This is the health supplement you’ve been missing! We had the chance to sit down with Chandler and Staci Herdt, owners of Perspire Sauna Studios to learn everything we could about Perspire.
Q: What are the science-backed benefits of using a sauna?
The use of heat therapy to improve aspects of mental and physical health is supported by decades of peer reviewed research. When educating about the health benefits of infrared sauna, I encourage Perspire Sauna Studio members to think about the benefits in two categories: acute (how you’ll feel after one session) and chronic adaptations (how you’ll feel when you commit to heat therapy longer-term). Short-term— saunas can improve mood, promote feelings of relaxation and improve sleep. Long-term—better heart health— heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, people are looking for preventive solutions. Adapting to the stress of heat therapy, like infrared sauna, is associated with a host of heart-health related benefits. For example, cohort data from Finland suggests that regular sauna use can improve blood pressure, vascular health, and even cardiorespiratory fitness levels. Most impressively, evidence suggests that adults who self-reported using the sauna regularly for years were ~30% less likely to die from cardiovascular-disease related deaths than those who did not report using the sauna regularly. There are also studies that show saunas can lower risk for cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Q: What makes Perspire Sauna different from the sauna we find in our gym?
The saunas in the gym or that we can buy from stores use an external heat source, it heats the air in the room. Perspire Sauna uses red infrared lights that heat your body directly. This infrared technology started in Japan in the 1980s and there are studies that have been done to prove the benefits. Using Perspire also has the unique experience of “therapy stacking.” First, in the sauna with medical grade infrared heat that is specially designed to go throughout the whole sauna, giving full body coverage. Second, Inferred Chromo-Threapy, which is a fancy word for color light therapy. Light can affect our moods, blue is calming, green is relaxing, yellow and oranges are energizing. You pick the color therapy you have in your sauna. Then, Contrast Therapy which is a forty-five degree water shower for forty-five seconds. This shower shuts the blood flow which triggers an antioxidant flush. The whole experience opens up the blood vessels and closes them, using heat and cold and our body' s natural response to both.
Q: How often should you use a sauna?
Given their short- and longer-term health benefits, infrared saunas can be an integral part of a wellness routine that also includes eating right, regular exercise, quality sleep, and maintaining social connections. Heat therapy isn’t without risks, so I recommend that anyone seeking to invest in a sauna to speak with a healthcare provider about individualized risk factors.
With heat therapy, and with most health behaviors, safety and ‘dosing’ are relative to the person, their health status, and their goals. Generally speaking, the hotter the temperature, the shorter the amount of time you can safely stay in the sauna. Infrared saunas— which heat the body directly—can theoretically run at a much lower temperature and still elevate core body temperature effectively. As you use heat therapy more often, your body adapts and is able to more efficiently manage the heat! If you are newer to the sauna, I recommend that you start ‘low and slow,’ staying in for no longer than 15-20 minutes at a lower temperature and monitoring how you feel. You can gradually increase duration and/or temperature over time and with practice.
Think about the benefits in two categories: acute (how you’ll feel after one session) and chronic adaptations (how you’ll feel when you commit to heat therapy longer-term). Perspire Sauna has benefits across the board.