WHY DOES THE NEAR INFRARED LAMP SAUNA HAVE AN EXTREMELY PARASYMPATHETIC (HEALING) EFFECT

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

One of the most amazing and beneficial aspects of using a heat lamp sauna every day is that it has a very powerful parasympathetic effect on the body. Very few other activities have such a powerful effect. This effect greatly speeds up healing and development.

The parasympathetic effect is due to a combination of factors. Alone, none would be so potent, but together they are awesome. The factors are:

1. Sweating. Sweating is generally considered a parasympathetic nervous system effect. It occurs during exercise, a sympathetic activity. However, sweating itself tends to be parasympathetic, meaning it requires activation of parasympathetic nerves for it to take place.

2. Moving blood from the center to the periphery of the body. The sympathetic nervous system moves blood toward the internal organs and often keeps the blood congested in the internal organs. One effect of saunas is to move blood the other way – from the internal organs toward the periphery of the body. This occurs so that the body can release heat through the skin. This is a powerful parasympathetic effect.

3. Warming the body. Gently warming the body is relaxing and calming. This has a powerful parasympathetic effect.

4. Adding a lot of extra heat. The sympathetic nervous system produces more heat inside the body. For example, shivering is a sympathetic nervous system effect.

When extra heat is supplied from outside the body, it tends to shut down the sympathetic nervous system because the body does not need to produce heat. Traditional saunas may not do this as much because they add too much heat, which can be a stressor.

5. Infrared (or IR) effects. The combination of frequencies produced by the reddish heat lamps literally nourish the body. Nourishing the body generally has a parasympathetic effect, meaning it reduces stress on the body.

One of our clients reported to me that she shined a plain red light on her puppies and they became more agitated. Then she switched the bulb and shined a reddish heat lamp on the puppies and they calmed down.

6. Free of electromagnetic field stress. The red heat lamp sauna produces very little harmful electromagnetic field stress. This is calming and relaxing, which has a parasympathetic effect.

In contrast, all far infrared saunas produce far more harmful electromagnetic fields. This is irritating and stressful. This causes more activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the opposite of what we desire.

7. Down energy effects. Moving subtle energy downward from head to feet has a very calming, healing and parasympathetic effect. This unusual phenomenon is explained in the article entitled Downward Moving Energy And Healing.

A heat lamp-powered sauna session helps move subtle energy downward very powerfully. The reasons are:

- The reddish, orange and yellow colors of the lamps balance and strengthen the lower energy centers of the body.

- The Infrared energy produced by the lamps balances and strengthens the first energy center located in the genital area.

- Nourishing the body tends to move subtle energy downward.

- Any relaxing and calming activity tends to move energy downward.

8. Removing clothing. Any time one removes all or most of one’s clothing, there is some parasympathetic effect, providing the environment is safe, warm enough and comfortable. We are not sure why this is so, except that clothing is somewhat unnatural and one may actually relax when wearing less of it.

9. Sitting or lying down, compared to standing up, has a parasympathetic effect. Sitting or lying down, which is how we recommend using the sauna, are relaxing, which of itself has a parasympathetic effect.

We do not recommend standing for a sauna session. Standing up is more stressful and diminishes the parasympathetic effect that we desire.

10. Sitting quietly has a parasympathetic effect. For this reason, do not exercise during a sauna session.

11. Praying, meditating or listening to quiet music has a parasympathetic effect. While this is not a feature of the sauna itself, many people do the Pulling Down Exercise, pray, or listen to quiet music in the sauna. These activities have a parasympathetic effect.

We do not suggest listening to exciting or noisy music or to any disturbing sounds while in the sauna. These can diminish the parasympathetic effect of the sauna.

12. Improving oxygenation, circulation and hydration. These occur with sauna use and have a parasympathetic effect.

For more details about saunas, read Sauna Therapy and our book, also titled Sauna Therapy. This book is also available in printed version from Amazon.com.

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