Infrared Sauna Treatment

Infrared saunas are gaining popularity as a way to detoxify the body. With promises like weight loss, better sleep, and more energy, there’s no denying their benefits. But is this process backed by science?

The “infrared sauna bowel movement” is a treatment that claims to help people with constipation and other gastrointestinal problems. The treatment involves sauna sessions in an infrared cabin, which the user must use for 20 minutes per day, three times a week.

You may have heard about the infrared sauna’s amazing health benefits, such as anti-aging, detoxification, weight reduction, and more. But are these claims about infrared saunas supported by research, and are there any infrared sauna risks?

There’s a lot of hot air out there, like with most heat treatment. However, this does not imply that an infrared sauna is harmful to your health. In reality, research reveals that infrared saunas provide heart-healthy, pain-relieving, and life-extending effects.

What Is an Infrared Sauna and How Does It Work?

Heat therapies have been utilized to aid in the body’s healing for thousands of years. Native Americans, Eastern Europeans, and Ancient Chinese Medicine all employed “hot air baths” and sweat lodges for stress relief, relaxation, and cleansing. Before the development of focused light treatment, basic saunas were made many years ago by putting a fire directly underneath an enclosed sitting area. Hot rocks and other materials were used to heat the “sauna,” which was heated by a fire that transmitted heat and smokes up to the lodge.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg invented “light-near infrared lamp saunas” over 100 years ago, and they revolutionized sauna therapy. They’ve gone a long way since then, and they’re now utilized by holistic practitioners and other healers all around the globe.

Saunas that employ heat and light to help relax and cleanse the body are known as infrared saunas. Saunas that omit infrared light wavelengths that cause heat in the body, prompting you to sweat and remove stored “toxins,” are also known as far-infrared saunas or near-infrared saunas.

While further study is needed to assess their long-term impacts and possible advantages, infrared sauna treatments seem to be safe, affordable, and effective for the time being. In addition, many individuals suffering from pain find that these little gadgets may make them feel better – and, more crucially, more relaxed!

Infrared saunas are rapidly gaining popularity for their anti-aging benefits, enhanced detoxification, pain relief, joint and muscle support, and cardiovascular repair. In addition, they’re thought to have a parasympathetic healing effect, which means they help the body deal with stress more effectively — a trait that might lead to them being used to treating anything from insomnia and depression to hormone imbalances and autoimmune illnesses in the future.

The unique thing about these saunas is that they are not like “normal saunas” in that their light reaches your skin directly rather than warming the air around you. As a result, the temperature in your body rises fast, but the light has no influence on your surroundings, which is why infrared saunas may be used in the comfort of your own home.

Infrared saunas provide results at lower temperatures than traditional saunas, making them more tolerable to folks who can’t endure the high temperatures of ordinary dry saunas or even steam rooms.

People who believe infrared sauna therapy has a natural anti-inflammatory effect, acts similarly to antioxidant nutrients, activates the cells, aids wound healing, boosts the metabolism, and aids in the removal of toxins from the body believe it has a natural anti-inflammatory effect, acts similarly to antioxidant nutrients, activates the cells, aids wound healing, boosts the metabolism, and aids in the removal of toxins from the body.

Infrared sauna systems that transmit far-infrared light wave radiation (FIR) directly to the human body without the need of bands have been developed, according to a 2012 paper released by physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Wellman Center for Photomedicine in Boston. These are thought to be safe, effective, and extensively applicable in treating a variety of inflammatory illnesses.

The electromagnetic radiation spectrum is what determines the therapeutic benefits of infrared saunas: The wavelength range of 750 nanometers to 100 micrometers, a frequency range of 400 terahertz to three terahertz, and photon energy range of 12.4 milli-electron volts to 1.7 electron volts are all covered by the infrared radiation (IR) band. So, what does this imply? In the most basic terms, infrared saunas cause heat and natural, beneficial radiation effects in the human body after the body’s thermoreceptors sense them in the skin.

Cells, cell membranes, DNA/proteins, and fluids, including water molecules, are all susceptible to FIR light waves. Cell membranes and mitochondrial activity are changed at the cellular level, which has a good influence on metabolism. In addition, FIR photons are absorbed by the bonds in the body’s molecules, causing water to behave differently inside our cells. The “mesostructure” impact of FIR occurs when proteins inside physiological tissues alter in a manner that is significant for overall biological function.

If you’re ready to invest in your own light-omitting sauna apparatus, infrared light therapy may be completed in as little as 15–20 minutes. In addition, infrared lamps have the potential to cause significant changes in body chemistry, which may aid in the restoration of balance in those who suffer from chronic aches, inflammation, low energy, and poor circulation.

Infrared sauna treatments elicit a variety of physiological responses, including:

• perspiration (some people even describe it as “heavy” or “vigorous sweating”)
• a faster heartbeat
• the similar emotions of mental clarity as moderate exercise
• The parasympathetic nervous system of the organism causes relaxation reactions.

When combined with other factors like a balanced diet, according to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, a licensed medical doctor and nutritional practitioner who has been successfully using infrared sauna therapy on his patients for over a decade, this type of treatment is one of the safest and most useful healing methods he’s come across.

Infrared saunas are divided into two categories: far light-emitting and near light-omitting. Far-infrared saunas don’t employ “far light waves” and instead heat using metallic, ceramic, or black carbon components. According to some sources, these saunas create electromagnetic fields that may be dangerous, and near-infrared generating saunas are preferable.

Incandescent reddish “heat lamps,” which are affordable and available at most hardware shops, are used to heat near-light saunas. Near light emits both warming and multicolored light waves, causing the body to heat up and perhaps affecting how “energy” travels throughout the body. For example, Dr. Wilson has discovered that close light aids digestion and aids his patients’ excretion.

Unlike other forms of saunas, infrared light saunas penetrate the skin and heat the body from the inside out. They’re thought to reach deep into the body and create heat that may be focused in a tiny region, which explains why they don’t heat up the whole room.

Sauna Advantages

1. It boosts heart health

Evidence supporting the use of infrared sauna treatments to stabilize blood pressure and cholesterol levels, treat heart failure due to congestive heart failure, and assist with chronic pain was identified in a review conducted by the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. This indicates that using an infrared sauna may help lower blood pressure and enhance heart health.

Another study published in the Journal of The Japanese Circulation Society supports the finding that infrared sauna therapy may benefit patients with cardiac arrhythmias and chronic heart failure. Repeated sauna sessions at 60 degrees Celsius enhanced cardiac function and reduced the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias.

Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: sauna-treated or non-treated. The sauna group had a two-week regimen of daily 60° C far-infrared-ray dry sauna therapy for 15 minutes at a time, followed by 30 minutes of bed rest. When compared to the non-treated group, heart rate variability stabilized in the sauna group (including a drop in plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentrations).

2. Assists in the reduction of chronic pain, including arthritis pain

According to researchers at the Saxion University of Applied Science in the Netherlands, infrared sauna treatments may help relieve chronic pain with little to no side effects. Over four weeks, they examined the impact of infrared saunas on patients with rheumatoid arthritis is, a kind of arthritis that affects the joints and ankylosing spondylitis, using a series of eight IR treatments. Sauna treatment was well accepted with minimal side effects, and a substantial number of patients reported reduced pain and stiffness complaints.

The researchers concluded that infrared therapy provides statistically significant short-term positive benefits in individuals suffering pain without worsening illness symptoms or generating undesired side effects in both groups of patients compared to before starting treatment.

3. Diabetes Side Effects are Reduced

Compared to other lifestyle therapies, a 2010 research published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine revealed that using a far-infrared sauna improves the quality of life in persons with type 2 diabetes. Pain, chronic exhaustion syndrome, depression, congestive heart failure, and other cardiac issues are common consequences of diabetes. Yet, sauna therapy enhances pain threshold and contributes to general well-being – organically alleviating diabetic symptoms.

Patients were studied at the Fraser Lake Community Health Center in Canada, where they received three 20-minute treatments every week for three months. Before and after the therapy period, patients completed a 36-item short-form health survey. Following therapy, a considerable number of people reported better physical health, overall health, social functioning, and less stress and weariness.

4. Enhances overall well-being and quality of life

Patients with chronic pain have relied on thermal heating therapies for years to find relief. Regular and repeated thermal therapy has been demonstrated to be promising ways for reducing chronic pain that may interfere with the quality of life without the use of drugs in studies.

Researchers from Japan’s Nishi Kyusyu University discovered that when combined with other holistic therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise rehabilitation, infrared sauna heat therapy may work even better to improve someone’s happiness and well-being.

In a 2005 trial, they divided 46 chronic pain patients into two groups, one getting multidisciplinary therapies without infrared heat therapy and the other receiving all types of treatment (cognitive behavioral therapy, rehabilitation, exercise therapy, and repeated thermal therapy using far-infrared ray dry saunas). Treatments were given once a day for four weeks, and outcomes were followed immediately after therapy and again two years later.

Self-ratings for pain, despair, and anger in both groups declined dramatically following therapy, according to the patients’ test scores. However, pain and anger were considerably reduced in the group that additionally had infrared sauna treatment. Only 50% of patients in the control group felt healthy enough to return to work two years following therapy, compared to 77% in the infrared sauna group.

Who Stands to Gain?

Researchers have been examining the impact of saunas on pain management and relaxation for decades. Infrared saunas are newer than traditional saunas, but they’ve lately gained popularity for their ability to naturally cure a variety of health conditions with little to no side effects.

Infrared sauna treatment has been demonstrated to be beneficial for persons with:

• Coronary heart disease
• Diabetes
• Blood pressure that is too high
• Congestive heart failure
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Chronic fatigue
• Digestion issues
• Anger and depression
• Muscle and joint aches that don’t go away

One of the most appealing features of infrared saunas is how pleasant and uncomplicated they are to use, even for individuals who suffer from pain or have sensitive skin or stomachs to heat, and all without the need for prescriptions or medical appointments.

Potential Negative Consequences

What can you anticipate from an infrared sauna treatment, and how does it feel?

Many individuals choose to get treatments at a spa, while others want to buy the equipment and keep it in their homes (it can legally be bought in Canada and is sold online). Clearlight Saunas is a brand that many of my natural health partners and I promote.

The equipment resembles a tanning bed with fluorescent light-like components encased in cylindrical carbon shells. They emit invisible light waves, and the experience occurs at a considerably lower temperature than a traditional sauna.

An infrared heating pad is usually used to enable the light to reach all sides of the body. The duration of treatment varies, but it normally lasts 15–30 minutes (although some experts recommend no more than 20). Patients may be instructed to progressively increase the heat level every few minutes, similar to how they would in a tanning bed.

It’s normal to sweat a lot, but it’s not uncomfortable, and many people find it calming. On the other hand, some people report feeling a little lightheaded afterward, as if they’ve just returned from a day at the beach! It is suggested that you drink enough water and get plenty of rest. Most individuals don’t notice a difference otherwise, while some people with severe pain say they see a difference practically immediately.

Infrared saunas haven’t been linked to any significant side effects, and they seem to be safe for the vast majority of individuals, even those who can’t take other kinds of saunas or heat treatments. In addition, because FIR wavelengths are too long for the eyes to sense, they do not harm delicate eye tissues like other light treatments. FIR light is also known as “soft, radiant heat” since it can penetrate up to 1.5 inches (almost four centimeters) into the skin without being uncomfortable or burning.

If you have sensitive skin, a history of heart issues, or take medicines, it’s still a good idea to see your doctor or health care practitioner before beginning treatments with infrared saunas. Because infrared saunas are strong equipment that may alter your perspiration and heart rate, some individuals should start treatments with a qualified practitioner who can evaluate their responses and development.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is infrared sauna scientifically proven?

A: In the USA, there is no definitive evidence that infrared saunas effectively treat anything.

Why am I so tired after the infrared sauna?

A: Many people experience a drop in blood pressure and heart rate after using an infrared sauna, which can cause you to feel tired.

What is the truth about infrared saunas?

A: If you choose to use an infrared sauna, it is important to understand its effects of them. For example, in some cases, when someone uses one for a prolonged period, their heart rate may increase too much and lead to death. The best way that people can take care of themselves while using these types as well is by sitting on top or near the heating element so that they do not get burnt.

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