Category: Sauna Health Benefits

You might see a lot of people pushing for “summer bodies” that are purely in appearance and can require unhealthy approaches to achieve. Here’s the real truth to know: every body is a summer body. Summer bodies can be any shape, size, or look, and your main focus should always be feeling healthy and happy. While it might be hot outside and adding even more heat might sound daunting, an infrared sauna is the perfect wellness tool to help you achieve that feeling. This summer, focus on health, and see how an infrared sauna can help with healthy weight loss, detox, skin health, immune system, and more to have you be your most confident self this season.

 

 

Weight Management

 

Though every body is a summer body, many focus on weight management for the summer. Whether looking to lose weight or maintain weight, it is important to take measures to safely reach a healthy weight while avoiding fad diets or workouts. Using an infrared sauna can help you maintain a healthy weight, from summer and beyond, whether you use the sauna after a workout or on its own.

There are many claims stating that sitting in a sauna can help you burn a lot of calories in a quick amount of time, but infrared sauna weight loss is more of a gradual burn. This means your body is more effectively and efficiently losing weight that will have a greater impact than potentially harmful “miracle” weight loss solutions. The infrared heat increases your heart rate and boosts your metabolic rate to burn approximately 1.5 times your regular calorie burn. For example, if you typically burn 40 calories in 30 minutes, a 30-minute sauna session will burn 60 calories.

 

Body Detoxification

 

Over the summer, people tend to do a lot more than in the cooler months as warmer weather allows for more activities outside of the house. This can mean things like extra traveling, a potentially unhealthier diet, and more time spent around crowds. All of these summer activities are a lot of fun, but can add a bit more wear on our bodies as they are exposed to more things – including toxins.

Infrared saunas are a great tool in your summer health to help detoxify these impurities, as one of the biggest infrared sauna health benefits is its ability to increase your blood circulation, target fat-stored toxins, and stimulate the sweat glands, all of which help remove built-up toxins in the body. Whether you’re trying to recover from a hangover from a summer cookout or are trying to detox from an indulgent summer vacation, sweating in a sauna can help your body’s detoxifying process as it rids itself of accumulated toxins.

 

 

Refreshed Skin

 

Your skin holds on to the dirt and toxins you’ve encountered throughout the day, especially during the summer when you are in contact with sunscreen, pools, beach towels, and sweat. If not washed off or removed from your body, you face the risk of building up toxins and causing breakouts. While sitting in an infrared sauna in the summer might just sound like another hot activity, there are many detoxifying benefits to sweating it out.

Using an infrared sauna for skincare is a great and natural way to cleanse your pores and help eliminate blemishes. Sweat helps remove deeply embedded impurities and dead skin cells, leaving you with clean and glowing skin in summer. It is important to cleanse your face after sweating it out in your sauna – you don’t want the dirt and toxins to clog your pores again right after! Use a gentle cleanser to keep your skin refreshed, and finish it off with a moisturizer – one with SPF is especially important if you plan on enjoying that summer sun.

 

Improved Immune System

 

Summers often bring about summer colds, and they can put a real damper on your seasonal activities. Along with keeping our immune systems healthy by ridding our bodies of the toxins, working up a sweat helps prevent us from getting sick. There are many viruses and bacteria that thrive at our regular body temperature, but die off when our bodies heat up to above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using an infrared sauna can help boost your immune system and protect you from summer illnesses. The heat from a sauna helps promote the production of white blood cells, improves blood circulation, creates an artificial fever, and releases toxins – all actions great in helping your body stay healthy. With summer plans meaning spending more time around friends and crowds or being in close quarters with other travelers on planes, having a boosted immune system is key for enjoying all your summer events.

 

 

Endurance to Heat

 

In most places, the summer heat can be fairly intense depending on the month and the weather. Sometimes it seems unbearable when it gets to those higher temperatures. But, after some time spent in the heat, it typically becomes more tolerable. That’s where a sauna comes in. Using an infrared sauna can help you become more accustomed to the heat, thus increasing your enjoyment of the weather.

When using your infrared sauna, it is recommended to start with shorter sessions so your body can acclimate to the higher temperatures. Go in for increments of 5 minutes until you feel comfortable with a full session, and if you are ever feeling faint or lightheaded from the heat, do not push yourself to stay in longer. Always have water on hand to stay properly hydrated, and take breaks as needed. Once you get out, the 90-degree weather will feel like nothing compared to the ​​180-220 degree heat of your infrared sauna!

 

This summer, your best body is a healthy one. Using an infrared sauna, whether it’s after you workout at the gym or in your own personal sauna at home, can be one of the most useful tools to help you achieve your health goals. And with numerous health benefits year-round (not just in the summer!), starting your infrared sauna regimen this season will lead to many more seasons of health and wellness in your future.

If you are setting a health goal to lose weight and burn fat, you’ve probably seen plenty of fad diets offering to help you do it quickly. However, healthy and sustainable fat loss takes time and dedication to keep it off. Through the process of learning how to get your body to burn stored fat, not only will you reach your goal, you’ll also set up your body for a healthy future with the new habits you’ve picked up. Keep reading to learn more about healthy, safe, and long-lasting ways to burn fat and why they work, from mindful diet and exercise to using an infrared sauna!

 

 

Regular Health Habits

 

Infrared Sauna Use

Infrared therapy has been shown to penetrate deep into fat cells to increase blood flow to the area and promote detoxification in fat tissue for healthy and sustainable fat loss. A weight loss study revealed that an increase in core body temperature resulted in a decrease in body fat. This study concluded that using an infrared sauna three times a week for 30 minutes per session helped drop an average of 4 percent body fat over a four-month period.

 

Adequate Sleep

Sleep is an essential part of any health effort, and making sure you get a proper amount of rest can help your body burn fat. Research suggests that insufficient sleep slows down the body’s metabolism, thus affecting calorie burn. When metabolism is less effective, the body may store unused energy as fat. In addition, poor sleep can increase the production of insulin and cortisol, which also prompt fat storage.

 

Reduced Stress

Stress triggers the release of hormones such as cortisol, which can remain in the bloodstream for longer under constant stress. Cortisol signals the need to replenish the body’s nutritional stores from the preferred source of fuel, which is carbohydrates. Insulin then transports the sugar from carbohydrates from the blood to the muscles and brain. If the individual does not use this sugar in a moment of stress, the body will store it as fat.

 

Hydration

Hydration is key for losing weight and burning fat. Chronic dehydration can prevent you from burning more calories throughout the day, and it can also take a toll on proper metabolism function. According to a 2016 study, upping your water intake may increase lipolysis, the process by which the body burns fat for energy. Try to drink your recommended amount of water a day to help your body perform at peak performance.

 

 

Mindful Eating

 

High Protein

Found in a variety of delicious and nutritious foods, protein can curb your appetite and burn body fat – including visceral fat. According to one study, eating a high-protein diet helps your body boost metabolism and retain muscle mass. Protein will also help you feel full for longer, thus helping reduce overall calorie intake.

 

High Fiber

Soluble fiber absorbs water and moves through your digestive tract slowly, helping you feel full for longer. One study found that increasing soluble fiber intake significantly decreased body weight and belly fat, independent of calorie intake. Having a fiber-rich diet can help decrease hunger, burn more fat, and aid in weight loss.

 

Healthy Fats

Burning fat by eating fat might not sound like it would work, but a diet with healthy fats has been shown to assist with sustainable, long-term weight loss. In fact, diets enriched with olive oil have been linked to greater weight loss and less belly fat than diets without. Just be sure to avoid trans fats and still keep an eye on healthy fat calories.

 

Reduced Sugar & Refined Carbs

Refined carbohydrates are quick to digest, and they convert to glucose rapidly. Excess glucose enters the blood and provokes the hormone insulin, which promotes storage in the adipose tissue, also known as body fat. Reducing refined carbohydrates, processed food, and sugar in your diet can help reduce fat gain.

 

Probiotics

One emerging area of research is focusing on the role of bacteria in the gut on weight management. The human gut hosts a vast number and variety of microorganisms, including around 37 trillion bacteria. Some types can increase the amount of energy someone gains from food, leading to fat deposition and weight gain.

 

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that involves regular short-term fasts and consuming meals within a shorter time period during the day. One study found that over 3–12 weeks, the intermittent fasting method reduced body weight by up to 7% and decreased body fat by up to 12 pounds.

 

 

Exercise

 

Cardio

Swimming, running, dancing, and any other aerobic exercise that conditions your lungs and heart can also help improve your metabolism and burn fat. Research suggests 20 to 40 minutes of moderate to intense cardio per day is ideal for burning visceral fat and reaping other fat loss and metabolism-boosting benefits. Daily aerobic exercise, like running, can help you jump-start fat loss.

 

HIIT

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), is a type of high-energy workout that combines bursts of intensity with short periods of rest to keep your heart rate elevated. HIIT exercises burn more calories in a shorter amount of time than other forms of exercise and have been shown to increase fat loss. One study found that HIIT burns up to 30 percent more calories than doing other forms of cardio for the same amount of time.

 

Strength Training

Strength training in the form of weight lifting, yoga, or other resistance equipment is a great way to decrease unhealthy belly fat (the kind around your organs), increase muscle mass, and burn more calories while at rest. One study showed that 10 weeks of resistance training may boost the number of calories burned while resting by 7 percent by helping give the body a metabolism boost.

 

Learning how to get your body to burn stored fat in a healthy way is key to keeping it off and improving your health in the long run. Use these fat burning tips to help you reach your weight loss goals and form some great habits along the way. It may seem daunting to change up your diet, exercise, and daily habits, but take it one step at a time and you’ll see progress!

There are already many health benefits to using an infrared sauna, but you can really boost your experience by adding LED light therapy and halotherapy to your session. By including additional therapies to your sauna experience, you can enjoy added health benefits such as better skin health, boosted mood, improved respiratory health, reduced pain, and more. Read on to learn more about these additions and how red light therapy and salt therapy can help boost your infrared therapy results.

 

 

Red Light Therapy

 

Red light therapy, or RLT, is a technique used to help promote healthy cell growth and regeneration. Today’s practice of red light therapy can be used in the treatment of a wide range of issues such as skin conditions and wound healing. There are many ways to utilize this therapy by simply placing red light technology near your body, from light towers and saunas to handheld devices and face masks.

Red light therapy works by using red low-level wavelengths of light to produce a biochemical effect in cells by penetrating approximately 5 millimeters below the skin’s surface. This effect helps strengthen the mitochondria and increase cell energy to improve the performance of cells. Stronger cells increase productivity and effectiveness for proper rejuvenation and damage repair. Overall, the body uses these boosted cells to increase healing time and improve the condition of ailments caused by degenerative cells.

The light from near-infrared LEDs has been shown to provide health benefits such as bringing energy to cells, reducing pain, increasing collagen and elastin production in skin cells, speeding up the wound healing process, reducing inflammation, and providing numerous anti-aging benefits.

 

 

Salt Therapy (Halotherapy)

 

The practice of salt therapy, or halotherapy, uses microsalt to promote a range of health benefits once inhaled. Many believe that when people inhale this salty air, it can help stimulate their respiratory system, reduce inflammation, fight infection, clear blockages, and reduce discomfort. The treatment is intended to recreate the atmosphere of salt caves with a high concentration of micronized salt in the air.

Salt is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and can help with excessive mucus, pathogen agents, digestive issues, depression, skin conditions, and immune system oversensitivity. Microsalt is especially effective when used for respiratory and skin conditions. Halotherapy also helps improve mental health and boosts mood. Salt contains negatively charged ions that help balance serotonin and leave you feeling invigorated, positive, and stress-free.

In the respiratory system, the main halotherapy benefits (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hydrophilic, and mucokinetic) help stimulate the body’s process of cleansing the system to eliminate foreign particles such as pollutants and allergens to restore proper respiratory functions. For the skin, salt therapy helps regulate pH levels and enhances the reparative and regenerative properties. It can also boost the production of collagen fibers for rejuvenation and lymph cells for an immune system boost.

 

 

Full Spectrum Infrared Therapy

 

Full spectrum infrared therapy involves using infrared waves to penetrate into the body and provide a number of long-lasting health benefits. These waves promote healthy function of the body’s cells and in turn improve healing, circulation, and detoxification. Infrared heat therapy penetrates nearly 5 centimeters into the skin, making it a perfect therapy to use in conjunction with red light therapy that penetrates 5 millimeters. And when adding halotherapy as well, you can target the surface of your skin and your respiratory system.

By combining all three therapies, you allow multiple levels of your body to heal and rejuvenate. Detoxification, pain relief, improved skin conditions, enhanced mood, better respiratory health, and boosted immune system health are just a few of the health benefits you will experience when combining these health therapies.

 

Combining Infrared and Red Light Therapies

Red light therapy and infrared therapy can easily be done together by including a red light device into an infrared sauna session for a comprehensive light therapy treatment. To use red light therapy with your sauna at home, you can attach a Clearlight® Light Therapy Tower to the door of your sauna. Simply turn on your red light therapy device as you enjoy a 15-20 minute infrared sauna session.

 

Combining Infrared and Salt Therapies

On top of the healing One of the best solutions on the market is the HALOONE® Microsalt Halotherapy Generator that can be incorporated into your sauna and used to crush salt into microparticles that are easily inhaled. Creating your own salt sauna experience allows you to combine the powerful detoxifying properties of infrared therapy with the healing benefits of halotherapy.

No matter which additions you include in your infrared sauna experience, after every session, be sure to rinse off and hydrate. Detoxing helps remove impurities from your body, and it is important to wash them off and to replenish the fluids in your body. And always remember to keep your infrared sessions comfortable – if you feel any discomfort like dizziness or overheating, it’s okay to take a break and do a shorter session.

 

If you have a sauna at home, you are already on the right path toward wellness! But now that you’ve learned how to get the most out of a sauna with the addition of red light therapy and halotherapy, you are about to experience a whole new approach to your sauna sessions with increased health benefits. If you are considering buying a sauna, be sure to add on a red light therapy tower and a microsalt halotherapy generator to truly experience total health and wellness from the outside in.

About 1 in 3 Americans experience chronic pain. Of those, 1 in 5 experience neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, also called nerve pain, is one of the many classes of chronic pain. It can be a persistent and painful health concern, and finding relief can have a huge impact on your quality of life. Though nerve pain can be sudden and unpleasant, there are steps you can take to help relieve symptoms and get on the road to recovery. Read on to learn more about nerve pain, from its common causes and symptoms to treatments that can help alleviate the pain and discomfort.

 

 

What is Nerve Pain?

 

Nerve pain is complex and can be caused by nerve damage, irritation, or destruction. The cause of nerve pain is usually due to damaged nerves that send false signals and result in chronic pain. The signals may not function to register the pain associated with an injury normally. ​

Nerve pain is often progressive, especially if the root cause is not treated. The usual progression of nerve pain begins far away from the brain and spinal cord (hands and feet) and spreads backward (retrograde) toward the arms and legs. With appropriate and timely treatment, the progression may be halted and, in some cases, reversed.

 

Nerve Pain Causes

 

Although some people develop nerve pain for no known reason, many others develop it because of a certain health problem such as diabetes, shingles, or cancer. It can also occur as the result of injury or infection. Some develop unusual triggers that make them overly sensitive to certain conditions, caused by a heightened sensitivity of the nerves to stimulation. With neuropathic pain, the pain isn’t typically triggered by an event or injury. Instead, the body just sends pain signals to your brain unprompted. 

Common causes for nerve pain include:

• Cancer
• Carpal tunnel
• Chemotherapy
• Chronic alcohol use
• Diabetes
• Facial nerve damage
• Herniated discs
• Multiple sclerosis
• Multiple myeloma
• Phantom limb syndrome
• Shingles
• Syphilis
• Spinal arthritis
• Spinal cord compression
• Thyroid issues
• Tissue, muscle, and joint injuries
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Vitamin B deficiency
  

 

 

Nerve Pain Symptoms

 

The perception of pain varies with everyone; terms such as stabbing, prickling, burning, tingling, and other descriptions have been used. Nerve pain can be difficult to live with and tends to get worse over time. If you feel like you are experiencing any nerve pain symptoms, be sure to speak with your doctor quickly to prevent further potential nerve damage.

Each person’s symptoms of nerve pain may vary slightly, but these nerve pain symptoms are common:

• Shooting, throbbing, burning, or stabbing pain
• Tingling or “pins and needles” feeling
• Spontaneous pain
• Extreme sensitivity to touch
• Difficulty sleeping or resting
• Loss of balance
• Weakened grip
• Muscle fatigue
• Pain with movement
• Partial or complete paralysis

 

Loss of Feeling & Numbness

Not all nerve damage results in pain. Loss of feeling or numbness may also occur. Although it may not be painful, the numbness can result in decreased sensitivity of the sense of touch that can interfere with dexterity in the hands. This can make activities like typing, shoe-tying, or playing a musical instrument difficult. Numbness or reduction/loss of the sense of touch can be dangerous because it affects balance and muscle strength. This may require braces, canes, or walkers to prevent falls.

Although some nerve damage may cause numbness instead of pain, this can still be harmful. Numbness may mask damage to traumatized extremities like the feet. People with this type of nerve damage can benefit from regularly examining their extremities for possible overlooked injuries.

 

 

Nerve Pain Remedies

 

Over-the-Counter Treatments

Over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers drugs are often the first medicines used to reduce or stop nerve pain. The components may include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen. Some OTCs may be incorporated into creams, gels, ointments, oils, or sprays that are applied to the skin overlying the painful area.

 

Prescription Drugs

​​There are many different prescription drugs that may help to reduce nerve pain. They range from powerful painkillers to drugs that were originally used for depression or seizures but can also reduce nerve pain. However, some of these prescription drugs may be addictive, so you and your doctor need to find a treatment plan that works for you without causing you additional problems.

 

Natural & Home Remedies for Nerve Pain

Some people with nerve pain respond to other treatments known as complementary, natural, or alternative treatments. For example, acupuncture may help some, while dietary supplements may help others. However, you and your doctor should discuss the use of these treatments and supplements to be sure they don’t interfere with other medical therapies or treatments.

 

Infrared Sauna for Nerve Pain

Experiencing infrared heat in a sauna improves circulation, relaxes muscles, tissues, and nerves, and even aids in the rebuilding of damaged nerve tissue. Far-infrared therapy utilizes light to create heat, directly heating the body with a much more comfortable heat than traditional saunas. This heat allows you to remain inside the sauna longer and enhance potential health benefits. Infrared heat penetrates joints, muscles, tissues, and nerve endings while also producing additional white blood cells, which alleviates inflammation. Reduced inflammation can help reduce nerve pain and bring relief from the discomfort.

In addition to the benefits of far-infrared therapy, a study led by Paul Heppenstall, Ph.D. has shown that near-infrared light can help reduce nerve pain receptors by causing the nerve endings to retract from the surface of the skin. You can include red light therapy into your sauna session for a comprehensive combination of far-infrared, near-infrared, and red light therapies to help reduce nerve pain.

 

If you believe you are suffering from nerve pain, be sure to discuss your next steps with your doctor as soon as possible. While some pain might be manageable, neuropathic pain has the potential to progress further and can cause permanent damage if not treated in a proper or timely manner. Be sure to listen to your body and take the precautions necessary to alleviate nerve pain and live your best life.

Using a sauna in the summer might sound counterintuitive, but hear us out! Using a sauna in the summer can be a helpful tool in maintaining your health in the summer, from helping improve skin health to helping improve your immune system. Read on to learn more about why an infrared sauna is the ultimate addition to your summer health routine and discover the many benefits of sweating and being exposed to the heat!

 

 

Infrared Sauna Heat Benefits in Summer

 

Increased Weight Loss

Many focus on weight loss for the summer, and using an infrared sauna can help you achieve healthy weight loss, whether you use the sauna after a workout or on its own. There are many claims stating that sitting in a sauna can help you burn a lot of calories fast, but infrared sauna weight loss is more of a gradual burn, so don’t expect a miracle weight loss solution with just one use.

The infrared heat increases your heart rate and boosts your metabolic rate to burn approximately 1.5 times your regular calorie burn. For example, if you typically burn 40 calories in 30 minutes, a 30-minute sauna session will burn 60 calories. While it isn’t a large difference, any additional calorie burn helps.

 

Boosted Immune System

Summers often bring about summer colds, and they can put a real hamper on your seasonal activities. Along with keeping our immune systems healthy by ridding our bodies of the toxins, working up a sweat helps prevent us from getting sick. There are many viruses and bacteria that thrive at our regular body temperature, but die off when our bodies heat up to above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Infrared sauna use helps boost your immune system and protect you from summer illnesses. The heat from a sauna helps promote the production of white blood cells, improves blood circulation, creates an artificial fever, and releases toxins – all actions great in helping your body stay healthy.

 

 

Improved Skin Health

Your skin holds on to the dirt and toxins you’ve encountered throughout the day, especially during the summer when you are in contact with sunscreen, pools, beach towels, and sweat. If not washed off or removed from your body, you face the risk of building up toxins and causing breakouts. While sitting in an infrared sauna in the summer might just sound like another hot activity, there are many detoxifying benefits to sweating it out.

Using an infrared sauna for skincare is a great and natural way to cleanse your pores and eliminate blemishes. Sweat helps remove deeply embedded impurities and dead skin cells, leaving you with clean and glowing skin in summer. It is important to cleanse your face after to avoid further clogging from the sweat and removed toxins.

 

Better Endurance to Heat

In most places, the summer heat can be fairly intense depending on the month and the weather. Sometimes it seems unbearable when it gets to those higher temperatures. But, after some time spent in the heat, it typically becomes more tolerable. That’s where a sauna comes in. Using an infrared sauna can help you become more accustomed to the heat, thus increasing your enjoyment of the weather.

When using your infrared sauna, it is recommended to start with shorter sessions so your body can acclimate to the higher temperatures. Go in for increments of 5 minutes until you feel comfortable with a full session. Once you get out, the 90-degree weather will feel like nothing compared to the ​​180-220 degree heat of your sauna!

 

Reduced Stress

While summer days as a child were filled with fun, summer as an adult has a few more stressors with work, planning summer activities, and even paying the summer A/C bill! Luckily, working up a sweat releases endorphins, which make you happy. While sweating while it’s already hot outside might sound miserable at first, it actually helps relieve stress and promote relaxation. Don’t knock it until you try it!

One of the quickest ways to release endorphins and reduce stress is by relaxing in an infrared sauna. Next time you’re feeling stressed out or need a break to clear your mind, think about spending a few minutes for yourself in the sauna to ease your mind, feel rejuvenated, and embrace the benefits of sweating.

 

 

Summer Heat Safety

 

Saunas, working out, being outside – no matter how you decide to sweat this summer, always be sure to do it safely. Weare weather- or activity-appropriate clothing, always stay hydrated, wear sunscreen if outdoors, and be aware of the potentials of heat-related illnesses that may arise if your body overheats. Know when to take a break and cool when you need to. If you are doing any intensive heated activities, have a buddy who can keep an eye out just in case heat exhaustion arises.

Once you are done with your summer heat activities, be sure to drink plenty of water, rest, and take a shower. Once you’ve sweat out all those toxins, you don’t want them stuck on your body.

 

Benefits of Sweating in Summer

 

Sweating in the summer might not sound like the ideal activity, but it’s hard to argue with the points above that getting your summer sweat on might be one of the best health choices out there. Using an infrared sauna is the best and easiest way to tap into the health benefits of heat and sweat without overexposing yourself to the hot summer weather. Whether you decide to sweat it out in an infrared sauna, taking a walk outside, exercising, eating spicy food, or however else you like, the health benefits are well worth the moments of feeling the heat. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll start to enjoy the feeling of it!