Sauna Therapy Health Benefits [7 Healing Perks]

Do you know that sauna therapy has health benefits?

Have you ever been in a sauna or owned one? Do you know the health benefits of sauna therapy? Maybe you had a spa day at a resort and went into a sauna after a massage. Did you stop and think about what it was doing for your body? Did you realize the potential healing benefits it can provide if used on a day-to-day basis? A sauna is a beautiful therapy tool to help power up your mitochondria and improve your detoxification pathways. Ever since I have got a sauna, I have noticed a vast improvement in the way I feel. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without mine! In this article, I’m going to go through seven reasons sauna therapy will heal your body. I hope you learn and consider purchasing one for yourself! You deserve to heal!

Reason #1- Detoxification

Do you feel like you function on low energy? If so, you may need to detox. One of the best health benefits of sauna therapy is to detoxify your body! A sauna can effectively eliminate heavy metals, PCB’s(Polychlorinated biphenyls), and toxins via the skin. It was even found that mercury levels normalized with repeated saunas in a case report ¹. Overall, the skin is a major detox organ, and sweating is a great human detox function. If we don’t sweat, then it is hard to eliminate toxins from our body. Now, you may say, ” I sweat through exercise. Isn’t that good enough.” Yes, sweating this way is very beneficial. However, there is a difference between active and passive sweating.

Active versus passive sweating

When we exercise, we sweat a lot; however, active sweating is not as beneficial for eliminating toxins as passive sweating. Research has shown that the toxin concentration in sweat during exercise is quite low. On the other hand, sweat samples taken during sauna bathing( passive sweating) revealed a high amount of toxins released in the sweat. The reason for this has to do with sympathetic versus parasympathetic nervous system activation².

Passive sweating allows toxins to release from your skin.

When you are exercising enough to start sweating, your body is allocating energy toward your muscles, lungs, and heart. Active sweating is ” fight-or-flight time.” However, during passive sweating, your body is heated from the outside rather than from within, a much more restful state. Passive sweating allows your body to use the energy generated from the incandescent lamps to heal and repair itself, as it decides that this is an excellent time to release toxins through your sweat ³.

Reason #2- Improve your mitochondria function with sauna therapy.

Are you looking for a way to help ward off viruses such as COVID-19? If so, turn to a sauna to assist you! It turns out that giving your mitochondria a jump start is one of the health benefits of sauna therapy! When you help your mitochondria out, you will in turn be fighting infections and diseases. The red and infrared light will penetrate deeply into your tissues, delivering energy to your mitochondria, and increasing power. When considering purchasing a sauna, I strongly recommend that you choose one that will provide near-infrared light or the ability to deliver full-spectrum infrared therapy. The reason for this is that near-infrared light is better than far-infrared light at penetrating your tissue to help your mitochondria⁴.

A vast majority of saunas are far IR, while these may have benefits, they are only able to penetrate a few millimeters or a tiny fraction of an inch. Overall, far-IR saunas are essentially surface-heating and heating you in a conductive fashion. With near-IR wavelengths, you get radiant, penetrating heat, which is much more useful for biological tissues⁵.

Reason #3- Sauna therapy for weight loss.

Yes, one of the health benefits of sauna therapy is weight loss. Sauna conditioning can not only assist with weight loss but will encourage muscle gain. It can promote weight loss by improving sensitivity and decreasing muscle protein catabolism⁶. A sauna also induces intermittent hyperthermia which can also improve insulin resistance! There was a study with mice to demonstrate this fact. In one case, insulin-resistant mice were subjected to 30 minutes of heat treatment, three times a week for twelve weeks. The results were a 31% decrease in insulin levels and a significant reduction in blood glucose levels, which can contribute to an increase in muscle growth and an increase in weight control, and fat loss. ^7,8

A study involving a group of women riding stationary bicycles demonstrated a 444% increase in weight loss for the group exposed to near-infrared light when compared to the exercise-only group.

Reason # 4- Sauna therapy for acne.

Do you struggle with acne? Have you tried Benzoyl peroxide and been to dermatologist numerous times? If you are frustrated, then turn to a sauna therapy to heal your body! For the last couple of years, I have struggled with getting a “zit” here and there, especially around my period. I have tried all sorts of creams and sprays with no improvement. Ever since I have started using a sauna daily, I have seen almost a complete relief!

Sauna helps eliminate acne because of detoxification.

Sauna therapy alleviates acne by promoting detoxification. The sauna helps out your liver by eliminating these chemicals through the skin. That way, your liver does not have as much to process! Yes, our liver needs downtime too! Eliminating acne all has to do with detoxification and improving your blood flow throughout your body. Increased circulation will help nourish your skin and get rid of free radicals and by-products of cellular function. It will also keep it well oxygenated. All these help your skin operate at optimum levels, repair damage faster, and combat acne bacteria⁹.

Reason #5- Sauna therapy to improve sleep.

Do you struggle with insomnia? If so, then consider purchasing a sauna! Ever since my youngest son was born five years ago, I have struggled with my sleep. Once we bought a sauna, I noticed that my sleep improved a lot. Overall, using my sauna daily and establishing better sleep hygiene has improved my sleep continuity ( my ability to stay asleep throughout the night).

Sauna therapy helps to increase melatonin.

There are several different ways that a sauna can assist your sleep. The first way is that it helps the release of melatonin. As you bathe yourself in the warm glow of the broad spectrum infrared sauna therapy, a series of incredible biochemical changes occur, including the release of dopamine, the conduit of serotonin. The brain reacts to the light of the infrared spectrum to augment both dopamine and serotonin. As serotonin uptake rises, there is more available to convert into melatonin in the pineal gland.¹⁰

Sauna helps sleep by thermoregulation.

When I talk about thermoregulation, I am referring to the cooling off of your body’s core temperature. It turns out your body’s thermoregulation is essential to you falling asleep every night. When you use a sauna, it will raise your body’s core body temperature, but afterward, it will drop, which will help you become sleepy.¹¹.

Detoxification will help you sleep.

Do you realize that a toxic load with heavy metals and other chemicals will impair your sleep? Due to our environment, we all carry chemicals, and our liver has to deal with them. When the body is host to harmful toxins within, a stress response is induced to protect the body from invasion. Adrenaline and cortisol are released to protect the body from internal pollutants. When this occurs, it becomes impossible to find states of rest and relaxation¹⁰.

Sauna therapy use will help you eliminate toxins which will improve your sleep.

Using sauna therapy consistently will help the body to eliminate toxins over time! You will literally sweat them out and notice an improvement in your sleep!

Reason # 6- Sauna to improve cardiovascular health.

Do you want to keep your heart healthy and extend your life? If so, then turn to sauna therapy to help you with this! A new report in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that regularly spending time in a sauna may help keep the heart healthy and extend life. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland tracked 2,300 middle-aged men for an average of 20 years. They found that the more sessions per week men spent in the sauna, the lower their risk of sudden cardiac death and fatal coronary heart disease. The sauna also extended the life of participants with other illnesses, including cancer¹².

According to the study, participants who had two or three sauna sessions a week had a 22% reduced chance of suffering sudden cardiac death. Men who had four to seven sauna sessions of at least 20 minutes each, had the most significant benefits. Compared with those who had just one sauna session a week, they had a 63% lower risk of sudden cardiac death, 50% lower risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) death, 48% lower risk of CHD (coronary heart disease) death, and were 40% less likely to die from all-causes¹³.

Reason #7- Sauna to improve arthritic and muscular pain relief.

Do you suffer from chronic joint pain or fibromyalgia? Did you know that a sauna can help with this by naturally increasing the release of natural pain-killing endorphins? In a report in The Annals of Clinical Research Volume 20, Dr. H. Isomäki discusses research results that show the benefits of sauna for relief of pain and increased mobility. In the study, the pain relief induced by a sauna was attributed to an increase in the release of anti-inflammatory compounds such as noradrenaline, adrenaline, cortisol, and growth hormones, as well as an increase in positive stress on the body, causing it to releases natural pain-killing endorphins. More than 50% of participants reported temporary relief of pain and an increase in mobility, most likely because tissues comprised of collagen, such as tendons, fascia, and joint articular capsules, become more flexible when exposed to increased temperatures.

In the study, the pain relief induced by a sauna was attributed to an increase in the release of anti-inflammatory compounds such as noradrenaline, adrenaline, cortisol, and growth hormones, as well as an increase in positive stress on the body, causing it to releases natural pain-killing endorphins. More than 50% of participants reported temporary relief of pain and an increase in mobility, most likely because tissues comprised of collagen, such as tendons, fascia, and joint articular capsules, become more flexible when exposed to increased temperatures¹⁴.

Before using a sauna, make sure to clear it with your healthcare provider.

Even though a sauna has an array of benefits, it is always important to clear with your healthcare provider before using one. An example of these types of people would be pregnant women or if you have heart problems.

Purchase a sauna and start healing today!

Ever since I have purchased my sauna, I have been more than happy with the benefits that it has provided me. I feel so strongly about sauna therapy that I have now added it to my Start Here page as part of your wellness journey.

I do understand that saunas can be costly, and it may be challenging to come out of pocket with the money. However, it is money well spent! It will be well worth it once you do not have to pay extra money for medical bills!

Choose Saunaspace for healing

When it comes to saunas, I am going to recommend Saunaspace. I like their saunas because of their portability and are very convenient if you have a small space. I also like the fact that this company offers a finance option for those of you who do not want to pay for a sauna all upfront. Their saunas are all near-infrared light, which is also great for mitochondrial therapy. When making your decision for a sauna, it is of utmost importance to always choose one with a near-infrared light for good mitochondrial healing. You want to get the most bang for your buck and don’t want a sauna with far-infrared light only!

Join me on your path to wellness

I hope you will join me on your path to wellness! You can start by subscribing to my emails to get important updates on improving your health! I know that you have the ability to acheive your goals. I am here as a mentor to help you!

Namaste!

Do you know that sauna therapy has health benefits?