The portable sauna is hardly a new concept. These personalized saunas have been around in one form or another for almost 50 years, and many people swear by them.
Since the many health benefits of sauna treatments are well documented, it only makes sense that people would want to be able to avail themselves of the sauna experience without having to go to a gym or health spa or build a whole room into their house. That’s where the idea of portability comes in.
Ever since traditional saunas became popular, people have been looking for ways to make them more convenient. In the 1970’s, the idea of making the sauna experience more accessible first took shape in the form of sauna suits. These were silver, rubberized looking sets of pants and tops that made the wearer look like some sort of space man. They were touted mostly as a quick and easy way to help your body burn calories and lose weight.
The concept is a sound one; by encasing the body in this heavy-duty fabric while exercising, you intensify the body’s natural sweat response. With excess sweat being produced and the body temperature rising, the body is then forced to work overtime to cool itself back down. In the process, metabolism is increased, and you can burn off excess calories, resulting in weight loss. This form of portable sauna is particularly ideal for athletes who need to reach a specific weight to qualify in their sport.
Unfortunately, this type of sauna experience is not without its serious risks. Because the sweat has nowhere to go, it can’t dissipate into the air, and the body temperature cannot cool down as it normally would. This can result in heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Also, the increased sweat production can lead to a dangerous level of dehydration. Plus, the weight loss achieved through this method is only temporary.
With these issues in mind, various other forms of portable sauna were developed, hoping to improve on the idea and minimize the potential for risk. The results were the sauna cabinet and the sauna dome. A sauna cabinet is a zippered, fabric-lined enclosure that contains your body but leaves your head free. This way you don’t have the completely enclosed feeling of a more traditional sauna, yet your body still gets the therapeutic sweat effect. In most cases, you sit on a chair inside the cabinet, with your head and hands outside so that you can read a book or watch TV while using the sauna.
The obvious advantage to this type of sauna is that it can be easily transported and set up so that it can be used virtually anywhere. The lightweight, portable design also makes these saunas much more affordable than their more sturdy counterparts. And with your head outside the unit, you aren’t forced to breathe the hot, steamy air but can breathe easily in the comfort of whatever room you happen to be in. On the down side, it can be difficult to towel yourself off when your body is inside the cabinet, and your hands are outside. Plus, the fabrics used in these portable cabinets can give off chemical fumes when in use.
Sauna domes are another type of portable sauna that is similar to the cabinet except that they are even more lightweight, weighing as little as 30lbs. in some cases, and do not involve an actual cabinet. Instead, you lie on your back in the tube shape enclosure. Like the sauna cabinets, your head is outside the dome while your body is inside it. The main advantage here is that sauna domes are much less expensive than any other saunas. At the same time, they give you the type of flexibility that cabinets do, enabling you to enjoy your sauna experience wherever you may be.
Again, like the cabinets, the fabrics used in these sauna tubes can give off chemical fumes, making them particularly risky for those with chemical sensitivity. And it can be awkward for some people to get in and out of the tube and to be in a prone position for any length of time, all of which you need to take into consideration before using one of them.
For all of the possible questions about their viability, you cannot deny the attraction of a portable sauna. Many people just don’t like the idea of sharing a public sauna or even a private one that you build in your home, and some don’t like the claustrophobic feeling of sitting in a little, steamy, enclosed room.
Outside of the cabinets and domes, there are also portable open infrared saunas that give you all of the benefits of a traditional model and more, without any enclosure whatsoever. Although these saunas tend to be more expensive, they tend to be much more effective in delivering the benefits of infrared light to your body, so many people feel they are well worth the extra expense. And because they are portable and don’t take up much room, they can be placed anywhere in the house you want to put them.
This is a far cry from the traditional sauna that requires having to do construction in your home and usually requires a large amount of space. That’s another major attraction, especially for those who don’t have a lot of room to spare at home. Instead of having to give up your dream of enjoying a sauna experience in your home, you can indulge it without having to go too far overboard.
There’s much to be said for the health benefits of saunas, from relieving stress and easing pain to improving cardiac health and circulation. You can get all of the effects of a passive cardio workout without having to put your body through a lot of strain in just one simple sauna session. And a portable sauna can allow you to do all of that in the comfort of your home.
No longer does enjoying a sauna mean paying for a gym membership or dealing with the hassle of building a room into your home. You can get the sauna experience you want in a portable, easy to use unit, so there’s no reason to put it off any longer.
