Useful List Of Infrared Ray Sauna Health Benefits
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.
Anorexia Nervosa: This condition is marked by over-activity and/or strenuous exercising. FIR sauna therapy leads to disappearance of hyperactivity and progressive recovery.
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
Cardiovascular Conditioning (Passive): 1. The August 7, 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that regular use of a sauna may impact a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise. FIR Sauna Therapy makes it possible for people in wheelchairs, or those who have a disability that affect their ability to exercise to achieve a cardiovascular training effect. Due to the deep penetration of the infrared rays generated by the Far Infrared Sauna, there is a heating effect deep in the muscular tissues and the internal organs. The body responds to this deep-heating effect via a hypothalamic-induced increase in both heart volume and rate. This beneficial heart stress leads to a sought-after cardiovascular training and conditioning effect. Medical researchers confirm the use of a sauna provides cardiovascular conditioning as the body works to cool itself and involves substantial increases in heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate. 2. As a confirmation of the validity of this form of cardiovascular conditioning, extensive research by NASA in the early 1980's led to the conclusion that infrared stimulation of cardiovascular function would be the ideal way to maintain cardiovascular conditioning in American astronauts during long space flights. 3. A person using an FIR sauna will burn between 900 and 2400 calories during a 30 minute period. This is equivalent to the consumption of energy in a 6-9 mile run. For comparison, persons using a rowing machine or running a marathon burns only about 600 calories in 30 minutes. Therefore, the infrared sauna can play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning. It is valuable for those who don't exercise and those who can't exercise and want an effective weight control and fitness maintenance program, and the benefits regular exercise contribute to such a program. The cardiovascular demand imparted by thermoregulatory homeostasis (sweating, vasodilation, decreased afterload, increased heart rate, increased cardiac output) is similar to that achieved by walking at a moderate pace. As such, FIR saunas might be of particular benefit to those who are sedentary due to various medical conditions, such as osteoarthritis or cardiovascular or respiratory problems.
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.
Coronary risk factors including high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and smoking: In a randomized trial of persons with coronary risk factors, 14 subjects had 15 minute daily FIR sessions for two weeks. Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced in the sauna group after therapy from on average 125 mmHg to 110 mmHg. Another marker of coronary disease was also significantly reduced in the treatment group. In a sequential, longitudinal, interrupted time series cohort trial , 25 men with at least one coronary risk factor underwent 15 minute FIR sauna sessions over a two week period. Ten additional men did not receive any sauna treatment. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, weight and fasting blood glucose concentrations all decreased in the treatment group. Endothelial (blood vessel) function was impaired in the control group and improved with treatment.
In a randomized controlled trial , 30 subjects with congestive heart failure were randomized into control (10 subjects) and intervention (20 subjects) groups. Treatment consisted of 10 15-minute infrared sauna sessions over a 2 week period. Clinical symptoms improved in 17 (85%) out of 20 of the treatment group. Average systolic blood pressure in the treatment group decreased 9% from 107 mmHg to 97 mm Hg. Average brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels decreased in the treatment group decreased 34% (441 pg/ml vs. 293 pg/ml). The control group did not improve clinically.
Inflammation: The increased peripheral circulation occurring with FIR sauna therapy provides the transportation needed to help evacuate the edema, which can help stop inflammation, decrease pain and help speed healing. Researchers have observed high success rates when applying FIR therapy to resolve post surgical infection, pelvic infection and frostbite with inflammation.
Pain (Chronic): 1. New clinical research on pain offers evidence to establish a novel class of pain -- "heat responsive pain" or HRP -- which encompasses several common pain conditions that can be treated with the use of heat therapy. Researchers studying HRP have observed remarkable therapeutic benefits by using continuous low-level heat therapy for treating lower-back, upper-body and menstrual pain, all conditions that fall under the new HRP classification. "For centuries, health-care providers have used topical heat to relieve minor aches and pains, but today, we are just beginning to understand the full range of therapeutic benefits that heat offers," said pain expert Peter Vicente, Ph.D., Past-President of the American Pain Society and Clinical Health Psychologist, Riverhills Health-care, Cincinnati, OH. "Through new clinical research, we have found that heat activates complex neurological, vascular and metabolic mechanisms to mediate the transmission of pain signals and effectively provide relief for a variety of pain conditions." The deep heat of the FIR sauna helps peripheral blood vessels dilate, bringing relief and healing to muscle and soft tissue injuries. Increased blood circulation carries off metabolic waste products and delivers oxygen-rich blood to oxygen-depleted muscle, so they recover faster. Muscles relax most readily when tissues are warm, for greater flexibility and range of motion. 2. In a randomized controlled trial , 46 patients with chronic pain received 4 weeks of multidisciplinary treatment; 22 of the subjects also had 15-minute daily FIR sauna sessions during those 4 weeks. After two years, those in the sauna group were more likely to have returned to work (77% vs. 50%) and to have improved sleep scores and tended toward greater improvement in pain behavior scores and anger scores. The reason for the pain relief may be the reduction of muscle spasms which cause pain or the relaxing of myofascial trigger points (irritable tight tissues). In one dental study, repeated heat applications eventually led to abolishment of the whole nerve response responsible for pain arising from dental pulp (center soft part of the tooth). 3. Persons undergoing FIR Sauna Therapy have received relief from a variety of painful conditions: a. Adhesions (scarring) from athletic injuries, trauma or repetitive stress syndromes. b. Arthritis: gouty, rheumatoid or degenerative joint disease. c. Brain Injury (The effects of acceleration-deceleration injury or brain contusions). d. Compression fracture. For example, in one person, pain stopped for three days of after only a single treatment. e. TMJ (arthritis and muscle spasms have been reduced or eliminated). f. Low Back Pain. g. Muscle Pain (notably post exercise muscle pain). h. Muscle Tension. i. Neuralgia (related to disc protrusion). j. Pain which prevented sleep or limited usable sleeping positions. k. Shoulder Pain. l. Spinal Cord Shock. Post traumatic shock has been reversed.
Menopause: FIR therapy relieves menopause related symptoms: relieved chills, nervousness, depression, dizziness, head & stomach aches.
There seems to be an almost continual flow of new information regarding infrared ray saunas and their benefits to our health. Hopefully you enjoy this short list of the benefits that we already know about.