Sweating is the body’s safe and natural way to heal & stay healthy. Far infrared heats the body directly causing a rise in core temperature resulting in a deep, detoxifying sweat at the cellular level, where toxins reside. Sweating helps your body naturally dump toxins. “Research has shown that sweat contains many different types of compounds, including small amounts of potentially toxic metals, such as cadmium, aluminum, and manganese. This is the primary reason why sweating is considered a detoxifier,” says Rogers. With between 2 million and 5 million sweat glands in the human skin, sweating can play a significant role in removing a lot of toxic substances from the body. “Most sweat is produced in sweat glands that open up directly into the skin,” says Friedman. “The toxins removed are typically found deep in the skin. They’re pushed to the surface and released through the pores, along with any dirt and oil trapped in the openings where the sweat comes out.” All that purging of toxins can give your immune system a nice boost and help you fight off colds and the flu.

Sweating is best known as the body’s built-in mechanism for regulating its temperature,” says dermatologist Adam Friedman, M.D., FAAD, attending physician at the Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. In fact, the main function of sweat is to cool your body as your core temperature rises while exercising, sitting in a sauna or working in the garden on a hot day. “Sweating helps your body can get rid of the excess heat so you don’t boil over and overheat,” says Friedman.

Sweat is not only good for keeping you cool, but sweating from your face can also lead to a decrease in blackheads. Sweating opens up your pores, which may help curb acne. In healthy skin, oils travel to the skin’s surface via hair follicles. If dead skin cells, excess oil, etc., clog pores on the surface, oil production continues, swelling the hair follicle and causing acne. The near infrared wavelength (sometimes referred to as Red Light Therapy) is the most effective wavelength for healing the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin. Near infrared treatments stimulate collagen production to reduce wrinkles and improve overall skin tone.

When you sweat, your heart rate accelerates and circulation increases, particularly in the skin, says Kara Rogers, biomedical sciences editor for Encyclopedia Britannica. “The base of each sweat gland lies deep in the layer of skin located very close to tiny blood vessels,” she says. As activity in your sweat glands ramps up, blood flow increases in the skin, which helps spur on your circulatory system. “Regular exercise and occasionally sauna visits can help improve your circulation through sweating,” says Rogers. Heating the muscles with infrared rays produces an increase in blood flow similar to that seen during exercise. Regular infrared sauna use-especially in the mid IR range-can significantly stimulate blood flow up to twice the normal rate.

Doctors say that sweating helps fend off methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, a nasty bacteria responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections. “Sweat has been shown to play an important role in fighting off potentially dangerous bacteria and fungi on the skin,” says Friedman. That’s because sweat contains nitrite, which upon reaching the skin’s surface converts into nitric oxide, a potent gas with broad spectrum antibacterial and antifungal properties. “Perspiration also contains a natural antibiotic or antimicrobial peptide called Dermicidin, which can kill MRSA and other bad bugs resting on the skin’s surface,” says Friedman.

Scientific research has concluded that near infrared therapy greatly enhances the skin’s healing process by promoting faster cell regeneration and human tissue growth. Human cell growth increases to repair wounds and prevent infection. Ever wonder why you sweat when you run a fever? Sweating is your body’s way of telling your immune system to wake up and get to work fighting off whatever happens to be ailing you. “The same type of sweating process that occurs during exercise or when it’s hot outside as a means to regulate temperature also revs up your metabolism when you’re sick,” says Christian Nix, M.A., L.Ac., a licensed acupuncturist and physician of Chinese medicine. Not only is a stimulated metabolism helpful in maintaining a healthy weight, because it requires the burning of more calories to keep your body running, but Nix says it is also beneficial if you run a fever. “An increase in metabolic activity stimulates your immune system. So when you develop a fever, sweating is your body’s way of trying to heal itself,” says Nix. That’s why if you do happen to come down with a cold, an infection or the flu, Nix says you can expect to “sweat it out.”

If you’re a sweaty mess after you exercise, you could be less likely to develop asthma. Research from the University of Michigan says that sweating may help guard against developing exercise-induced asthma. And the more you sweat when you exercise, the better, because the more you sweat, the lower your risk. Even if your sweat drips in your eyes, you probably won’t be gasping for air! It turns out that people with this type of asthma tend to produce less sweat, tears and saliva than those who do not have breathing problems. Although researchers don’t know for certain what the link is between sweat and asthma, there’s speculation that the responses in the body that are responsible for regulating perspiration also control the amount of water secreted by the airways. As a result, individuals who sweat less also have drier airways. And those dry airways lead to exercise-induced asthma.

Studies have shown that an infrared sauna session can burn upwards of 600 calories while you relax! As the body works to cool itself, there is a substantial increase in heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate, causing the body to burn more calories.

Unlike traditional saunas and wraps, which operate at extremely harsh temperatures, infrared is a gentle, soothing and therapeutic heat that promotes relaxation and improved sleep. Infrared sauna and wrap therapy helps you relax while receiving an invigorating deep tissue sweat, leaving you fully refreshed after each session.

Infrared heat penetrates tissue, joints, and muscles to relieve anything from minor aches and pains to chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Pain management professionals incorporate infrared heat therapy into treatment plans to decrease pain and muscle spasms and to speed up recovery time.

Infrared saunas induce a deep sweat to make the heart pump faster, which in turn increases blood flow, lowers blood pressure and helps circulation. Scientific evidence shows that using an infrared sauna or wrap a couple times a week lowers blood pressure.

Near infrared therapy stimulates the circulatory system and more fully oxygenate the body’s cells. Better blood circulation means more toxins flow from the cellular level to the skin’s surface to improve cell health, aid in muscle recovery and strengthen the immune system