Introducing Our Infrared Sauna!
There is a new Hot Box in town! Come warm up from the cold Kelowna winter with our new Infrared Sauna in our new Integrative Clinic.
Sauna Therapy has been used for centuries for joint pain, heart health and asthma. The appeal of using saunas, in general, is that they induce vigorous sweating and increase the heart rate similar to that of moderate exercise, but with more intensity and less effort. Infrared light waves penetrate gently into your body tissues and stimulate cellular healing. A traditional sauna heats the air around you and does not access the deeper structures of your body.
Evidence-Based Benefits of Infrared Sauna
Heart Health
In the last 2 years, there has been a renewed interest in the cardiovascular benefits of sauna use. A study published in 2015 followed middle-aged men from Eastern Finland over a 30-year period. This study compared 2315 men from 42-60 years old, divided into 3 cohorts: sauna use 1 time per week; 2 to 3 times per week and 4 -7 times per week. Essentially, the more time in a sauna correlated with a lower risk of cardiac deaths, less cardiovascular disease, and overall decreased mortality. Further studies in 2016 and 2017 found similar results.
Stress Reduction and Relaxation
Infrared sauna use promotes relaxation by helping to balance cortisol levels in the body – cortisol is your primary stress hormone. The heat generated by the sauna also helps to relax muscles and relieve tension. Time spent in a sauna offers the opportunity for a person to breathe deeply, practice their meditation or simply enjoy music or a good book.
Pain Relief
Infrared saunas provide relief from mild pain to chronic pain, like arthritis. Researchers from the Saxion University of Applied Science in the Netherlands found that infrared sauna treatments can help reverse chronic pain with little to no side effects. They studied the effects of infrared saunas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis over a four-week period, with a series of eight infrared sauna treatments. Sauna therapy was well-tolerated with no adverse effects, and they found that a significant percentage of patients experienced decreased symptoms of pain and stiffness, and reduced fatigue.
Weight Loss
Infrared sauna use helps to boost your metabolism as your body has to work harder to lower your core temperature and heart rate. The result is that you burn more calories and lose weight. An article, titled Effect of Sweating in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that a 30-minute infrared sauna session could burn roughly 600 calories. Another small-scale study from 2003 examined 10 obese patients who underwent sauna therapy for 15 minutes day. These individuals lost a significant amount of body weight and body fat.
Mental Well-Being
In 2016, the results of 2 studies examining patients with depression were published in Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry. In the first study of 16 individuals with major depression, a single infrared sauna treatment reduced depression scores almost by 50% five days following therapy. A second, larger study was then conducted where the benefits of a single sauna treatment persisted for six weeks. This is yet another drug-free option to help restore your mental health
Detoxification
It’s almost Spring and if you’re considering a dietary cleanse, try adding sauna sessions to support the process. Sweating is one of the body’s most natural ways to eliminate toxins, making it a crucial part of detoxification. In comparison to traditional Swedish saunas, infrared saunas allow you to eliminate about seven times more toxins.
As you have read there are many evidence-based benefits to the use of infrared saunas. In addition, you can be rest-assured that Mind Body Soul Integrative Clinic is one of the only clinics in Kelowna to provide you with a Canadian-manufactured infrared sauna free of chemicals, wood preservatives, toxic metals or high EMF exposure.
If you would like to incorporate Infrared Sauna into your wellness practice, please call us to book a session.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25705824
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18685882
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14610268
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27172277