INFRARED saunas are the next model boxing.
It’s the latest new-old thing that has received attention from fashion types, celebrities and social-media influencers.
If you are a physician or longtime wellness nut, it’s likely you already know about them. For decades hospitals and medical-treatment centers have used them to foster growth for premature babies and expedite healing for athletes and the elderly.
But only in the past year did infrared treatments become—shudder—trendy. Gwyneth Paltrow extolls their benefits. Lady Gaga uses them to treat her chronic shoulder pain. Jennifer Aniston and Selena Gomez use them at home.
A host of boutique shops are popping up to support the demand, especially in the US (New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami are big markets) and in Australia. It’s a $75-million market “and growing rapidly”, according to a report published in the Canadian Family Physician, the official journal of the college of family physicians of Canada.
Sunlighten Inc. sells infrared saunas to spas and wellness centers via 16 distributors worldwide. The Overland Park, Kan.-based company has seen steady growth in commercial and residential sales since 2013, with last year’s sales up 20 percent over 2015’s.
“We have seen a growing trend for a while now,” said Brooke Basaldua, Sunlighten’s marketing manager. “Last year was definitely our biggest year, and we would expect to see the same thing again this year, as well.”
The saunas work by using infrared wavelengths of light to heat the body itself, rather than heating the space around it. There are three wavelengths—short, medium and far, with far being the most intense form: The heat vibrates water molecules in the body so much that they break down. The result, according to supporters, is a healthy release of toxins that you sweat out.
Infrared temperatures range from 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than the conventional 160. That’s why an infrared sauna is cozy and dry, not sweltering and musty like a regular health club sauna.
“The appeal of saunas, in general, is that they cause reactions, such as vigorous sweating and increased heart rate, similar to those elicited by moderate exercise,” Brent Bauer, the director of the Department of Internal Medicine’s complementary and integrative medicine program at the Mayo Clinic, wrote in a Mayo Clinic report. “An infrared sauna produces these results at lower temperatures than does a regular sauna, which makes it accessible to people who can’t tolerate the heat of a conventional sauna.”
The benefits are myriad, if you believe the hype: muscle and organ relaxation, detoxification, pain relief, improved cell health, better circulation, antiaging, skin purification and (the holy grail) weight loss.
Richard Beever, the clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, is more circumspect, though tentatively supportive. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with it, he said.
“Although the evidence is limited, it does suggest a number of benefits of far infrared sauna use, including effects on systolic hypertension…and clinical symptoms of congestive heart failure, premature ventricular contractions, brain natriuretic peptide levels, vascular endothelial function, exercise tolerance, oxidative stress, chronic pain and, possibly, weight loss and chronic fatigue,” Beever wrote in a review for the official publication of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Importantly, “No adverse events were reported.”
Prominent trainers agree, using the practice on themselves—and their most-prized, city-harried clients.
“I personally like infrared sauna for relaxation and flushing out toxins like heavy metals—and you get a moment of Zen in a busy city full of noise,” says Stephen Cheuk, the owner of S10 Training Club Llc. and House of Matcha Inc. tea. He is known for his attention to progressive and holistic treatments, often sourced on his frequent trips to Asia; Cheuk trains some of the most beautiful, fit and famous people in New York.
Manhattan’s HigherDOSE Llc. is a frequent callout in model and fashion-boss Instagram feeds. (“DOSE” is an acronym for those natural elation-causing chemicals known as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins.) Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams are known clients. Sessions cost $65 for the recommended one-hour duration, which allows 10 to 15 minutes to disrobe and arrange yourself inside the wooden box (For my visit, I reserved a single room, although you can reserve an $80 double if you want to go with a friend.).
The small shop, which opened last year, is tucked underneath an actual alchemist kitchen. To enter, guests walk past shelves of myrrh oil and sage, descend a stairwell festooned with jungle-thick vines, and present themselves at a front desk doused in red light emitting from a neon sign above. (The neon spells out “Higher Dose” underneath some mystic-looking triangles).
Short-term results were more than satisfactory. I had gone into it feeling lethargic and stymied in general by the snow and winter weather. My shoulders were sore from a recent eight-hour flight from Geneva and from gingerly picking my way over black ice as I attempted to jog around town. I was also sleepy, having been out late the night before.
But once inside, and rather than drift off into a nap, as I had expected, I became increasingly alert. My heart rate increased while my muscles relaxed—an unexpected dichotomy. By the end of my time I was practically panting. After 45 minutes of reading Murakami and sweating out everything I drank in what felt like the past month, I emerged lightheaded and definitely dewy. I already have another session booked.
Think an infrared sauna session is for you? There is a right way to get the full benefit—and get your money’s worth. Here are some pointers.
- Leave your swimsuit at home. If you want to wear it, you can. But there’s no point. There are plenty of towels to mop sweat anyway. And the sauna is completely private, set in a private room, so you might as well enjoy it to the fullest.
- Bring a book and your music. Even though infrared saunas are dry and cozy, not humid and sloppy, and even though they operate at far cooler temperatures than regular saunas, don’t leave your cellphone in the sauna. It won’t take the heat.
At HigherDOSE, you can plug your phone into an external outlet that pipes music through the box, which is a boon to anyone who gets itchy if he or she can’t see that Apple screen every few minutes. If you’re very elevated, just plan on meditating for the duration of the session (a timer on the inside of the sauna lets you know how many minutes you have left). I brought a book.
- Drink water. Everyone everywhere says the No. 1 thing to do after sweating out all those toxins is to DRINK WATER. They practically force it on you at HigherDOSE, where an assistant pointed me to an enormous glass beaker and cup next to my sauna box. The water helps flush the system of toxins.
Cheuk recommended some intense replenishing of vitamins and minerals after each session too, since intense repeat sweating can deplete the body of much-needed elements such as magnesium, for example, along with the bad stuff. (Which is why infrared is superior to regular saunas anyway: “You won’t pull the same heavy metals from a normal sauna,” he said.) Coconut water, or something with electrolytes, will do the trick.
- Rinse. Be ready to use the shower. (HigherDOSE has only one—it needs more.) You’ll be soaked through from sweat—drenched as though by a downpour. There’s no way you’ll want to walk outside on a cold day with a wet head and sweat-damp clothing. Plus, you’ll feel so energized afterward that you’ll want to go see a friend or two. Get rid of the sweat before that—for everyone’s sake.
- Repeat. Cheuk tells his clients to use infrared therapy once a week, depending on their goals and lifestyle. Others suggest going as many as three times a week for the full-on maximum benefit. You can save money when you buy a package of sessions, so do that and use them well.
Sound like something you need, especially in dreary March weather? Here are a few other infrared spots to visit.
Chill Space NYC, NYC HigherDOSE, NYC Manhattan Physio Group, NYC Shape House. An Urban Sweat Lodge, L.A. Sauna Bar, L.A. Tikkun Spa, L.A. The Springs, L.A. The Sauna Studio, Ventura, Calif. Sunlight Day Spa, Overland Park, Kan. Infrasweat, Delray Beach, Fla. Mystica, Costa Rica Ananda Rainforest Spa, Currumbin Valley, Australia The Awareness Institute, Sydney, Australia.
1 comment
Saunas have been in use in many cultures through out the world, they have been a right of passage to cleanse the soul and the body.
When I first embarked on my journey into alternative healing I had the opportunity to promote Far infrared saunas with carbon fiber heaters. These carbon heaters penetrate deeper into the fatty tissues below the sweat glands in order to get more cellular mobilization of toxins stored in this area of the body at about 9.6 microns which i the same frequency of the Sun.
When I combined Oxygen chamber therapy , immuno stimulation and lots of ozonated water the Far infra red Sauna topped it off, I could feel the toxins leaving my body and felt euphoric after a good 45 mins session.
Being able to combine different methods of detox greatly enhances the effects of individual alternative modalities and there therapeutic properties. I would like to share with you other alternative methods of detox that work well with Saunas at http://www.phaseshifthealing.com and give you a free gift when you sign up.