Whether or not you know it, you are exposed to infrared light often. It’s true! Each time you sit beside a fire or spend time outside in the sun, your body absorbs healthy, healing infrared light rays. Even more, we now have the convenience of portable light devices and infrared saunas available to us.

That’s good news! That is to say, you don’t need to work by candlelight or risk a bad sunburn to get the benefits of infrared light. For instance, whenever I am feeling stressed or need to detoxify my body, I step into my Sunlighten infrared sauna to get all the benefits of these healthy light rays.

Infrared light feels warm on your skin. However, the benefits go much deeper than the surface of your skin. In this article, you’ll learn all about the three levels of infrared light rays and the specific benefits of each level. In addition, you’ll learn how you can reap the therapeutic benefits of infrared light without the damaging effects of the sun.

What Is Infrared Light?

You can feel, but not see this type of energy. To illustrate, every object with a temperature gives off some form of infrared heat. This even holds true for objects that we consider very cold, such as an ice cube! Many are surprised to learn rocks, trees, chairs, and even the walls around you are constantly giving off infrared energy. 

Infrared energy is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectrum includes gamma-rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared light, microwaves, and radio waves. 

Because infrared light interacts with objects in the form of heat and light, it lives in the middle of the spectrum. Depending on the wavelength, its energy may or may not produce heat. However, it does spread throughout the body, providing a safe means for natural healing. We divide this energy into three different levels. Let’s take a look at them.

Types of Infrared Light

Infrared light has three different levels: near (NIR), mid (MIR), and far (FIR). More importantly, each level has its own distinct characteristics, frequency ranges, and benefits. Near-infrared light, mid-infrared light, and far infrared light represent the different wavelength sizes and refer to the intensity of the treatment.

Whether or not you know it, you’ve been exposed to infrared light your entire life. It’s true! Each time you sit next to a fire or spend time outside in the sun, your body is absorbing healthy, healing infrared light rays.

The good news is that you don’t need to work by candlelight or risk a bad sunburn to get the benefits of infrared light. Whenever I am feeling stressed or need to detoxify my body, I step into my Sunlighten infrared sauna to get all the benefits of these healthy light rays.

Infrared light feels warm on your skin, however, the benefits go much deeper than the surface of your skin. I’m about to tell you all about the three levels of infrared light rays and the specific benefits of each level. More importantly, how you can get all the benefits of infrared light without the damaging effects of the sun.

Infrared light feels warm on your skin, however, the benefits go much deeper than the surface of your skin. I’m about to tell you all about the three levels of infrared light rays and the specific benefits of each level. More importantly, how you can get all the benefits of infrared light without the damaging effects of the sun.

What is Infrared Light?

Infrared light is a type of energy that can be felt, not seen. Every object with a temperature gives off some form of infrared heat, even objects that we think of as being very cold, such as an ice cube. Rocks, trees, chairs, and even the walls around you are constantly emitting infrared energy.

Infrared energy is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is a continuum of frequencies organized by how they interact with objects. The spectrum includes gamma-rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared light, microwaves, and radio waves.

Because infrared light interacts with objects in the form of heat and light, it lives in the middle of the spectrum. Depending on the wavelength, its energy may or may not produce heat, however, it does spread through the body, providing a safe means for natural healing. This energy is broken into three different levels. Let’s take a look.

The Three Levels of Infrared Light

Infrared light has three different levels: near (NIR), mid (MIR), and far (FIR). Each level has their own distinct characteristics, frequency ranges, and benefits. Near-infrared light, mid-infrared light, and far infrared light represent the different sizes of wavelength and refer to the intensity of the treatment.

Near Infrared (NIR) 

Near-infrared light measures between 700 and 1,100 nanometers (nm). This is only long enough to penetrate the skin’s outer epidermis layer. Therefore, at this level, infrared energy can remove toxins, dead skin cells, oils, dirt, and bacteria from your skin. In addition, near-infrared light stimulates collagen and elastin production, which promotes a youthful appearance of your skin. (1) Who doesn’t want to turn the clock back on aging?

Benefits of Near Infrared Light 

Near-infrared light can do your body good in several ways. For example, NIR can help your skin heal faster by stimulating collagen and elastin production and reducing inflammation. Even more, this type of light can improve blood circulation. This helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues. 

In addition to healing, NIR provides natural detoxification by helping the body eliminate toxins. For all these reasons,  near-infrared light therapy is the best choice for optimal skin health and rejuvenation.

What is Mid Infrared Light (MIR)?

Mid-infrared light is a longer wavelength that penetrates deeper into the body’s soft tissue where inflammation occurs. As a result, this type of light helps expand blood vessels and increases circulation, so more oxygen can reach injured areas of the body. 

Consequently, good blood circulation is critical for proper healing. Red blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients to the site of inflammation. This helps increase the production of healing white blood cells, promoting a healthy inflammatory response. 

Benefits of Mid Infrared Light

Mid-infrared Light is the best choice for reduced inflammation, increased blood circulation, and promoting healthy weight loss. (2) Furthermore, when used in combination with far-infrared light waves (which I’ll discuss in a bit), mid-infrared light effectively stimulates blood flow, thereby raising your body temperature. 

As the body works to cool itself, your heart and metabolic rates increase. Consequently, a higher metabolic rate helps your body convert fat to energy, supporting healthy weight loss. 

What is Far Infrared Light (FIR)?

The longest wavelength in the infrared spectrum, far infrared light, reaches deep into the body where toxins are stored. Our body uses sweat to flush out the toxins that we ingest. The fact is, we ingest toxins every day through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the products we put on our bodies. 

Moreover, far infrared light stimulates our sweat glands through direct heat, resulting in a deep and detoxifying sweat. In other words, you’re not just sweating, you’re giving those pesky toxins their marching orders!

Benefits of Far Infrared Light

Far Infrared Light is the best choice for sweat detoxification and promoting healthy weight loss. To demonstrate, infrared sauna therapy promotes this process by using what is known as a heavy metal detox protocol. This protocol mobilizes specific toxins nearly three inches below the surface of your skin. 

Rather than simply heating the air to draw out toxins, infrared saunas use far infrared light to heat your body from the inside to expel toxins from deep in your skin. (3) Read on to learn more about the amazing benefits of infrared saunas. 

Infrared Sauna Benefits

Traditional saunas rely on humidity to heat up the room around you. On the other hand, infrared saunas heat your body directly. They do this by emitting near infrared light, mid infrared light, and far infrared light wavelengths that you immediately absorb. 

Localized heat sent right to the source means tolerable temperatures, a quicker, deeper sweat, and several health benefits such as:

• Detoxification
• Relaxation
• Pain relief
• Weight loss
• Improved circulation
• Skin purification

If you are injured or unable to exercise, it can be challenging to reap the benefits of a sweaty workout! Actually, infrared sauna therapy is perfect for anyone interested in detoxifying their body, relaxing, and burning calories without exhausting muscles, joints and bones.  You may be wondering which treatment is right for you: red light therapy or infrared sauna? Let’s dive into it. 

Red light therapy vs infrared sauna​

Red light therapy and infrared sauna are similar in that they both have therapeutic benefits. To illustrate, both of these types of therapies stimulate cellular activity. In other words, they enhance energy production in cells, which can lead to improved tissue repair and pain relief.

Nevertheless, the main difference lies in their penetration level and heat generation. For instance, red light therapy is a more surface-level treatment. Think of cosmetic treatments on your face for wrinkles, fine lines, and acne. It typically penetrates the skin to a depth of about 1 to 10 millimeters, targeting mainly the epidermis and dermis layers. In addition, it does this without significant heat generation. 

On the other hand, infrared sauna therapy penetrates much deeper. Because of this, infrared therapy can benefit not only the skin but also the underlying tissues, muscles (4), and joints. Therefore, it’s good for muscle recovery, pain relief, and improved circulation. 

The infrared rays heat up your internal temperature, triggering detoxification. In other words, it actually penetrates your body, making you sweat from the inside out. This is not any ordinary sweat – I’m talking about a serious detox where your body is flushing out toxins, heavy metals, and other unwanted pathogens.

Sunlighten Infrared Sauna

It used to be impossible to deliver near-infrared light, mid-infrared light, and far infrared light at one time and from a single source. Not anymore! 

For example, Sunlighten’s SoloCarbon 3-in-1 is the only sauna heater on the market to provide all three wavelengths in one place. This means you can get the rejuvenating benefits of near-infrared light, the circulation stimulation from mid-infrared light, and the detoxifying energy of far infrared light. Multitasking for the win!

And if that wasn’t enough, Sunlighten takes it to the next level by using solo carbon heating panels. These panels are the most effective far infrared sauna heaters on the market today. 

Tests have proven solocarbon to be 95% emissive. This means 95% of the energy produced is in the therapeutic range to increase core body temperature for a deep, detoxifying sweat. In fact, clinicians have shown this to be the active ingredient that lowers blood pressure, aids in weight loss, and supports detoxification.

I personally have a Sunlighten infrared sauna in my home that I use daily. After my shoulder injury, it was a great way to get a healthy sweat without straining my muscles. I love getting in my sauna every day for 30 minutes to feel the full-body benefits infrared light therapy has to offer.

The Final Word on Infrared Light

There’s no shortage of benefits to infrared light. From near to far, we’ve covered it all. Who knew that something we can't even see could pack such a powerful health punch? 

Whether you're looking to rejuvenate your skin, detoxify your body, or simply relax and unwind, infrared therapy can deliver. To top it all off, you can get all the benefits of a sunny day without the risk of sunburn – how cool is that?

Ultimately, the type of infrared light you choose will depend on what outcomes you’re looking for. If you want to improve your fine lines and wrinkles, near infrared light will be your go to. If you hope to shed some pounds, then mid infrared light is your best bet. Or perhaps a deep detox is in order? Get yourself to your nearest infrared sauna for some detoxifying rejuvenation!

If you’re ready to take your wellness game to the next level, you should consider bringing the power of infrared light to your home. Sunlighten infrared sauna is your ally. It’s the only sauna on the market to offer all three levels of infrared light. Imagine having a personal wellness retreat right in your home, where you can detox, relax, and recharge anytime you want. 

What’s more, you don’t need to leave the detoxing to only infrared rays. I offer a host of products such as Coconut Charcoal, Immune IG, Liver Support, and Glutathione, that are excellent for detoxing your body and achieving optimal health. 

So, are you ready to light up your life with infrared light? Your body and mind will thank you…I’m sure your skin will too! Get ready to sweat your way to better health. Trust me, once you go infrared, you’ll never want to go back!