To make the most of the weight loss benefits associated with a sauna, you should start with 15 to 20 minute sessions a couple of times a week and build up to daily sessions. The easiest way to do this is to invest in a sauna for your home.
A. It is a myth that sitting in a sauna can help you decrease additional fat. But it is not valid. A sauna does not enable you to lose weight; it temporarily eliminates quickly replaceable water from the body.
Sauna bathing can help with weight loss by burning calories and temporarily reducing water weight. It also offers numerous other health benefits, such as a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, improved lung function, and decreased fatigue.
Spending 15-30 minutes in a sauna will allow you to burn 1.5 – 2 times the calories you would sitting anywhere else. So, the average 150lb woman would lose around 68 calories every 30 minutes in a sauna. Sauna bathing can definitely change the way you live. They promote mental and physical well-being.
In fact, people can see improved cardiovascular health from sauna use. Research shows that people who regularly use a sauna (at least four times a week for 20 minutes) have a significantly lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and dementia, notes Dr. Parikh.
#1 Water Weight
The most immediate benefit of a sauna is water weight loss. Because the intense heat makes you sweat, you'll lose excess water stored in your body. You can lose up to five pounds in a single session but, as you rehydrate, most of the weight will come back.
Studies show it is perfectly safe to use saunas every day, just being mindful to stay hydrated during your sessions. Though daily sauna use is not harmful, prolonged single sauna sessions can increase the risk of dehydration.
When you sit in a sauna, you lose water weight through sweating, which can make you appear thinner temporarily. However, this effect is only temporary, and the weight loss is quickly regained once you rehydrate.
Collagen — the protein in our skin responsible for elasticity — gets a healthy kick when you spend time in a sauna. The hot air combined with moisture enhances collagen production to help rejuvenate your complexion. The heat increase also allows your skin to shed dead skin cells and make way for new, healthier ones.
Staying hydrated is crucial during a sauna session. The body loses a significant amount of water through sweat, which can lead to dehydration if not replenished.
Many of us enjoy the convenience of staying connected, even in an infrared sauna. But bringing phones into the hot environment can be risky. Boiling temperatures and potential water mishaps can cause permanent damage to your phone and its precious contents.
To conclude, there are many benefits to incorporating a sauna into your health and fitness routine. For those looking to lose weight and burn calories quickly, then a traditional or infrared sauna is perfect. Just an additional 3 times a week for a 20-minute session can have a tremendous effect on your waistline.
Does Sitting in the Sauna Burn Fat? Yes, sitting in a sauna can help you burn through the fat- but it depends on which sauna you're using. A traditional wood-burning or wet sauna, such as a steam room helps your body burn through calories, but has been proven less effective when it comes to burning excess fat.
The quickest and easiest way to shed some pounds using a sauna is by getting rid of water weight. While you sweat during your sauna session, your body's normal water weight will reduce. When entering a sauna properly hydrated, you could lose up to 5 pounds of water weight in one sitting.
The best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning after you've gone to the restroom but before you eat or drink anything. The reason for this is that your body has had enough time to digest all the food and drinks you've consumed from the day before all while you were getting your beauty sleep.
The sauna/steam room should be used “2-3 times a week for no more than 10-20 minutes at a time,” Jay says. Some individuals like to opt for intervals. “You can do 15 to 20 minutes inside the room, take a 5 minute break outside the room, and then go back inside, repeating this for 3-4 cycles.”
Because you sweat during your session and toxins are released, having a shower after your sauna will help to cleanse the skin and close pores. A cold shower after your sauna can also activate cold shock proteins in the body, which may help assimilate fat for weight loss.
Some benefits of regular sauna use include improved heart and mental health, relief of chronic pain, and relaxation.
3 Drawbacks of Using a Sauna After Exercise
You could get dizzy, pass out or get severe muscle cramps. Worst case scenario, you could develop heatstroke, a life-threatening condition caused by your body overheating.
Both saunas and steam rooms can help ease muscle pain and tension and benefit the skin. But saunas have been more extensively researched and have a leg up for cardiorespiratory, immunity, cognitive, and overall longevity benefits. If you're new to heat therapy, be sure to ease into it slowly.