Explore the powerful effects of infrared light therapy, also known as "children of fire," and its benefits for health and healing.
Control of fire marked a turning point in human technological evolution. It offered warmth, protection from predators, a way to craft better hunting tools, and a method for cooking food. These advances supported wider geographic dispersal, cultural innovation, and changes in diet and behavior. Fire also extended useful hours beyond sunset.
Claims for the earliest definitive evidence of fire control by a member of Homo range from 1.7 to 2.0 million years ago. Microscopic traces of wood ash suggest that Homo erectus was using fire about one million years ago, a view with broad scholarly support. Flint blades burned roughly 300,000 years ago have been found near early but not fully modern Homo sapiens fossils in Morocco.
Early modern humans were heating silcrete stone to improve its flake-ability for toolmaking around 164,000 years ago at South Africa’s Pinnacle Point.[5] Widespread, systematic fire use by anatomically modern humans dates to about 125,000 years ago; they also relied on it for light.
Burning wood or other organic material releases energy as infrared light. An infrared camera shows a heat “signature” that roughly reflects metabolic activity.
Infrared light is invisible yet biologically influential. You perceive it as warmth: sunlight on skin, the heat near an oven, or the gentle radiation from another person’s body. Hot springs and hot baths transfer stored infrared energy to you in the same way.
Infrared has heated saunas for decades. Before electric IR saunas, sweat lodges and stone saunas did the job: stones absorbed fire or electric heat, then slowly released it as infrared light. Both traditions use radiant warmth to support well-being.
Beyond simple heating, infrared may influence cellular water dynamics, which could partly explain why many cultures have long valued fire, sweat lodges, and saunas, especially in cold seasons.
Sitting by a fire feels natural because its light helps regulate melatonin and supports stable circadian rhythms. A fireplace or fire pit is more than décor—it can be a gentle wellness tool.
