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Writer's pictureCryotherapy Austin Blog

What Does an Infrared Sauna Do for You?

Updated: Mar 21, 2023

Cryo Body Works Cryotherapy Austin


infrared-sauna-chromatherapy

Most of us have heard of the famous Tibetan Monks who can sit in a room and raise their body temperatures just by meditating in order to generate heat around them, allowing them to detoxify their minds and bodies. An age-old practice to them; with only using two elements to create health and wellness: heat and water (humidity).


Did you know that the history of sauna use can be dated back to 10,000 years ago, right after the Ice Age? Ancient saunas were make-shift earth pits made from carved holes in rock faces covered with animal skins and a heat source. Although we don’t use this technique anymore since the invention of the modern-built sauna, the fact still remains: this practice has been around as a healing modality for a really, really long time and there is a reason for it.



The color red has been known to speed up heart pulse rate in chromotherapy.

What is the Difference Between an Infrared and Regular Sauna?


Modern day saunas are typically built from wood, metal, or tile with a central heating element such as hot rocks or an electric stove-type structure and water; with the idea that you will sweat. A lot. The sweating is a necessary part of detoxification, burning calories, and treating sore muscles and joints. This sweating process allows the body’s natural waste expulsion process to take place faster than working out in some cases, or through normal elimination processes. As they say, the fastest way to detox is to sweat it out! (through the millions of pores, we have on our bodies!), so, if the purpose of a traditional sauna is to make you sweat, what is the purpose of an infrared sauna then?


Well, infrared Saunas are usually built from the same materials as their traditional counterparts, but instead of using a water source along with heat, they use light therapy to promote their health benefits and create heat. This is because light from an infrared sauna can penetrate your skin to about an inch from the surface, allowing cell membrane structures to become affected. In other words, instead of dispersed heat surrounding an object and going up, light-heat penetrates it and therefore, the heat is more concentrated and stabilized in and around your body. This allows for more reliability of producing the best sauna health benefits imaginable. Pretty high-tech right? It’s like using the power of the sun in a much healthier way than standing straight under it.


The other added benefit of most infrared saunas is their chromotherapy features, meaning, you can add various colors to dance around you during your session to enhance your mood, target specific mind-body triggers, and help you to relax. Chromotherapy is an interesting study to learn about, for example, the color red has been shown to increase our heart pulse rate due to the vibration rate at which is hits the color spectrum. Blue has been shown to calm the mind and body as it vibrates on a different spectrum. If you want to learn more about how colors affect our bodies you can read about it here.



Is Infrared Sauna Therapy Dangerous?


Image Credit: “Far infrared radiation (FIR): its biological effects and medical applications”

It should be noted that using an infrared sauna for 20-30-minute sessions is beneficial, and not considered harmful as far as radiation experts agree. If you are considering using them to de-stress, relax, or promote overall health but have a heart condition, low blood pressure, or other circulatory issue you should speak with your doctor beforehand for approval. That said, as long as you limit your sessions to a regimen recommended by a professional, drink plenty of water before and after, and avoid drinking alcohol before or after stepping into the sauna, you should be good to go!


When we think of radiation, usually our first thought is, oh no, and yes, some types of radiation are harmful to us; however, infrared technology thankfully falls in the good zone.

The idea is that infrared saunas are able to manipulate our DNA structures, cells, and H2O chemistry in a beneficial way that can even help improve our own metabolism (great for weight loss seekers!) If anything, helping our bodies expel the not-so-good stuff lingering around is only a benefit, which many people have found infrared saunas to be a health and wellness regimen staple. But let us note again, you MUST drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated during your sessions before and after to help this process along and create new healthy cells in the meantime. We are approximately 80% water beings after all, so any kind of water loss must be replenished.


How Often Should You Use an Infrared Sauna?



Blue is reported to calm the central nervous system and promote relaxation according to chromotherapy studies.

While there are many opinions out there on the frequency of infrared sauna use, there is no evidence against using one every day as long as you are responsible about your hydration levels before and after. We wouldn’t advise you to jump into one after a night of heavy drinking to help your hangover move along however, as you might find that you can dehydrate yourself rapidly that way. We do recommend typical use of infrared saunas of about 20-40 minutes, 3-4 times per week, but some people see health and wellness benefits sooner with daily use, much like our owner of Cryo Body Works, Caulen Lauria, who uses the sauna frequently.


You can experience some sweating in the sauna as your body temperature cools after a session, and you may want to take a relaxing cool shower after your sauna session to help this process along. We even offer our cryotherapy chamber as a nice hot-cool effect treatment in tandem with your sauna session for optimal health benefits!



How Much do Infrared Saunas Cost (Sessions)?


Caulen Lauria, owner of Cryo Body Works, enjoys an infrared sauna session while listening to music.

A general across the board one-time session can run you about $45 and some facilities will offer multiple session packages if you can find them. Here at Cryo Body Works we offer Class IV Infrared Laser Therapy at 20- and 40-minute sessions for $27 and $40 respectively. We also offer daily and monthly memberships for our infrared sauna members at a discounted rate. You can call and schedule a FREE consultation, and learn about all of our treatments including our famous cryotherapy treatments. If you are in the Austin, TX area call us at (512) 522-0221 or Book your session HERE.


 


Come to our facility at 3501 Hyridge Dr, Austin, TX 78759

Monday - Friday 7AM - 8PM

SAT 10AM - 5PM

SUN 12PM - 4PM

Call (512) 522-0221 to schedule a session for as low as $49! We also offer low-cost membership plans and packages that accept payments from your HSA as well. We also offer many other treatments and therapy options like Cryotherapy, Infrared Sauna, Infrared Laser Therapy, PEMF Therapy, Compression Therapy, Ice Baths, and B12 shot injections! We would love to hear your story, introduce you to our facility and get your health and recovery journey started!

Visit https://www.cryobodyworks.com/ for client reviews, testimonials and more featured research.


 

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