Wellness Tips Archives

Lung Health Tips for How to Keep Lungs Healthy Naturally

Lungs are some of our most important organs, and keeping them healthy is key to living a healthy life. From pollution to sickness, our lungs and respiratory system sometimes need our help to keep them healthy and strong. Luckily, there are products and techniques that can help prevent illness, reduce symptoms of respiratory conditions, and help strengthen your lungs for future respiratory health. Read on to find lung health tips, from using a halotherapy generator to practicing breathing exercises.

Air Purifiers

One of the first steps you can take toward keeping your lungs healthy naturally is preparing a healthy environment at home. According to the EPA, recent studies have shown that air pollution within homes and buildings is higher than the air outside due to them being enclosed spaces. Getting a high-quality air purifier in your home can help ensure your space is healthy and safe for your lungs to breathe on the regular. Make sure you get one that’s the right size for your space, and change the filters regularly.

Breathing Exercises

One of the biggest things to consider when it comes to your lung health is lung capacity, or the total amount of air your lungs can hold. Decreased lung capacity happens with age and can be worsened by conditions such as asthma, with side effects including shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Breathing exercises are an easy way to help expand your lung capacity naturally, training your lungs how to better expand and get more oxygen into your body. Two of the most effective breathing exercises to try are diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lips breathing.

Diet

What you put in your stomach can make an impact on your lungs. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet that’s high in nutrient-rich ingredients can help relieve some symptoms of respiratory-related conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pulmonary fibrosis. Try adding ingredients to your meals that are rich in nitrates (beets), vitamin C (peppers), antioxidants (apples), carotenoids (pumpkin), curcumin (turmeric), anthocyanins (blueberries), vitamin D (fish), and omega-3 fats (fish).

Exercise

Just like how breathing exercises can help expand your lung capacity, physical exercise is great for helping keep your lungs in healthy shape. Exercises that leave you breathing a little harder than usual have a similar effect to deep breathing exercises that expand your lungs and cycle air to get more oxygen to the body. In addition to lung capacity benefits, leading a physically active lifestyle can help you manage a healthy weight, which in turn puts less strain on your respiratory system.

Halotherapy

Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, has been a practice used for centuries to take advantage of the properties of salt. With benefits initially discovered in salt caves in Poland in the 1800s, halotherapy today can be easily accessible by going to a salt room at a spa or having your very own salt therapy generator at home. In these settings, you’re surrounded by microsalt particles that can help stimulate the respiratory system, reduce inflammation, fight infection, clear blockages, and reduce discomfort when inhaled.

Infection Prevention

It’s said that prevention is better than treatment, and taking the steps to prevent respiratory infection can help reduce your chances of lung complications due to infection. Your daily habits contribute to this prevention, such as washing your hands regularly, practicing proper dental hygiene to reduce exposure from bacteria in the mouth, and taking extra precautions during flu and cold seasons when respiratory symptoms are more common. While symptoms are often temporary, severe cases can leave lingering side effects on your lungs.

Infrared Sauna

Recent studies have found that infrared sauna use may help improve lung and respiratory function. One recent review in 2018 found that those suffering conditions such as asthma, COPD, or chronic bronchitis saw breathing improvements after sauna use, and another study found that consistent sauna use helped reduce the symptoms of acute respiratory symptoms. Infrared sauna use can help improve circulation, reduce inflammation, maintain a healthy weight, and improve immune system health – all factors that can help improve overall lung health.

Laughter & Singing

Here’s a fun one! Turns out just having a great time laughing with friends or belting out your favorite tune can help keep your lungs healthy by exercising them and helping cycle out air. By laughing and singing, you work your muscles and can help expand your lungs’ capacity to make breathing easier. And by expelling the air in your lungs to hit that high note, your lungs get a nice, full breath of fresh air after. On top of respiratory benefits, laughing and singing can help reduce anxiety – a win-win situation.

No Smoking

It’s no secret that smoking isn’t good for your lung health. Those who smoke cigarettes are at a higher risk for developing lung cancer or COPD. The smoke from cigarettes also restricts breathing passages and can cause chronic inflammation. Aside from cigarettes, vaping can also pose a threat to your lung health, as chemicals are involved that can cause lung irritation and lead to respiratory damage and disease. Avoiding smoking all together can offer a healthier future for your lung and respiratory health.

Posture

The way you sit or stand can make an impact on how your lungs can function. This quick fix can help you breathe a little deeper and better. When positioned in a cramped posture, typically by being in a hunched position, your lungs are more compressed and are not able to fully expand. Studies have shown that bad posture can shorten your diaphragm over time. Switching your posture can help open up your chest and allow you to breathe more freely. Pro tip: Those breathing exercises mentioned above can help with your posture, too!

Reduced Pollution Exposure

Pollution is an unfortunate reality in our lives now, especially air pollution. Living our everyday lives exposes us to air pollution, so it’s almost impossible to avoid, but there are still precautions you can take. As mentioned before, an air purifier in indoor environments you can control (such as your home or workplace) can improve your quality of life and lung health. In other environments, minimize the amount of time you spend in highly-polluted areas, such as cities or near high-traffic roads.

Taking care of your lungs can help you live a better quality of life, so it’s best to take all the precautions to keep them healthy. With pollution and age being inevitable factors, being proactive in caring for your respiratory health with these lung health tips can set you up for a healthier future. Be sure to consult with your doctor if you have lung concerns and work with them to find the ideal plan for you.

8 Home Gadgets to Create Your Health & Wellness Sanctuary

Going to the spa is a nice treat, but having the tools and equipment at home to create your own health and wellness sanctuary can be a game changer. Having a home sanctuary can allow you to have access to health and wellness 24/7, because you deserve to treat yourself whenever you want to. From infrared saunas and red light therapy towers to halotherapy generators, see how to create your own at-home sanctuary and learn what the best health gadgets are to keep your wellness space up to date!

Infrared Sauna

One of the best ways to practice wellness at home is with an infrared sauna. When a daily 20-minute session can help bring health benefits like reduced stress, detoxification, weight loss, and pain relief, infrared sauna use is an easy and effective way to improve your health. An infrared sauna at home is one of the best health gadgets as it provides a range of benefits unlike other health devices for the home that only address one area.

There are many different ways to enjoy infrared therapy at home, whether you want a personal 1-person sauna, a 5-person sauna for practicing hot yoga, or even a sauna dome that can make your sauna sessions a little more portable. And if you’re designing a beautiful home sanctuary, Clearlight® Infrared Saunas offer beautiful craftsmanship to really make your house feel like a luxury spa.

On top of the regular sauna health benefits, you can boost your infrared experience with enhancements such as chromotherapy, halotherapy, and red light therapy to create the ultimate home sanctuary for your health and wellness.

Chromotherapy Device

Color light therapy, or chromotherapy, is the practice of using colors to correct imbalances in the body. Each color aids in healing a different physical, emotional, or mental aspect of your life. This practice is typically seen in spas, but can easily be incorporated into your everyday life with your own home sanctuary with color light therapy gadgets as it can be easily incorporated into your home wellness routine through a number of methods.

Chromotherapy can be a wonderful addition to infrared heat therapy in a sauna and can help boost sauna health benefits even further. You can also turn your shower into a relaxing chromotherapy oasis with a color light therapy shower head, or improve your skin care regimen with a rejuvenating chromotherapy face mask that can help target specific skin issues.

Halotherapy Generator

Halotherapy, or salt therapy, is a practice that has been around for centuries to use the healing properties of salt. What used to be reserved for large salt rooms you can now enjoy at home with a compact HALOONE® halotherapy generator. These generators produce microscopic particles of salt that are distributed into the air in a room free of humidity and a user spends 20-30 minutes inhaling the salt particles.

Exposure to these salt microparticles can help provide relief from a number of ailments ranging from skin health to respiratory health. Halotherapy generators are a great health device for the home, as it allows you to easily create a healthy environment. It’s best to do it in an enclosed space for the best exposure, such as a home infrared sauna, which will also help combine the benefits of infrared and salt therapies.

UV Disinfectant Wand

Harmful germs and bacteria are everywhere, even at home. Having a safe environment in your health and wellness sanctuary is important to give you peace of mind once you come home. Cleaning your space with disinfectant sprays and wipes are a good start, but using a UV disinfecting wand can help keep your other health and wellness gadgets staying as clean as possible.

Emitting both UV-C and UV-A, the Clearlight® UV Wand damages the DNA and RNA in bacteria and viruses rendering them harmless, and works 10x faster than most fluorescent UV devices and up to 2x more powerful than other LED UV devices. Use it on any surface you touch often, including your phone, handles on your home spa or gym equipment, or wherever else you want a deeper clean.

Red Light Tower

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 as an aid for treatment of a wide range of issues such as skin conditions and wound recovery. It can be enhanced when paired with infrared technology to provide a more holistic approach to your overall wellness, which is especially useful in your home sanctuary.

There are many ways to utilize this therapy by simply placing red light technology near your body, from light towers to handheld devices and face masks. The Clearlight® Light Therapy units can be conveniently placed where you need it, from free-standing units to mounted units in your infrared sauna. Because of their versatility, they are some of the top health devices for the home.

Air Purifier

Along the same lines of disinfecting surfaces of your home with a UV wand, the quality of air in your house is another important thing to consider when setting up your home sanctuary. Smart air purifiers on the market today are designed to quickly and efficiently filter the air so you can avoid the side effects of pollutants in your home and have a break from poor air quality you might face while out and about.

Current technology also allows you to monitor air quality stats from your phone, check filter status, and adjust timers, fan speeds, and more, so your home sanctuary is always one of the best places to be for a breath of fresh air. Whether you’re avoiding allergies inside your house or just want to feel safe taking deep breaths while meditating, a high-quality air purifier is one of the best health gadgets.

Sleep Sensor

Getting a healthy night of rest is one of the most important factors in living a healthy life, though many struggle with getting the ideal amount of sleep. Your home wellness sanctuary doesn’t have to be a dedicated spa, it can be as simple as making your bedroom a healthy space. Sleep sensors can help you analyze your sleep to identify any potential problem areas and work toward getting high-quality sleep.

There are a few different methods to track your sleep, from wearable technology to sensors that go directly in your bed. Many offer features such as heart rate, snoring, temperature, and blood oxygen data tracking to help pinpoint what changes you can make to turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary. When you get the proper amount of sleep, you’re setting yourself up for a healthier future overall.

Skincare Fridge

Having a fridge in your bathroom might not be your first thought, but if you have a skincare regimen, having a mini fridge to store products can be a game changer. While not as technical as the other health and wellness gadgets above, skincare fridges offer a lot to your wellness regimen at home. The refrigeration helps maintain the integrity of the ingredients in some skincare products to ensure your skin is getting the best nutrition.

These little fridges are some of the best health gadgets because they are fairly compact and can be used to enhance your daily routine. They are great for providing the refreshing feeling of applying cold products like serums, eye cream, or sheet masks to the face or chilling facial tools like face rollers. These cold products feel great during your regular skincare routine, but they feel especially rejuvenating after sweating in an infrared sauna.

When putting together your home sanctuary, think of all the health benefits you’d like to focus on and get those health gadgets first. Building a wellness sanctuary can be a slow process of gathering all the things that make you feel your best and provide a healthy and safe space. Start off with some of these health devices for home wellness, and start treating yourself every day!

Pamper Yourself with 7 DIY Spa Day & Home Spa Treatments

Going to the spa is a great way to decompress, but it’s not always the most feasible option when it comes to cost or time. So why not bring the spa into your home? A spa day at home is one of the best ways to treat yourself, and luckily, you can DIY a lot of great treatments to make it a fun experience. From face masks to deep conditioning your hair, read on to find DIY home spa treatments – along with tips on how to make your spa day extra luxurious with things like infrared sauna sessions and stress-relieving baths. Once you find how easy it is to make your own home sanctuary, you’ll be making time for DIY spa days all the time!

Home Spa Treatments

Infrared Sauna

Using an infrared sauna during your spa day at home is an incredible way to pamper yourself. Infrared heat therapy penetrates deep into your skin to help ease muscle aches, increase circulation, and detoxify your skin. This is a great first activity in your spa day, as it helps put your body into relaxation mode for the rest of the day. The detoxification process also helps open the pores, making it easier for your skin to absorb any products you may apply during your spa day. Infrared sauna use also helps reduce stress and affects the autonomic nervous system to help put you in the rest and digest state for proper healing.

You can also incorporate aromatherapy, chromotherapy, halotherapy, and red light therapy to enhance your home spa day even further. If you enjoy yoga, do a restorative hot yoga session in your sauna to stretch and meditate.

Take a Bath or Shower

Both starting off and ending your spa day feeling clean and refreshed is the way to go. Rinse off with a quick shower first, then relax in either a hot shower or bath to get into relaxation mode with the help of a little thermotherapy. If showering, do an exfoliating body scrub and some aromatherapy with the shower steam to make a truly luxurious experience. In the bath, make it special with bubbles or a bath bomb, and light some candles during your soak. Remember to moisturize after a bath or shower to keep your skin healthy.

Indulge in Spa Treatments

You can’t have a spa day at home without some sort of spa treatment! This part can be as simple or complex as you would like, whether you make a DIY face mask or splurge on expensive home spa products. If you’re on the DIY track, there are plenty of treatments to choose from such as face masks, body scrubs, and hair masks that are made with healthy and natural ingredients that you might already have in your pantry or fridge. If going shopping for your spa products, items can range from $2 sheet masks to $400 serums.

DIY Spa Recipes

DIY Hair & Face Masks

One really fun addition to a home spa day is creating your own DIY hair masks and face masks. There are many ingredients you can use, with some you probably already have in your kitchen! For example, mashed bananas can help deliver vitamin C and moisture to your skin and hair. Avocado also has moisturizing properties for both hair and skin. Add some egg whites to the mix for some elasticity benefits, and sweeten it up with some honey for even more moisture and some clarifying properties. Before largely applying any ingredients to your skin, test a small amount to ensure you don’t have any sensitivities, and wash the DIY mask off thoroughly after.

DIY Skin Exfoliator

Exfoliating your skin is an important step in keeping your skin looking healthy and radiant, and you can easily make your own at home. DIY body scrubs can be made with a number of ingredients found right in your pantry! Use your leftover coffee grounds to make a coffee and honey scrub that helps smooth and firm the skin. If you aren’t a coffee drinker, you can use sugar and mix it with a number of ingredients – rose petals to calm the skin, citrus to brighten the skin, turmeric to help with inflammation, and olive oil to nourish the skin. To avoid irritation, don’t scrub too hard, and exfoliate after heat exposure – not before.

DIY Epsom Salt Soak

While the heat of a bath alone might be a nice, mild form of heat therapy, you can help kick it up with a DIY Epsom salt soak. Epsom salt breaks down into magnesium and sulfate when placed in water, giving your body the opportunity to absorb the minerals and help relieve tension. Use essential oils to add in an aromatherapy element. Eucalyptus and lavender are common spa scents, but you can mix it up with some of your favorite scents. Draw yourself a bath, dissolve 1-2 cups of Epsom salt in the warm water, and blend 5-20 drops of your favorite essential oils mixed with a carrier oil at the end for a relaxing home spa experience.

DIY Spa Water

Have you ever had the delicious water they serve at spas, usually infused with refreshing fruits and herbs? Not only is it a refreshing drink, but staying hydrated during a spa day is crucial to feeling healthy and rejuvenated at the end of the day. It helps replenish your electrolytes after spa treatments like using an infrared sauna or taking a bubble bath, and makes you feel like you’re at the spa while at home with just a few simple ingredients. Some of our favorite spa water combos are strawberry/mint/lime, watermelon/basil, cucumber/orange, pineapple/ginger/mint, and peach/basil.

Learning how to pamper yourself at home is a valuable life skill, as it teaches you how to tune in to your body and give it the time it needs to relax and restore. It is very easy to get caught up in life and forget to slow down, so start off by rewarding yourself with an hour of uninterrupted self-care a week. A spa day at home doesn’t have to be a full day, it can be an hour or even a full weekend. Whenever your schedule allows, take time for yourself with these tips for a perfect DIY spa day at home.

The Effects of Pollution on Human Health, and How to Fix It

It’s an unfortunate truth – pollution is a part of our lives, and it has negative impacts on our health. With such sprawling cities and new developments across the world, pollutants are all around us from the food we eat to the air we breathe. While land, water, and air pollution might all be fully unavoidable, there are still things you can do to help reduce the effects of pollution on human health. Read on to learn how pollution affects your body and ways you can help avoid the effects for a healthier life.

What is Pollution?

Simply put, pollution is the presence of harmful contaminants in the environment. It can be found almost all across the globe, with air, land, and water all having pollutants present. Land pollution includes household garbage (mostly paper, food, lawn clippings, and plastic) and commercial/industrial waste. Water pollution is created when foreign substances are introduced to the water, including chemicals, sewage, pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural runoff, and metals like lead or mercury. Air pollution is the most common form of pollution that we face, with 9 out of 10 people breathing air high in pollutants as of 2018, made up of pollutants like small particles from burning fuel, exhaust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and chemical vapors.

Much of the pollution today comes from modern-day industry and habits, though there are still lingering pollutants from the past – proving just how long pollution can affect our bodies and environment. For example, persistent organic pollutants, sometimes known as “forever chemicals” or POPs, are resistant to environmental degradation, meaning POPs from World War II are still present. While environmental protections are slowly being put in place to reduce this pollution, it is still a persistent issue.

These harmful pollutants make their way into our daily lives with the things we eat, air we breathe, and water we drink. In turn, our bodies are prone to retaining these toxins, which can lead to health issues with prolonged exposure. The effects of pollution on health can gradually build up over time, so it is important to take the appropriate precautions to lessen the effects.

Health Risks of Pollution

Pollution is an unfortunate aspect of our lives, and the effects of pollution on human health can range from mild to severe depending on exposure. Those in higher-polluted areas such as industrial areas and cities may feel symptoms more than those with less exposure to pollutants. Land and water pollution, while not as prevalent as air pollution, can introduce chemicals, parasites, bacteria, and pesticides to your body, leaving you with ailments such as gastroenteritis, headaches, fatigue, and cardiovascular illness. In the more prevalent air pollution, health risks can range from a number of items, such as:

Cancer
Cardiovascular Disease
Fatigue
Headache
Nausea
Respiratory Illness
Skin Irritation

How to Decrease Effects of Pollution on Health

Reduced Exposure

As mentioned earlier, the more exposure you have to pollutants, the more harm they can do to your health. The first step in decreasing the effects of pollution is by decreasing your exposure. For land and water pollutants, wash your produce thoroughly, cook meat to safe temperatures, and use a water filter. To avoid air pollutants, check your area’s air quality every day. On days with worse ratings, try to minimize your time outdoors. Reducing time spent in traffic, in large cities, and near industrial areas can also help reduce exposure.

Filters & Air Purifiers

While you don’t have much control over the pollution outside of your home, you can certainly take steps to reduce the pollutants inside of your home. Invest in some filters for your water sources and home ventilation and be sure to routinely check them for replacement when they get dirty – especially if you are using the vents more frequently for A/C or heat. On top of filters, air purifiers are great additions to any home to reduce impurities you breathe in, especially in high-use areas like living rooms or bedrooms.

Exercise

Working out has many benefits for your health, and it can be especially beneficial in helping protect your body from the effects of pollution on health. The benefits of exercise include two big things for battling pollutants: detoxification and lung health. Exercising helps your body detoxify through sweat, and breathing through a workout helps keep your lungs strong to help combat any air pollutants. A healthy and strong body overall is also better equipped to fend off the negative side effects of pollution.

Infrared Sauna Use

Since our own fat tissue serves as a storage reservoir for toxins, and since they remain with us for several months and up to decades, mobilizing and eliminating these toxins from our bodies may help support our health. One way that may prove beneficial in helping remove these toxins from the body is through sauna-induced sweating. Numerous clinical studies have shown that infrared sauna use is a helpful tool in removing many toxins through sweat, including heavy metals, pesticides, and more, making it a great tool in helping reduce pollution effects.

Halotherapy

Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, is a practice that has been used for years to help treat a number of ailments. One of the most popular forms of halotherapy involves inhaling particles of microsalt produced by a halotherapy generator that aerosolizes salt into the air. Studies have shown that this treatment is beneficial in seeing improvements for those facing respiratory conditions – something often caused by air pollution. You can double up on detox and lung health benefits by adding salt therapy into your infrared sauna sessions.

Diet

As long as you’re washing your food and avoiding land pollutants, your diet plays a role in protecting your body from pollution. Having the right vitamins and minerals in your body can help build up your immune system and help protect your body from toxins. Look for foods rich in antioxidants like blueberries, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, and anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric. A healthy diet will set you up to be better prepared to process and eliminate toxins your body may accumulate from pollution exposure.

Hydration

Last but not least, hydration is a key tool in helping protect your body from pollutants. Not only does it keep us refreshed to stay active and healthy, but it’s also one of the main ways to detoxify your body. Without proper hydration, your body would not be able to expel toxins through sweat, urine, or other processes. Be sure to drink plenty of water to assist the liver in detoxifying and to help keep pollutants from sticking around in the body longer than they need to.

Pollution is something we will have to live with the rest of our lives, so it is important to take steps to protect our bodies from the adverse effects of pollutants whenever we can. Living a healthy life with exercise, hydration, and a good diet is always key to help protect yourself from harmful elements, and taking the extra precautions of detoxifying, using halotherapy, and managing your exposure can help take your health to the next level.

The Importance of Staying Hydrated for Your Health

We always highlight the importance of drinking water before and after your sauna sessions to avoid dehydration and help the detoxifying process, but what are some other reasons to stay hydrated? From improved brain performance to weight loss, read on to learn more about why proper hydration is important for your overall health and find tips for staying hydrated every day.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Before getting started with the benefits of hydration for health, it’s important to know how much water you should aim to drink. You’ve probably heard the general guideline to drink eight 8oz glasses of water a day. However, how much water you need depends on many factors and varies from person to person. The general recommendation for adults is about 11.5 cups (92oz) a day for women and 15.5 cups (124oz) a day for men.

For a more personalized amount, you should aim to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh every day. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you should aim to drink between 90-180 ounces of water a day. While you should aim to drink at least one ounce of water per pound of body weight, that amount may increase based on a number of factors. Aside from weight, how much water you need also depends on your activity levels, climate/temperature/season, diet, medical conditions, and overall health.

If you are not drinking enough water, you run the risk of dehydration. Common symptoms of dehydration to look out for include little or no urine, urine that is darker than usual, dry mouth, sleepiness or fatigue, extreme thirst, headache, confusion, dizziness, lightheadedness, and muscle cramps.

The Importance of Staying Hydrated

Better Temperature Regulation

When you’re dehydrated, your body stores more heat and lowers your ability to tolerate hot temperatures. Drinking plenty of water helps you produce sweat when you’re overheated during activity, which cools your body down. This cooling mechanism is critical in preventing heat stroke and other potentially deadly heat-related conditions.

Boosted Brain Performance

Even mild dehydration can affect memory, mood, concentration, and reaction time. Staying hydrated can have a positive effect on cognition, help stabilize emotions, and even help lessen feelings of anxiety. If you are feeling a bit foggy-minded or needing a mood boost, sticking to a hydration routine can help.

Decreased Joint Pain

The cartilage in our joints contains approximately 80% water, so being dehydrated can have a direct affect on joint pain. Staying hydrated helps your joints stay well-lubricated, which helps reduce friction by creating more of a padding between the bones. Less friction means smoother-moving joints and fewer aches and pains.

Detoxification

Water intake supports your body’s natural ability to detoxify harmful substances and waste through processes such as perspiration and urination. Without sufficient levels of hydration, your body cannot efficiently remove these toxins, which can affect overall health. Water is important both during a detox and after to replenish fluids.

Enhanced Digestion

Your body needs water in order to digest food properly. Without enough water, you may experience irregular bowel movements, gas, bloating, heartburn, and other discomforts that can affect your quality of life. Upping your fluid intake can help get things moving as it aids in breaking down soluble fiber to keep your digestion process on track.

Kidney Stone Prevention

Kidney stones are clumps of mineral crystals that form in the urinary tract. Consuming adequate amounts of water each day can help dilute this concentration of minerals and reduce the chances of kidney stones. Water also helps flush harmful bacteria from your bladder and can aid in preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs).

More Energy

Dehydration can slow down blood circulation and affect the flow of oxygen to your brain. A lack of fluids can also cause your heart to work harder to pump oxygen throughout your body. All of that expended energy can make you feel tired, sluggish, and less motivated. By staying hydrated, your body can perform at peak physical performance.

Reduced Headaches

Even mild fluid loss can cause the brain to contract away from the skull, leading to headaches and migraines in some individuals. Being consistently well-hydrated may help keep head pain in check, and can either help prevent future headaches or aid in reducing current headache pain – including hangover headaches.

Weight Loss & Management

Drinking water can help with both weight loss and management. This is because water can help you feel full and boost your metabolic rate. It is recommended to drink a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal to help you feel more full, which will make you less likely to consume unnecessary calories.

Tips for Staying Hydrated

Hydrate with Your Regular Routine

Drinking water throughout the day can be hard to keep on a schedule, but adding it into your regular routine can help. When you brush your teeth in the morning, include a glass of water. With every meal, have another glass. And finally, add another glass with your nighttime routine. With three meals, that’s already 5 glasses of water done!

Keep a Water Bottle Nearby

Unless you are actively thirsty, water can be one of those things that can be out of sight, out of mind. Get a large, reusable water bottle that you can keep nearby for easy access. Set a timer on your phone every hour to remind you to drink. There are even some water bottles that will do the reminding for you!

Track Your Progress

When drinking nearly 100oz of water a day (or more!), it can be easy to lose track of your progress. Take notes about how much you’re drinking, whether it’s every sip or every time you finish a drink. There are water tracking to help, and just like water bottles that will remind you to drink, there are some that will track the amount as well.

Switch Up the Method

Drinking water may seem like an easy task for some, but for others it can be a chore. If you are struggling to hit your daily recommended amount of water, try different methods! You can add slices of fruit for added flavor, see if still or sparkling is more appealing, or even test out different temperatures to see if that does the trick.

Follow a Produce-Heavy Diet

You don’t just have to drink your water! You can help keep yourself hydrated by eating a produce-heavy diet. Produce such as melons, berries, leafy greens, and squash are about 90% water. Some dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese can also help boost hydration.

Increase Intake with Certain Activities

As mentioned earlier, the amount of water you need varies depending on a number of factors. For example, if you are having a more stationary day, you won’t need as much water as you would on a day you’re working out. Be sure to also rehydrate if you’re spending time in heat, like in an infrared sauna. You need to replenish after sweating!

Water is one of the most important things for our bodies. Almost everywhere you look for health tips, water is almost always on the list! In addition to the benefits listed above, proper hydration can help with skin health, muscle recovery, recovery from sickness, and much more. All great reasons to grab a glass right now!

How to Set Up Your Ultimate Home Gym

Having a home workout routine is great for your health, especially if you have a home gym that allows you to maximize health benefits whenever you want. Carefully setting up a home gym is a great way to have access to everything you need to stay physically fit at home, from warming up to cooling down. Read on to learn about the benefits of working out from home and which items to include when setting up your home gym, from workout equipment and recovery tools like an infrared sauna.

The Benefits of Working Out at Home

Recently, many people have included home workouts in their regular routines. Whether shifting from gym visits or starting new, working out at home is a great way to stay active – especially if you have the added benefit of having a home gym to take it up a level. Some of the main benefits of working out from home include:

Easy access and efficiency: Working out at home means you get to workout whenever you want – whether that’s between meetings or before bed. And without anything like traffic or planning your workouts around avoiding the busy hours, you save time and add flexibility to your overall schedule.
Making working out a lifestyle: Going to the gym can feel like a chore if it isn’t part of your routine that you enjoy, and it’s easy to make excuses to not do chores. Instead, working out at home helps you work it into your lifestyle and daily home life, which makes it easier to set a routine.
Having a home sanctuary: The gym can feel impersonal, whereas working out at home allows you to connect with yourself and create a sanctuary at home free of any distractions or judgment. Bonus points if you make your home gym a full wellness sanctuary with an infrared sauna.
Setting your own standards: People in public spaces might not always meet your own cleanliness standards – especially in the gym. Working out at home means you control your own space’s level of sanitation and cleanliness with your own personal equipment.

Tips for Setting Up a Home Gym

Choose a Dedicated Space

First, you need to decide where you want to set up your home gym. The spare bedroom, office, or even a back porch or patio, are all great spaces for exercise. While a dedicated room is great for separating workout equipment from the rest of the home, if you don’t have a spare room, a small area in your home (like the living room) that can double as your workout space will also work. Try to find or create a space with natural light, and keep it as light and airy as possible with good airflow. Your at-home gym area should be a place that is bright, comfortable, and away from distractions so you can fully direct your attention to your workout.

Make it a Place You Want to Spend Time In

After you choose the space you’ll be using for your home gym, it is important to make it a place that you’ll actually enjoy using. Having a bare room crowded with exercise equipment might make it unappealing to do your home workout. Instead, make the room tidy and filled with things that motivate you. Add in a TV and speakers, use an exciting color palette, and add in any additional comforts that will get you excited to workout. Including features such as large mirrors, easy-to-clean floors, and dedicated workout spots (cardio, strength training, yoga, etc) will help you get into the gym mentality at home, as well.

Have Adequate Storage

While planning your home gym setup, take storage into heavy consideration. You will want to have ample space to do your workouts and won’t want to be tripping over jump ropes and kettlebells. Especially if you have a smaller space, having creative storage solutions can help you maximize your home gym and its capabilities. When setting up storage, consider ease of access so you can quickly store or get to the equipment you need. Remember that you’ll need plenty of floor space. And if you’re considering expanding your home gym equipment in the future, think ahead about how it will fit with current equipment so you won’t have to do much reorganizing down the road.

Equip it With Home Gym Essentials

Now that you’ve designed and prepped your home gym space, it’s time to equip it. The great thing about a home gym is that you can choose any exercise equipment that you enjoy using to focus on the workouts that matter to you. For cardio, check out a stationary bike, treadmill, or weighted jump rope. If you’re looking to fit in some strength training, invest in some kettlebells, dumbbells, and resistance bands. There are plenty of other home gym equipment options to choose from, including some cool high-tech gadgets, so research your favorites and start off with the ones you’ll use most – you can always get more.

Consider Non-Exercise Equipment

On top of exercise equipment, there are some home gym essentials you’ll want to consider for workout recovery. After your intense workout, your home gym should also be the place where you can cool down and take steps toward recovering your muscles. Tools like foam rollers, yoga wheels, inversion tables, and yoga mats are all great additions to your home gym. Another great recovery tool is an infrared sauna. From compact one-person saunas to saunas for hot yoga, investing in an infrared sauna for your home gym can help your muscles recover faster, boost your workout performance, and provide a number of other health benefits. You’ll have a gym and spa in one place!

Set a Home Workout Plan

Once you have your workout space set up, it should be easy to jump into a workout whenever you want. Start off your home gym session by creating a workout routine. It’s recommended to change it up a few times a week so you don’t get bored and you have the ability to properly work all areas of your body without becoming too fatigued. At the end of every workout, sanitize your area. While home gyms may not have the germs of strangers, keeping your space clean after sweating out toxins is important for staying healthy at home. Not only does it keep things clean for your health, it also helps prolong the quality of your home gym equipment for longer.

Having a home gym is a great way to stay in shape and enjoy endless health benefits right in the comfort of your own house. Use these tips to set up your ultimate home gym, and start moving your body – whether you choose cardio or hot yoga. And don’t forget to recover in your infrared sauna when you’re all done!

What’s Your Infrared Sauna Personality?

Infrared saunas are perfect for a number of situations and people. With innovative technology and design, along with a plethora of infrared sauna health benefits, sauna uses can be personalized for almost any need. Some want to use infrared saunas for recovery and optimizing health benefits while others are looking to have a bit of relaxing time to themselves. Which type of infrared sauna user are you? From the biohackers to the trend setters, read on to see what your infrared sauna personality is!

The Health-Conscious

You like living life in the healthiest way possible, and use all the tools available to help boost your overall wellness. With so many things on the market, from supplements to fancy workout gear, it can be easy to get lost in the number of options. Luckily, your infrared sauna helps keep your health regimen easy. With so many health benefits in just one session, you can accomplish a lot at one time – and with lasting results. In your sauna health haven, you get to experience it all: weight loss, boosted metabolism, temporary muscle pain relief, better sleep, detoxification, reduced cellulite, eased joint pain and stiffness, stress and fatigue relief, improved skin, and so much more.

The Healer

You like when your body feels good and pain-free. As the healer, you are always looking for ways to help your body feel its best so you can enjoy life to the fullest. Whether you suffer from back pain, are sore after a workout, are recovering from a cold, or are trying to prevent future discomfort, your infrared sauna is one of the best tools to tackle multiple things at once. Enhanced blood circulation from the heat and infrared technology penetrate deep into the body while sweating helps your body detoxify impurities. For an even more comprehensive healing experience, you enjoy the benefits of red light therapy and halotherapy as well.

The Yogi

You like stretching and moving your body with yoga, especially with the added help of heat during a hot yoga session. As the yogi, not only do you focus on your body, but you also focus on the importance of breathwork and mental clarity. In your infrared sauna for hot yoga, you spend your session doing a mix of deep stretches and meditation. The heat helps your muscles move a bit better and recover faster. You incorporate some sound therapy into your sessions with guided meditation, include aromatherapy to help you concentrate, and use chromotherapy to immerse yourself even more into the experience.

The Fitness Buff

You like working out and are dedicated to getting your body in top shape. This includes hitting the gym, stretching, taking the right supplements, and healing properly so you can keep exercising. Your infrared sauna is an extension of your workout to help your body’s performance. Not only does an infrared sauna session feel nice on your muscles after an intense workout, it also helps increase blood circulation to your muscles to help with recovery and reduce pain. Using a sauna after a workout is also your secret trick to extending your health benefits, from additional calorie burn to the added detox benefits of sweating just a bit more.

The Biohacker

You like to optimize your body and mind, and are always on the lookout for new ways to help your body perform its best with biohacking. From supplements to functional music, you’ve tried it all. The infrared sauna isn’t just a tool for you, it’s part of your lifestyle. With health benefits like improved sleep, enhanced mood, boosted metabolism, and more, infrared sauna use is part of your daily routine. Better yet, you pair it with red light therapy and some meditation during your session to reap even more biohacking benefits at one time. What’s great about your infrared sauna is that in just one 20-minute session every day, you get lasting results for a healthy future.

The Innovator

You like to have all the cool, new innovations and gadgets and want to try them out as soon as they’re available. That doesn’t stop with saunas. What started as simple structures to heat the body in Finland as far back as 7000 BC have now developed into some of the most advanced health technology on the market. As the innovator, you appreciate the many sauna uses available today with all the added health benefits of new technology. Infrared technology, chromotherapy lights, halotherapy generators, vibration resonance therapy, and red light towers all make saunas today into examples of true innovation.

The Trend-Setter

You like to set the trends in the health space and like being the first to experience what experts and influencers recommend. Saunas have been around for years, but infrared saunas really turn the dial up in terms of trendiness. Seen in luxurious spas and all over social media, you already have your infrared sauna picked out and outfitted with all the newest technology to be the first to have it. You enjoy sharing your trendy knowledge with your friends, and are somewhat of a health and wellness influencer yourself. The pictures you post of your sauna include zen spa moments, hot yoga, and aesthetic colors from your chromotherapy light.

The Relaxer

You like to take a step away from the hustle and bustle of life and have some time to relax when you can. Having “me time” is a priority for you to both center and connect with yourself. Your infrared sauna is part of your wellness routine and is your sanctuary. Not only do infrared sauna health benefits include improved sleep, better mood, and reduced stress, but they’re also the perfect spot to slow down for 20 minutes. Inside your sauna, you enjoy reading your favorite book, listening to calming music, meditating, using chromotherapy, and adding in some relaxing essential oils for a spa-like experience right in your home.

No matter what your sauna personality is, you’re sure to enjoy all the infrared sauna uses available! From the health-conscious and healing users who are looking for whole-body wellness to the trendy and relaxed users who want a spa day at home, infrared saunas are wonderful additions to your health routine and lifestyle.

The Ultimate Summer Health and Wellness Routine

Temperatures are high, days are long, vacations are planned, and summer is definitely here. And luckily for summer lovers, we get to enjoy it through the end of September! During these hotter months, you might realize yourself putting health on the backburner to tend to your summer plans. It’s important to work healthy habits into your schedule so you don’t feel burnt out or unwell by the time fall rolls around. With so much going on, use this summer health and wellness guide to feel both physically and mentally set to take on the season with healthy tips like eating in-season and using an infrared sauna.

Use an Infrared Sauna

Even though it might be hot outside, having an infrared sauna session in your routine can be a huge benefit to your total body wellness this summer. Infrared saunas offer a number of health benefits such as muscle recovery, improved skin, boosted immune system, reduced stress, increased metabolism, and much more. On top of that, infrared technology allows for lower temperatures than a traditional sauna while still allowing for deep infrared penetration, meaning you won’t have to worry about adding too much more heat this season. Sauna sessions can be as long or short as you need them to be, making them an easy addition to your summer health routine.

Protect Your Skin

Summer is all about fun in the sun, but too much sun can be an issue for your skin. Sun exposure, heat, and dryness all can lead to skin damage, so it’s important to find a summer skin care routine that protects your skin from the elements. Sunscreen is an essential product in any routine, but especially in summer when you’re enjoying the outdoors a bit more. No matter how long you’ll be in the sun, apply sunscreen before leaving the house and reapply depending on your day. Summer activities like swimming can wash off your sun protection. Regular use of moisturizers, exfoliators, and infrared saunas can also help combat dry summer skin.

Exercise Outdoors

Getting proper exercise benefits your mental and physical health, especially in the summer when the weather is warm and clear. Moving more and sitting less can have major health benefits such as reduced stress, maintaining a healthy weight, improved metabolism, and more. What’s great about summer weather is its ability to get people outside, and even a simple daily walk to enjoy the sun can be a great addition to your summer health routine. Aim to get around 2.5 hours of active movement a week to keep your body healthy and in top shape, and use an infrared sauna to boost your summer workout even more.

Pick Up a Hobby

A healthy summer is all about balance, which means prioritizing time for yourself and pursuing passions, interests, and new adventures. Summer hobbies can include a lot of outdoor activities like learning how to surf or becoming an avid hiker. Not a fan of the summer heat? Then use the air conditioning as an excuse to enjoy the air conditioning of your house or a classroom! Indoor hobbies like painting or baking are great to pick up in the summer, as they can be enjoyed year-round as the weather changes. And depending on your goals, hobbies can either be a great social activity or a solo experience to connect with yourself.

Meditate

Summertime can be fast paced, and it might seem like you have plans around every corner with no time for yourself. It might be time to incorporate some meditation into your summer wellness routine to give yourself a break. Mindfulness meditation is a technique that helps reduce stress by slowing down your thoughts and moving your focus away from negative emotions. Mindfulness meditation is rooted in breathing exercises that keep you focused on the present moment. Studies have shown that meditation makes you less distractible and improves your resilience to stress. You can get started by dedicating as little as five minutes a day to take a breather – literally.

Do a Digital Detox

Our phones, tablets, and televisions are our ways to stay connected to the world. But every once in a while, taking a break is a good thing. Excessive screen time can take a toll on your well-being, from physical to mental health. With the great summer weather right outside, dedicate some time away from your phone and computer every day to take a break from the screen. You don’t need to do a full detox of ditching your phone for days, but adding screentime breaks into a healthy summer routine can help you feel refreshed and reconnected with your surroundings. Use this time to meditate, read, socialize in person, or do a physical activity.

Stay Hydrated

Hydration is key every day, but especially in the summer as temperatures rise and you are sweating a bit more than in other seasons. On top of the physical downsides of not drinking enough water, such as headaches and lightheadedness, did you know that becoming even slightly dehydrated can lead to lowered mood and decreased concentration too? Keep water or other low-sugar drinks on hand to sip throughout the day, especially if you’re sweating more than usual due to activities such as exercise or sauna use, or simply from the heat outside. If you need to, set an alarm every hour to drink water until it becomes a natural part of your healthy summer routine.

Eat Light and Fresh

Not only is eating in season more nutritious, but it’s also more affordable and more delicious. With fruits and veggies like corn, beets, strawberries, summer squash, cherries, and peaches more readily available from farms, it’s easy to fill your kitchen with some of the ripest summer produce available. These fruits and vegetables lend themselves to creating light and refreshing flavors that can be made into great dishes like salads, flatbreads, healthy pastas (with in-season zucchini noodles!) and desserts. Try cooking them on the grill for some true summer vibes, and throw a healthy summer party to enjoy the nice weather.

As we’re in the final weeks of summer, add these healthy summer tips to your regular routine to enjoy the rest of the season and feel prepared to go into fall feeling your best. Starting these healthy habits now will set you up for a healthy future every season of the year. From protecting your skin to giving yourself a mental break, your body will thank you for focusing on your summer health and wellness!

Hot Yoga at Home: Hot Yoga Poses and Tips for Beginners

Hot yoga is a popular practice for both physical and mental health. As the name implies, hot yoga is the practice of yoga in a heated setting. Hot yoga sessions are typically more vigorous and intense than the average yoga practice, as the heated environment helps the body go deeper into stretches while detoxifying in the process.

Many use hot yoga as a way to connect with their bodies physically, mentally, or spiritually. If you are new to the practice, it can seem a bit intense with the increased heat and new poses. Find tips for how to get started and how to do hot yoga at home effectively!

How to Do Hot Yoga at Home

Outside of a class, you can easily practice hot yoga on your own. Whether in a heated room or in a home sauna, solo hot yoga is a wonderful way to connect with your body and learn its limits without pushing it too far. From the clothes you wear and the yoga mat you use to the space you’re practicing in, make sure you use the proper equipment and high-quality materials to ensure your safety and comfort during any hot yoga session.

Boost the benefits of hot yoga by practicing in an infrared sauna. Both infrared saunas and hot yoga offer the health benefits of detoxification, weight loss, flexibility, and reduced stress. Doing hot yoga in a home sauna is the perfect scenario to boost your health benefits even further!

Tips for Hot Yoga for Beginners

Bring Extra Towels

Chances are, you’ll sweat a lot during your hot yoga session. Be prepared for extra moisture by bringing towels to keep yourself and your equipment dry. Working on a slippery yoga mat can be uncomfortable and a safety hazard.

Eat Light

Because hot yoga poses are more involved and vigorous than your average yoga class, it’s important to fuel your body before a session. Eat a healthy meal about 2-4 hours before your session to avoid cramps, nausea, or fatigue.

Practice Breathing

Honing in on your breath is important in hot yoga. Breathing exercises help bring you to a state of mindfulness and concentration, which can help you push through the heat of your hot yoga session and get comfortable.

Stay Hydrated

Sweating is great for detoxing, but can be dangerous if you don’t hydrate before and after practicing hot yoga. Drink water, replenish your electrolytes, and put moisturizer on your skin to ensure your body doesn’t lose any hydration.

Common Hot Yoga Poses

Hot yoga can be done with any poses you prefer. If you’re looking for a more guided yoga session, Bikram Yoga is the most common way to practice, where rooms are heated to 105°F (40°C) with 40% humidity. In this practice, 2 breathing exercises and 26 hot yoga poses are performed over the course of 90 minutes to activate muscles and increase blood circulation throughout the body.

1. Pranayama Deep Breathing

Pranayama increases focus and expands the lungs for respiratory health. It enables maximum oxygen to reach the muscles and organs and improves blood circulation. Breathing also helps calm the mind before a hot yoga session.

2. Half Moon Pose

The half moon pose focuses on strengthening the body’s core muscles. It also increases the spine’s flexibility and improves kidney function. This pose helps firm the body and tones the hips, buttocks, thighs, and abdomen.

3. Awkward Pose

This helps tone and shape the legs and torso while relieving joint and back pain. The awkward pose can also help improve slipped discs or other spine-related problems. It stretches your hips, spine, and chest muscles as well.

4. Eagle Pose

Eagle pose opens up the largest joints in the skeletal system. It improves the flexibility of the hips, knees, and ankles while improving blood flow to the kidneys. This hot yoga pose also helps increase your focus and improve balance.

5. Standing Head-to-Knee Pose

Theis pose strengthens the hamstrings and leg muscles and can improve the flexibility of sciatic nerves. It also tones the muscles of your abs, back, biceps, and triceps. This pose can also help with concentration and mental strength.

6. Standing Bow Pose

Standing bow pose develops balance, firms the upper thighs, and improves lower spine strength and flexibility. It is also great for cardiovascular health as it stimulates blood vessels and supplies fresh blood to the entire body.

7. Balancing Stick Pose

Balancing stick pose stretches the heart muscles, rejuvenates the brain, and boosts concentration. It strengthens your core and back muscles while gently stretching the entire spinal column. It’s also great to help burn calories.

8. Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose

This pose strengthens and stretches the sciatic nerves, increases the ankle and hip joint flexibility, and releases tension in lower back muscles. It’s believed to improve the functioning of the abdominal organs and their functions.

9. Triangle Pose

The triangle pose helps revitalize the veins, tissues, and nerves. This hot yoga pose helps reduce lower back pain and strengthens your knees, ankles, legs, chest, and arms. It can also reduce anxiety and improve digestion.

10. Standing Separate Head To Knee Pose

This pose aims to tone the abdomen, waist, hips, thighs, and buttocks while also improving mood. It has been said to stimulate the thyroid gland and to regulate both the metabolism and the immune system.

11. Tree Pose

Tree pose is a great stretch to help improve posture and balance. It increases the flexibility of hip joints, knees, and ankles, which improves overall joint health. This hot yoga pose also strengthens internal oblique muscles.

12. Toe Stand Pose

The pose strengthens and opens up your knees, joints, abdominal muscles, hips, ankles, and toes. It can also help increase focus and improve posture. The toe stand stretch can help keep you calm and balanced, as well.

13. Savasana

Savasana relaxes the body halfway through the hot yoga poses. It helps release stress, depression, tension, and fatigue while relaxing muscles. It also improves mental health and concentration and stimulates blood circulation.

14. Wind-Removing Pose

This hot yoga pose massages the digestive system to aid digestion. It also helps strengthen the arms, improves hip flexibility, tones the abdomen and thighs, eases tension in the lower back, and enhances blood circulation.

15. Sit Up Pose

The sit up pose increases your flexibility and stretches the spine, legs, and shoulders. It can also help firm the lower body and improves blood circulation in the legs. This pose also stimulates the kidneys and pancreas.

16. Cobra Pose

Cobra pose improves appetite, digestion, and metabolism. This hot yoga pose helps regulate blood pressure, enhances liver and spleen function, and helps make the spine both stronger and more flexible.

17. Locust Pose

This pose is ideal if you are prone to slipped discs and sciatica. The Locust pose strengthens the upper spine and relieves tennis elbow. It can also help reduce varicose veins on the legs and help firm the buttocks and hips.

18. Full Locust Pose

Similar to locust pose, full locust pose is great for slipped discs. It increases the elasticity of your rib cage and tones your arms, thighs, abdominal muscles, and hips. This pose also helps fix bad posture and reduce backache.

19. Bow Pose

The bow pose expands the lungs by opening the chest and shoulders and strengthens and revitalizes the spinal nerves. It can also help improve digestion and improve the function of the liver, kidneys, and spleen.

20. Fixed Firm Pose

The fixed firm pose stretches and expands your rib cage while stretching the leg muscles, knee joints, ankles, lower back, and hips. This hot yoga pose is also said to help regulate the thyroid and adrenal glands.

21. Half Tortoise

This hot yoga pose releases tension in the neck and shoulders. Additionally, it helps tone the thighs and abdomen and gives a relaxing stretch to the spine. The half tortoise pose also assists in increasing the flexibility of the hips.

22. Camel Pose

Camel pose stimulates the nervous system by compressing the spine. It improves the flexibility, strength, and posture of the neck and spine while stretching the abdominal organs, thus aiding in digestion.

23. Rabbit Pose

This hot yoga pose increases the mobility and elasticity of the back muscles and spine, thus reducing neck and back pain. The rabbit pose also helps circulate fresh blood and oxygen to the nerves for optimal performance.

24. Sitting Head-to-Knee Stretching Pose

The pose increases blood circulation to the liver, pancreas, thyroid, and intestines. It can help reduce allergies and is helpful for digestion. This hot yoga position can also help boost the immune and lymphatic systems.

25. Spine Twisting Pose

The spine twisting pose improves the elasticity of the spine and helps prevent slipped discs and arthritis. It calms the nervous system and relieves tension while increasing the supply of oxygen to your lungs.

26. Blowing in Firm Pose

Lastly, this hot yoga breathing technique helps boost detoxification during a yoga session. It uplifts and rejuvenates your brain at the end of a hot yoga session due to increased blood circulation and oxygen to the brain.

Tying hot yoga is an invigorating experience. It is a great place to connect with your body and mind as the heat requires you to take your movements slowly and with intention. The next time you are in your infrared sauna, try these hot yoga poses and tips to get one of the best physical and mental exercises!

Halotherapy Methods: Dry Salt Therapy vs Wet Salt Therapy

With practices found centuries ago utilizing the health benefits of salt, salt therapy continues to grow as a popular treatment and is becoming more available to those who want to try it. Halotherapy is one of the most beneficial therapies with benefits including respiratory and skin health, and it can be easily accessible thanks to the many different types of application. From dry halotherapy to wet halotherapy, read on to see how you can try halotherapy and reap all the health benefits at home!

What is Halotherapy?

The practice of salt therapy, or halotherapy, uses pharmaceutical-grade 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. Halotherapy can also be applied as a saline solution, in which users soak in the solution to reap the benefits.

There are two main types of salt therapy: dry salt therapy and wet salt therapy. Dry therapy involves small salt particles dispersed in a dry room while wet salt therapy requires a saline solution that is either soaked in or applied as an aerosol spray. Both methods of halotherapy can be improved with the addition of thermotherapy, or heat therapy, in the form of an infrared sauna or bath to enhance the number of health benefits with every session. In addition to the respiratory, skin, muscular, and mineral benefits of salt therapy, heat therapy can offer improved blood circulation, detoxification, and more for a comprehensive experience.

Types of Halotherapy

Wet Salt Therapy

Wet halotherapy treatment comes from the principle of mixing water with salt to gain therapeutic benefit. You may notice that breathing ocean air opens up your sinuses, which in turn temporarily improves your health. The Centers for Respiratory Health, formerly known as the Lung Institute, maintains that salty ocean air can improve conditions like lung disease and cystic fibrosis. This is done, in part, by thinning the mucus in the body and decreasing sinus pressure. Wet salt therapy also mimics the climate in the salt caves of Europe where the air was quite moist.

Wet halotherapy has been used for many years in natural settings:

In Twelfth Century Poland, bathers used naturally occurring salt water for better health and wellness.
The Dead Sea’s most notable characteristic is its water with extremely high salt concentration. Bathers from around the world visit the Dead Sea for its therapeutic effects.
Over the years, wet salt therapy users have breathed in moist salty air from salt caves or natural water falls.

Wet salt therapy delivered through a halotherapy generator, also known as a microsalt generator, is one of the most effective ways to achieve better respiratory health. Breathing in air that has a high concentration of wet salt will deliver the salt deep into the lungs for maximum benefit. The halotherapy generator can be placed anywhere, but it is most effective in a confined space like an infrared sauna or small room to help keep the salt microparticles concentrated in one spot. Wet salt therapy allows for a greater range of salt particle sizes ranging from 1-10 microns. This allows the salt to enter more of the lungs for maximum benefit.

Though not as comprehensive as using a halotherapy machine that helps provide both internal and external salt therapy benefits, you can also do external wet salt therapy at home through a salt bath and recreate those settings enjoyed in 12th Century Poland and in the Dead Sea. Epsom salt, pink Himalayan salt, and sea salt are all popular options that can help your body absorb trace minerals, improve skin conditions, and provide temporary muscle relief with the help of a hot bath.

Dry Salt Therapy

The dry method of halotherapy is where microscopic particles of salt are distributed into the air in a room free of humidity. Users spend 20-30 minutes inhaling the salt particles that help remedy ailments and create a calming effect. With dry salt therapy, the particle size ranges from 1-3 microns. The smaller range of salt particle size means the salt will not enter as much of the lungs as compared to wet salt therapy.

To do dry salt therapy at home, the most effective method is with a halotherapy generator. Try to wear minimal clothing to allow for maximum skin exposure to the salt particles, and take deep breaths in through your nose to inhale the salt into your respiratory system.

Benefits of Salt Therapy

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, and some salts provide the body with trace minerals. It can also boost the production of collagen fibers for rejuvenation and lymph cells for an immune system boost.

If you are considering starting halotherapy, take all the different options in mind from dry salt therapy to wet salt therapy. Every halotherapy method has different health benefits that can help enhance your life. Salt therapy is relatively safe to use but can cause irritation depending on sensitivity to salt, so speak with your doctor if you notice any adverse effects. Otherwise, this all-natural treatment is a great way to help improve your health and wellness, whether soaking in the Dead Sea or using a HALOONE® halotherapy generator in your infrared sauna!