Infrared Sauna Weight Loss:

Can Infrared Sauna Help You Slim Down?

When the infrared sauna comes up, the first question that pops up on the mind of many people struggling to lose weight is: Can infrared sauna help with the weight loss?

Let’s take a look at the available resources to find out the answer to this question.

What is an infrared sauna?

Before looking at the topic of infrared saunas and weight loss, let us summarize what an infrared sauna is and how does it differentiate from the traditional steam sauna.

While traditional saunas warm up the air around the user, infrared sauna uses light rays, just like the sun, to warm up your body directly, but without harmful UV rays. In other words, the infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses light to create heat.

Another difference is that unlike traditional saunas that use temperatures of 185 to 195 degrees Fahrenheit, the infrared sauna heats up only to 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that people who are heat-sensitive will find infrared sauna more comfortable.

Infrared sauna weight loss

Can infrared sauna help you lose weight?

According to Dr. Richard Beever, the answer is yes. As heat from an infrared sauna penetrates the skin deeply, it targets fat with great efficiency. This means that infrared sauna targets the fat faster and more efficiently, making every session count for weight loss.

Moreover, an infrared sauna can increase heart rate the way a powerful training exercise does. In fact, according to an experience reported by Anna Maxted, infrared sauna simulates the heart just like an aerobic exercise, to the point that about 15 minutes of a session in an infrared sauna can boost up your heart rate as if you completed a 10 miles run.

Moreover, an infrared sauna can increase heart rate the way a powerful training exercise does. In fact, according to an experience reported in the Daily Mail by Anna Maxted, infrared sauna simulates the heart just like an aerobic exercise, to the point that about 15 minutes of a session in an infrared sauna can boost up your heart rate as if you completed a 10 miles run.

Furthermore, while in the infrared sauna, the user’s blood flow rises, increasing from 5-7 quarts up to 13 quarts a minute. This, coupled with the increased heart rate effect leads the body to raise its temperature because it works hard.

Since any living organism has to cool itself down, the sauna user starts to sweat, releasing the toxins from the body through the skin. Regarding the sweating, it is almost like completing a demanding physical exercise, while just sitting or laying down in the infrared sauna booth.

Of course, the sauna sessions don’t replace physical training, but they do indeed help where training is concerned; the infrared sauna is proven to help users with the muscle aches that result from training.

Of course, the sauna sessions don’t replace physical training, but they do indeed help where training is concerned.

Users can recover faster and easier, and return to their regular training programs quickly.

With all the effects mentioned above, you probably wonder how much weight can you lose with an infrared sauna.

According to information published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sauna weight loss sessions were shown to burn up to 600 calories.

Of course, different infrared sauna combinations are varying in lengths and the intensity of the rays, making the efficacy and results of every infrared sauna different. A session can be more or less effective, but the study above gives an average reference.

How are toxins connected to weight loss?

Toxins are harmful substances that are released into the body as a result of several internal and external factors. The bad reputed toxins have a plethora of damaging effects on the body, and one of the links that have been established between toxins and body functions relate to weight loss.

Dr. Raleigh Duncan of Clearlight Saunas explains this relationship. He uses a term called ‘obesogens’ to refer to foreign chemical compounds that influence the fat cells, disrupting their normal development and metabolism, which can lead to obesity. Many people can have these compounds in their body, in a higher or lower amount.

Obesogens stop fat cells from changing, making fat breakdown and weight loss harder, and the individual ends up unable to lose the desired amount of weight even though they are putting a lot of effort into their diet and exercise.

There are many chemicals that can be considered obesogens, and BPA (bisphenol-A) is one of them. It is an industrial chemical that may find its way into people’s food. It can be found in any items that are packaged in plastic containers, such as canned food, sports equipment or dental filling sealants.

The toxins have a plethora of damaging effects on the body, and one of the links that have been established between toxins and body functions relate to weight loss.

BPA has been proved toxic, and it has also been linked to cancer. It influences bodily processes and hormone receptors, and that is why it is believed to cause obesity.

Chemical structure of bisphenol A.

That’s where infrared sauna steps in yet another way to facilitate weight loss. Saunas relax the body and get the toxins out, and as we already discussed, the infrared sauna may get the toxins out even faster and in a more effective way. Infrared saunas may help restore the normal way fat cells operate, making weight loss easier and quicker.

Sauna as a weight loss product?

To sum up, there is one simple answer to the question of whether infrared sauna can help with weight loss, and that answer is yes.

The infrared sauna can help a great deal, but it is important to understand that the sauna will not just melt the fat away and make the number on the scale drop unaided.

In order to lose weight effectively, there is no escaping the classic formula of a healthy lifestyle, a nutritious diet and being physically active.

The infrared sauna sessions will supplement these efforts and help you achieve your goals faster, and train better.

That is why many fitness trainers recommend sauna for relaxation and recovery, combined with training, to reach optimal weight loss results.

Ben Pavlik - Your Wellness Kingdom | Twitter | Facebook
Hi, my name is Ben, I am a fitness enthusiast and sauna lover. Your Wellness Kingdom is my project dedicated to helping others create their own wellness kingdom at home and bringing useful information and reviews related to spa and wellness.

1 Comment

Jeff on September 15, 2018 at 3:03 am

I appreciate that you are realistic in this article.
Yes, IR saunas have many health benefits and I am sure they contibute to the healthy lifestyle that may help you to slim down. But some people seem to believe you can loose weight just by sitting in a sauna.