I was on a Florida vacation recently and the first couple of days were very dreary due to the rain and no sunshine. We even had a tornado come through one day while I was at a gym with my daughter. The lights went out during the storm but it didn’t slow down my weight training on that leg day.
Certainly, you expect the beach and lots of sunshine when you travel to the Sunshine State. Our trip began began with a mood kill. Finally, on day three of the 5 day trip the sun came out and it was like flipping a switch from sadness to happiness, just like that!
Turns out there is science behind this phenomenon. Try walking from the shade of a palm tree on the beach out into the direct sunlight. Imagine that for a moment and feel the warmth of the sun. That warmth is infrared energy. The radiant heat from the sunlight makes you feel awesome, doesn’t it? Infrared energy can work magic for your mood.
This is why training inside of an infrared sauna, like that of a HOTWORX fitness sauna, feels so good from the moment that you step into it. Have you ever tried outdoor yoga at the beach? I highly recommend it because the feeling of isometrics in the sun is amazing. This is how it feels inside of an infrared sauna too. The infrared energy penetrates the skin up to 1.5 inches and goes to work delivering good vibrations on the cellular level to boost your metabolism and accelerate detoxification, and to lift your spirits.
The human eye cannot see infrared energy but we can feel it as heat. In the year 1800 the great British astronomer, Sir William Herschel, conducted an experiment to measure the difference in temperature between the colors in the visible light spectrum. His experiment involved the placement of thermometers inside of each color within the visible spectrum. When he measured the temperatures he noticed and increase from the blue to the red. He then placed the thermometer just beyond the red and noticed an even warmer reading on the thermometer. In that moment he discovered infrared. (1)
So, the next time you move from the shade of that palm tree blocking the sunshine into the light on the beach, you can remember that you know the science behind that feeling!
