One of my favorite ways to relax post-workout is a good 20-minute sweat session in a sauna. I feel more relaxed, rested, and rejuvenated afterward, and the heat helps relieve any sore muscles. Studies show that regular sauna use can improve your overall health and well-being…perhaps that’s why the Fins are so immersed in sauna culture. However, if the high temperatures of a traditional sauna are too much to handle, you should consider using an infrared sauna like the one at Shapes Fitness for Women in Flower Mound. In this article we’ll be going over the 10 Benefits of Infrared Sauna You Probably Didn’t Already Know.
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When Kim Nuskowski, owner of Shapes Fitness for Women in Flower Mound, TX gave me a personal tour of her fitness center I was intrigued by the infrared sauna that is available to all gym members to use. She explained to me the benefits of infrared heat and how many of their members enjoy using it over a traditional sauna. One of the main reasons people like using it is that an infrared sauna offers the benefits of a traditional sauna, but without the extreme heat.
Infrared heat is all around us and you have felt it from every day sources like fire, heated sand on the beach, and the sun (without all the harmful ultraviolet waves). Just like visible light has a range of wavelengths, so does infrared light: longer wavelength infrared waves are thermal, while short or near infrared waves are not hot at all. It is the far infrared energy that is most beneficial, penetrating the skin and increasing circulation to help rid the body of harmful toxins. There are even many more advantages to using an infrared sauna and Here’s 10 Benefits of Infrared Sauna You Probably Didn’t Already Know:
10 Benefits of Infrared Sauna
What is an Infrared Sauna?
Infrared saunas use infrared lamps to warm your body directly. These infrared panels easily penetrate human tissue, heating up your body before heating up the air. The reason why traditional saunas are so hot is because they operate by heating the air around you in order to warm your body. In fact, a traditional sauna typically operate at temperatures between 150-195 F, while an infrared sauna is much lower between 120-140 F. Manufacturers claim that in an infrared sauna, only about 20 percent of the heat goes to heat the air and the other 80 percent directly heats your body.
Benefits of Infrared Sauna
Here’s 10 Benefits of Infrared Sauna you probably didn’t already know:
1. Boost Your Immune System
The deep heating from infrared sauna use will raise your core body temperature, inducing an artificial fever. Fever is the body’s natural response to strengthen and accelerate the immune system, as seen in the case of infection.
2. Rid Your Body of Toxins
Another benefit of infrared sauna use is that it helps to remove impurities from human cells, specifically the cells inside our fat where our body stores waste and harmful toxins like cholesterol and heavy metals.
3. Relieve Sore Muscles and Stiffness
A small study found that infrared saunas helped decrease muscle soreness and increase recovery from strength-training sessions. I know for myself that when I’m warm I have a wider range of motion and my muscles react quicker doing simple things like typing.
4. Relieve Joint Pain from Arthritis
Infrared sauna use helps warm the muscles for greater flexibility and range of motion. As you relax in the gentle heat of infrared sauna, you may also notice reduced muscle tension and pain. Studies show that time spent in an infrared sauna can bring relief from different forms of arthritis. Radiant heat has also been effective in the treatment of sprains, neuralgia, bursitis, muscle spasms, and joint stiffness.
5. Enhances Circulation
The radiant heat from infrared sauna use penetrates deeply into your joints, muscles and tissues increasing oxygen flow and circulation. As your body increases sweat production to cool itself, your heart works harder to pump blood at a greater rate to boost circulation.
6. Tighter Skin and Improved Complexion
Infrared heat from infrared sauna use causes your body to sweat. While sweating your body is carrying off deeply embedded impurities and dead skin cells, leaving your skin improved. Increased circulation draws your skin’s own natural nutrients to the surface. You should notice improved tone, elasticity, and texture. Many people who use saunas claim that the increased blood circulation helps relieve acne, eczema, psoriasis, burns, lesions, and cuts. Additionally, open wounds heal more quickly which can reduce scarring later.
7. Promotes Better Sleep and Relaxation
The gentle warmth of an infrared sauna will help you feel relaxed, rejuvenated and renewed.
8. Weight Loss and Improved Metabolism
Studies have shown that infrared light absorbed by cells stimulates the metabolism of muscle and bone, as well as skin and subcutaneous tissue. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, regular use of a sauna imparts a similar boost on the cardiovascular system as running. While using an infrared sauna like the one at Shapes Fitness for Women in Flower Mound, your body is hard at work producing sweat, pumping blood, and burning calories.
9. Stress and Fatigue Reduction
Infrared sauna use has been shown to directly affect the autonomic nervous system putting you in the parasympathetic state allowing your body to heal.
10. Improved Injury Recovery and Wound Healing
Infrared light improves injury recovery and wound healing in humans by increasing metabolism of cells in the muscles, bones, and skin. Increased blood circulation delivers oxygen-rich blood to oxygen-depleted muscle, so they recover faster. Infrared heat also reduces soreness on nerve endings and muscle spasms as muscle joints and fibers are heated.
Summary
There are many benefits of infrared sauna use including improved metabolism, better sleep, and reduced joint pain. Shapes Fitness for Women in Flower Mound, TX shows us how we can benefit from regular infrared sauna use.