore, get into a position, (preferably an upright one) which will help you directly heat your body core, the front as well as the back.

No Phones

Your sauna time is a way for you to disconnect from the rest of the world. So, why would you want to bring your iPhone in and ruin it? Nevertheless, if you do feel the sauna is the place to flick through your emails and catch up on what’s happening on Twitter, you are ultimately messing up your phone’s hardware with the light and heat. You should try to think of your sauna sessions as a physical, mental and digital way of detoxing.

Set Sauna Temperature

Before you hop into your sauna, preheat it to 115 - 140ºF. When your sauna reaches 90ºF - 110ºFF it is time to get your sweat on. Your JNH Lifestyles sauna takes just a few minutes of preheating.

Time Yourself

When you first use your infrared sauna, you want to start slowly. The best thing to do is to stay in your sauna until you break a sweat. After that, schedule your sauna sessions for 10 to 20 minutes. Also, for the first two weeks, have your far infrared sauna sessions every other day. We recommend spending no more than 30 minutes in a sauna per session!

Make Time For Your Sauna Sessions Based On Your Needs

If you have severe muscle aches, having trouble sleeping, or need to clear your mind a sauna session is a good way to start or end a day. The infrared lights can help ease tension, anxiety, pain, and discomfort so you can have a good night’s rest or a fantastic start to your day!