by Benjamin Andrews
The good news is that FIR Saunas have a good amount of clinical research to prove their safety and effectiveness. The bulk of the research is coming out of Japan. It turns out that controlled hyperthermia (raising the temperature of the body) through FIR Sauna therapy helps all of the body’s tissues to get activated and function better. To understand how FIR-Saunas benefit our health see the list below.
Acne: Three or four infrared treatments may open pores that have not been functioning in years, forcing out cosmetics which were clogging the pores and loosening dead outer skin. The sauna is thus a boon to teenage skin, clearing acne and blackheads.
Blood Pressure (High): 1. Finnish researchers state that there is abundant evidence to suggest that blood vessels of regular sauna-goers remain elastic and pliable longer due to the regular dilation and contraction of blood vessels induced by sauna use. German medical researchers reported in “Dermatol Monatsschr” in 1989 that a single whole-body session of infrared-induced hyperthermia lasting over one hour had only beneficial effects on subjects with stage I-II essential hypertension. Each subject experienced a rise in core body temperature to a maximum level of 38.5C (101.3F). All of the subjects in one experiment had significant decrease in arterial, venous and mean blood pressure that lasted for at least 24 hours and was linked, according to the researchers, to a persistent peripheral dilation effect. An improvement in plasma viscosity was also noted. 2. Another group of similar hypertension patients was also studied under the same conditions of infrared-induced hyperthermia, with an eye toward more carefully evaluating the circulatory system effects induced by this type of whole-body heating. During each infrared session, there was a significant decrease of blood pressure, cardiac ejection resistance, and total peripheral resistance in every subject. There was also a significant increase during each session of the subjects’ heart rates, stroke volumes, cardiac outputs and ejection fractions. The researchers cite these last three effects as evidences that the stimulation of the heart during infrared-induced hyperthermia is well compensated, while the prior list of effects clearly show the microcirculatory changes that lead to the desired result of a lowering of blood pressure. 3. See more information under Heart Disease
Cellulite: Cellulite is a gel-like substance made up of fat, water and wastes, which are trapped in pockets below the skin. FIR sauna therapy can assist this condition, as profuse sweating helps clear this form of unwanted debris from the body. European beauty specialists confirm that a sauna will greatly speed any anti-cellulite program. Because FIR saunas have at least twice the depth of heat penetration into cellulite combined with up to 10 times the level of heating in these tissues, they are significantly more effective than any conventional sauna at removing cellulite.
Detoxification: Hyperthermia (fever) is the body’s natural way to eliminate bacteria, viruses and toxic organisms by sweating them out through the skin. Infrared sauna use is perhaps the most effective method of prompting hyperthermia (rise in body temperature) for the purpose of detoxification. Increased blood circulation stimulates the sweat glands, quickly expunging built-up toxins and waste, through the skin, the body’s largest organ. Daily sweating can help detoxify the body as it rids itself of an accumulation of potentially carcinogenic heavy metals (lead, mercury, nickel, cadmium, aluminum) as well as alcohol, nicotine, sodium, sulfuric acid, arsenic, cholesterol, ammonia, uric acid, hydrocarbon residues, narcotic drugs and hormone disrupting chemicals (dioxins, PCBs, formaldehyde, agricultural chemicals, industrial chemicals, gasoline, pesticides, food additives, etc.). These toxins may be deposited deep beneath the skin in the body fat and internal organs. Infrared is able to penetrate deep into the body and cause a resonance in the water molecules that surrounds the cells. Because the far infrared frequency matches that of the body, this resonance allows the water molecules to move more freely in and out through the membrane of the cells. As sweat and oils and secreted, the toxins dissolved in them are secreted as well.
Flexibility: A FIR Sauna is perfect as a “heat therapy room” for athletes looking for a pre-workout warm-up to warm up muscles and increase flexibility, helping to prevent injury. It’s also ideal for pre-warm-up for physical therapy and massage therapy, or for a relaxing, wind-down at the end of a stress-filled day.
In a sequential, longitudinal, interrupted time series trial at the Mayo Clinic , 15 hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure underwent daily 15 minute infrared sauna treatment for 4 weeks. These serious end-stage congestive heart failure patients were maximally medicated, unable to walk across the room without shortness of breath and were unable to tolerate warm baths. When they were treated with FIR sauna therapy, symptoms improved in 87% of patients (13 of 15). Left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 30% to 34% on average, meaning that their hearts beat more efficiently and with less effort. Every patients 6 minute walking distance increased. Distance increased from an average of 388 meters to 448 meters (15% faster pace). Average plasma epinephrine (adrenaline) concentration decreased by 48% from 40 pg/mL to 21 pg/mL. Average plasma norepinephrine decreased by 30% from 633 pg/mL to 443 pg/mL. These two are both used to diagnose congestive heart failure. Diastolic blood pressure (the low number) decreased but systolic pressure (the top number) was unchanged. This means that they did not get hypertensive and the work that the hearts had to do decreased. There were no side effects (something that never happens with drugs and surgery). No patients had dyspnea (shortness of breath), angina (chest pain) or arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), or complained of excess heat. FIR sauna therapy literally saved their lives.
Immune System: The deep heat from the FIR sauna raises your body temperature, inducing an artificial fever. Our bodies normally develop fever when ill to enhance metabolism and help to kill germs; the physiology is very similar for artificially induced fever. As the body works to combat the artificial “fever,” the body’s immune system is strengthened. FIR Saunas increase overall health and resistance to disease as heating of the tissues enhances metabolic processes. The leukocyte, macrophage, NK cells and T cells are activated (the immune power is multiplied by 200 times by raising the body core temperature up 3.5 degrees). Greater cellular energy production facilitates healing. The stimulated immune system helps the body to fight off any invasive organisms like bacteria or virus in the early stages of cold, cough, or flu, preventing disease from occurring. Viruses, tumors and toxin-laden cells which are weaker than normal cells are excreted as they tolerate heat poorly. Raising the body temperature causes infections to heal more quickly. Hyperthermia even helps to combat cancer.
Muscle Spasm: Muscle spasms have long been observed to be reduced through the use of heat, whether they be secondary to underlying skeletal, joint, or neuro-pathological conditions. This result is possibly produced by the combined effect of heat on both primary and secondary afferent nerves from spindle cells and from its effects on Golgi tendon organs. The results produced demonstrated their peak effect within the therapeutic temperature range obtainable with FIR heat.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: 14 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 14 patients with ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis that causes fusion of the spine, were treated with eight sessions of far infrared sauna therapy over four weeks . These patients experienced significantly decreased pain and stiffness in the short-term and clinically relevant long-term effects from the therapy.
Hopefully this list of health benefits will be useful. More positive results keep coming in from users and researches around the world so we will have to keep an eye on incoming information.