EMF in an infrared sauna

Opinions and a video about EMF in an infrared sauna

Unlike traditional Finnish saunas that indirectly heat the people sitting inside by heating the air with steam, infrared saunas heat their occupants directly, by emitting far infrared radiant heat which slightly penetrates their bodies. Although these infrared waves are similar to those produced by the sun, solar energy also includes harmful ultraviolet rays. Infrared from an infrared sauna does not.

However, some people are concerned about the electromagnetic fields, EMF in an infrared sauna. After all, we know the intense EMFs created by high-voltage power lines are dangerous.

EMFs are measured in units called milligauss (mG), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) has proposed an exposure of 3 mG as the upper level of safety. Some people report testing EMF in an infrared sauna with a gauss meter and seeing high EMF readings. In light of these reports, it's a good idea to ask about the EMF levels produced by a sauna's heater before you buy the sauna. You certainly don't want a shock if you later find out your sauna produces high EMF levels.

On the other hand, I've heard about people who have also measured the EMF levels in other parts of their homes. These people discovered that their computer monitors, televisions, clock radios, cordless phones and microwave ovens were actually putting out much higher EMF levels than the EMF in an infrared sauna. Many infrared saunas use EMF-shielded cables, and as a result, they generate only very low-level EMFs. In many cases, the outside lights produce the highest fields. Some home detectives, armed with their trusty gauss meters, have identified the back wall of their sauna, right where the power cord plugs into the electrical outlet, as the place in the sauna with the highest EMF.

But the EMF readings are much higher in people's kitchens (microwave ovens, remember?), near home computers and televisions, and in their bedrooms. You could say that the EMF in an infrared sauna is actually a drop in the bucket compared to what you're being exposed to throughout the day in your kitchen, living room, den and bedroom. So, when you compare the small amount of EMF you receive from spending thirty minutes per day in your sauna to the levels you experience just by using your microwave oven, sitting at your home and/or work computer, and watching TV for hours every day, you begin to see how tiny your EMF exposure from your sauna really is. The EMF you're exposed to from an infrared sauna isn't the real problem.

EMF is everywhere around us. Our homes and offices are chock full of EMFs. The electrical appliances we use, our computers (not just the monitors, but also the computer keyboards and mice), the wireless modems we find so convenient for accessing the Internet, our cordless phones, the clock radios beside our beds, our hair dryers, cell phones and even the wiring throughout the walls of our homes - all of them constantly produce an EMF. And some people, including those who live near a microwave tower, high-voltage power lines or have a high-voltage box in their yard, are exposed to even higher EMF levels than that. In my opinion, those are the real hazards, not the low-level EMF in an infrared sauna.

A lot of people are now measuring the EMF levels they're exposed to in different parts of their home by using a simple gauss meter. You can join them, because the meters aren't very expensive (you can buy one on Amazon for less than $30).

I certainly don't claim to know everything about EMFs and whether they pose any risks, but it seems to me that if you want to cut back your exposure, the best place to do it is where we spend a lot of hours every day being exposed to a constant flow of EMF. That's not a sauna that we're only in for thirty minutes a day and puts out very little EMF to begin with.

Below is a 7 minute video that talks about the dangers of EMF radiation in your home, presented by Dr. Magda Havas, a leading environmental researcher at Trent University, Ontario, who has been studying wireless technologies, etc. for the last 8-10 years.

Starting at about 1:20 in the video, you can see footage of EMF measurements made with several different devices, including devices that make EMFs audible.

I'm not in a position to judge whether the fact that you can hear EMF trough a Gauss meter also necessarily means that it’s harmful, but watching the video certainly changed the way I look at EMF radiation.

For instance, did you know that a wireless DECT phone constantly emits EMF radiation, even when it’s not in use? Again, I don’t have the background to judge how dangerous EMF radiation actually is and probably one person isn’t as EMF-sensitive as the next, but in my opinion it wouldn’t hurt getting an “ECO” DECT phone rather than a regular one. The ECO phone has all the features that a normal one has, but at least it doesn’t radiate when not in use.

I'd like to start a discussion about this issue to see what people think about EMFs and saunas. You're all invited to join in and share your opinion on EMF in an infrared sauna. If you have a gauss meter and you've measured the EMF levels in your home or workplace, please share your experiences. You could even send in pictures of the readings on your gauss meter to illustrate the points you make in your comments.

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