Last Updated on
Here’s How to Use a Far Infrared Mat for Healing
In the 21st century, there are a variety of ways to treat the body.
Compared to conventional techniques, they focus on treatments such as drugs and surgery.
These methods can treat disorders but are accompanied by warnings because of the risk of minor and severe side effects. For example, the use of prescription drugs may lead to addiction. When a person goes into surgery, there is a wide range of possible complications such as bleeding or infection.
As a consequence, an ever-increasing number of people are seeking natural therapies for their bodies, such as using a far infrared mat [1]. For example, instead of prescription or surgical drugs for back pain, a far infrared carpet can heal muscles and help relieve back pain.
I’m sure you know of a heating pad. Well, a far infrared carpet, for many reasons, is superior to simply applying a heating pad. In this article, I will explain what a far infrared carpet is, and I will tell you how to use a far infrared carpet for healing.
1. What is a far infrared mat?
Around four years ago, as a friend of mine, I assisted her in moving to her new apartment. She had a box that I lifted and which, in retrospect, was too heavy for me to lift. When I lifted the box, I hurt my back. I thought my back pain would only last a few hours, but I made serious enough injuries to the muscles of my back that my back would still hurt me even after a few days.
My first thought was to consult a conventional doctor and get a prescription. However, another of my friends suggested that I use her far infrared mat. She said that her rug helped her when she was suffering from back pain. I decided to try it, and to my amazement, the mat relieved me of my pain, and finally, I was painless again.
After using a far infrared mat, I did some research to find out more about them. I have learned that they are excellent for back pain, such as lumbar pain.
What is it? These are mats, similar to the size of a yoga mat, that emit a particular type of radiation known as far infrared radiation or FIR and are able to penetrate heat into a body in six to eight inches.
The purpose of using such a mat is to increase your body temperature to increase immune function and produce hormones and enzymes to stimulate your metabolic rate. When this happens, your body can heal and regenerate. In other words, when these mats heat the body, they trigger a process of self-healing.
Distant infrared mats are available at different prices. These prices range from as low as $50 to as high as $1,000.
I used my friend’s far infrared mat for three days, twice a day, for 30 minutes. Of course, by the end of these three days, my back had returned to normal and I was no longer in pain. I’m not saying that all back pain only requires the use of a far infrared mat, but what I’m saying is that this type of mat has been beneficial for my particular back pain and has finally put an end to the pain I was experiencing.
2. What are the benefits of infrared heat therapy?
FIR mats have many benefits. One of them, as I’ve already mentioned, is reducing or eliminating muscle pain. When I strained my back muscles, the FIR mat helped to end the pain. This happens because the heat makes blood vessels dilate, which brings relief to the injured tissues. Plus, blood circulation is increased [2], which helps to rid the area of harmful waste products.
What are some other benefits of an FIR mat? There are many, but here are five more:
A. Improved sleep
When you are lying on an FIR mat, it’s a relaxing experience.
Many people have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. These mats help to encourage a sense of calm and encourage a peaceful state.
Lie on one of these mats a half hour before bed, and you may be able to rid yourself of restfulness and anxiety, calming yourself enough to get a full night’s sleep. In fact, most of these maps are designed to turn off automatically after a specific time. So you can safely place one on your bed and sleep on top of it until you wake up in the morning.
B. Reduce inflammation
Some people, especially athletes, deal with inflammation of the joints and the muscles. The far infrared mats help to improve damaged tissues by delivering blood to the areas and removing metabolic waste.
C. Burns calories
Are you looking for a way to burn calories without exercise or drugs? It’s been shown that you can burn enough sweat and increase your blood flow enough, with an infrared mad, to burn as many calories as jogging for 30 minutes. [3]
D. Help the immune system during cold and flu season
The far infrared heat increases the immune system, which helps the natural defenses against colds and flu during flu season. When the body temperature is raised, pathogens are killed, and the body’s immune system is activated with the production of white blood cells.
E. Improves circulation
For those who suffer from poor circulation, the FIR mats help to improve circulation by warming up the blood. When our blood warms up, our capillaries expand, and circulation is encouraged.
Also, when circulation is improved, the skin is improved. When circulation is increased, nutrients are delivered to the skin, which helps with lymphatic drainage and detoxification. Cells are turned over, resulting in glowing skin.
Other benefits of this kind of mat include relief from arthritis, relief from stiff joints, relief from stress and anxiety, and more.
3. How long can you use an infrared heating pad?
Now that I’ve listed just some of the benefits of a far infrared mat, how do you use it and how long can you use it?
The typical mat comes with controls where you can select the desired heat. So you place the mat on the floor, select the desired heat setting and then lie on the mat. How hot you make it will depend on what you want. For example, a standard mat may go from 85 degrees Fahrenheit to 159 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is advised not to lie on the mat in the nude to prevent heat irritation to the skin. It’s better to wear comfortable, light clothes while you lie on the mat.
How long should you lie on the mat?
It’s advised to lie on the mat no more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time. That’s plenty of time to start getting the benefits.
There are other things you can do for your far infrared mat experience. Prepare your space by turning on some soft, uplifting music. Plug in a diffuser filled with essential oil, such as lavender, or an essential oil blend. Keep a towel nearby to dab away sweat. Keep a bottle of water nearby so that you can stay hydrated. Also, after your session is over, you may choose to shower off the sweat.
As you can see a far infrared mat is an excellent, non-dangerous way to treat a variety of conditions, such as back pain. There are a large variety of these mats available, and the most superior is designed to be easy to use and as beneficial as possible.
Do Far Infrared Heating Pads Work
The many advantages of heat in the field of physiotherapy are beyond dispute. More specifically, the application of hot stones has been recognized for generations. This knowledge in this field continues to evolve and adapt over the years but never before has thermal therapy in a competent therapy department been formulated and perfected to the extent that it is now.
Nowadays, we all know a little about the methodology and reason why certain lifelike elements of certain types of precious stones promote a more intense and reliable heat treatment.
The first is the Jade Gemstone, and second is the tourmaline. Both of these gemstones have unique characteristics that have been found to be significantly more than the other stones in the field of providing reliable, dependable, high-precision thermal treatment for users with prolonged problems.
So, in case you plan to use infrared-heating pads, then you will be blown away with all the great benefits they have to offer you. However, try to stay away from conventional heat pads, as most of them are of inferior quality and you will simply lose all your money.
Remember that no matter what other self-styled professionals say, infrared heaters can be used safely.
Unlike the stories you might have heard, these types of pads do not create any risk of dry skin or skin burns. Unnoticed by your human eyes, they are designed to penetrate much more profound than many other types of energy, far infrared radiation can increase the user’s body temperature somewhat, which really helps to activate many essential body functions. And it is actually recommended never to confuse far infrared radiation with dangerous UV radiation. Infrared rays warm all parts of your joints, muscle tissue, castanets, nerve fibers, and arteries.
By using an IR heating pad or a heating mat, you get an enjoyable and safe pain relief device to use if you need it. While heat dilates your arteries, the oxygen-rich blood flows directly into your joints as well as the muscles to soothe and heal all the affected areas.
This implies a rapid relief of pain. This is why athletes’ coaches, Chiropractors, and Physiotherapists are recommending this therapy.
The good thing is it can give rest from just about any pain without having any adverse effects. If you happen to be having difficulty sleeping on account of chronic pain, they can take advantage of the pad for sound sleep. However, it is essential to think about your needs before you go ahead and purchasing an infrared heating pad.
Can you be interested in only one area of your body? What about your knee, your elbow, or your thigh? Because you know, none of them have a similar shape, which means they would need infrared pads of varying sizes that can easily be adapted to a specific area. So, when you are experiencing pain in different parts of your body, you might want to buy different infrared heat pads for the best results. Purchasing a single heat pad and the expectation that it will be suitable for all areas is not likely to work.
A Straightforward Answer to Your Question.
No, you should not think it is “safe” to sleep on a heating pad on your mattress.
It is well-known that this is an option that is bad may be something that health professionals say is not necessary.
It is strongly recommended to carefully consider alternatives that are easier for the physical body and that are not likely to endanger it.
There is a reason why all suitable quality bearings have an automatic shut-off function where they close shop in 20 minutes to 4 hours. This is a safety device for you and for the device itself.
Why Sleeping With a Heating Pad Is Not a Good Idea
Let’s do some further digging to understand more about the adverse effects of prolonged usage of a heating pad on your bed and why you should prevent yourself from doing it.
First of all, the question is, can you rest on a heating pad? The answer is yes, as most of these heating pads are designed to withstand your body weight.
But, there are some heat pads that specifically indicate not to rest on them as they are not built to withstand your weight compared to the other full-body pads which are built to do so.
Note that sleeping on a full pad is not like taking a small piece of equipment to bed and keeping it on all night. A heating pad is intended for a complete heat therapy session over several hours.
However, it is important never to lie on a heating pad while sleeping. Keep in mind that they are electrical equipment, therefore let’s look at a few of the reasons why you should refrain from using it.
Prolonged Use of Heating Pad Can Severely Burn Your Skin
Skin burn is probably among the main reason why you should refrain from sleeping on the heat pads.
The heating pads can severely burn the skin due to concentrated heat exposure on one specific part of your body.
For the first few minutes, you might have an uncomfortable feeling, but prolonged usage on the same spot will result in severe pain, redness, and dry skin.
Now you might say that I will feel the pain I will wake up and switch off the pad. That’s true, but there are many individuals with deep sleep, and for them, this might not be true. So, as a precaution, it’s advisable to refrain from using it.
You may suffer from severe inflammation!
One of the primary concern regarding heating pad is that if it’s concentrated on the same spot for a prolonged period, then it may cause inflammation on that area. But I don’t think anyone would want to have inflammation on their body just because they forgot to switch off their heating pad.
Don’t think sleeping on your heat pad will help you with your aching muscles; in fact, the outcome will be worse than what you could ever imagine. When experts say, heat sessions shouldn’t be longer than a few minutes to and an hour, and they are not saying this without knowing the cause.
Must Be Used With Caution
You need to understand that you’re heating that is not your regular mattress and so they aren’t padded with soft cotton is high-quality foam. So it’s quite understandable that if you sleep on them for an extended period then it’s definitely going to hurt your body as it will put a significant strain on your body muscles and in some cases will only worsen the case of muscle ache.
Now the second problem with the heating pad is that they are an electronic device, and most of them come with remote control. So in case, you sleep on them, and while you are asleep, you roll onto the remote control and break it, this might not only result in electric shock but can even endanger your life.
For example, one of the most popular heat pad in the market Beurer clearly states that you shouldn’t put anything on it that reads beyond 5 kg. Placing anything beyond this weight means you voided the policy and the guidelines, and thus you will lose your guarantee as well as customer service on the product.
Heating Pads May Catch Fire If Left Switched On
According to recent studies, around eight individuals in the United States die because of the fire caused by their heating pads. So now you might understand how serious this problem is.
Most of the heating pads in the market are an electronic device, and some of them are an electromechanical device, and they need electricity to run. Some quality pads may have inbuilt fire protection or overheating prevention mechanism but still as discussed in the previous section, placing anything beyond the suggested weight on them can cause fire, electric shock, etc.
Which sauna is best, infrared or steam?
Both saunas are beneficial for individuals and their families alike. Both saunas can help with stress, anxiety, and can give you intense benefits for health and happiness. In a nutshell, both can be considered an invaluable part of your healthy lifestyle.
If you are planning to buy an infrared sauna, an infrared heating pad or build a steam bath in your home, then you may find the information listed below that will be useful to you:
Advantages of infrared saunas
Improved weight loss
You, as a user, will sweat more and more in infrared saunas than in steam saunas, which translates directly into burning many more calories, thus helping you lose weight much faster.
Infrared rays penetrate deeper into the body’s tissues, resulting in increased metabolism. Increasing the metabolic rate means that your body will need more calories to burn which has a direct impact on your overall body weight and thus helps you stay asleep a lot and reach the tonic figure much faster.
Detoxification
It is well-known that infrared rays are better at detoxifying than other counterparts. This is because IR can penetrate deep into the body, not only resulting in better blood flow but also helping to break down water molecules and oxygenated tissues.
Without significantly increasing the user’s body temperature, the infrared sauna helps the user to sweat more by increasing the metabolic rate of their body, resulting in increased calorie consumption.
As the metabolic rate increases, the body naturally sweats, releasing toxins from the body through sweat.
Advantages of steam sauna
Improved respiration
It’s a well-known fact is that the warm, moist air helps to relieve blocked nostrils and throat [4]. Therefore, if you have a cold or some kind of allergy, you should definitely try the steam sauna. An essential difference between the steam sauna and the infrared sauna is that steam can be inhaled while the infrared is just radiation that emits heat.
Moisturized skin
The steam sauna has a reputation for being very useful in skin problems such as dry skin or blemishes. The warm, moist air of the steam bath helps to open the pores of the skin, thus promoting perspiration. It is also beneficial for people suffering from acne.
Is Infrared Heat Good for Your Skin
Yes and no, it all depends on your use. As discussed previously, IR can help in detoxification, weight loss, blood circulation, heart attack, etc. [5].
But, prolonged usage of IR or implying high-intensity IR can have severe implications, including serious skin burns and inflammations.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3699878/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935255/
[3] http://www.transformationwellnesscenter.com/docs/Bio-Mat Info Combined.pdf
[4] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320314.php
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2687728/