How does sauna help lose weight

The increase in temperature forces your heart to beat at least 30 percent faster, which means your body has to burn more calories for energy. Just like the Finns many years ago, people today use saunas to help detoxify the body. Sweat is composed of lymphatic fluid, so any toxins in the lymphatic system are expelled when you perspire. Jackson says the elimination of toxins, such as heavy metals, helps you burn fat more effectively because they are not hindering your metabolism any longer.

Excessive sweating can lead to severe loss of electrolytes, which can result in kidney damage or death. Exposure to extreme heat can also cause cardiovascular emergencies or heatstroke. To keep hydrated, Dr. Harvey Simon of Harvard Men's Health Watch suggests drinking two to four glasses of water after spending time in the sauna.

Simon also advises sauna users to only stay in the sauna for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and to head for the door upon feeling dizzy or ill. By Sari Hardyal. In a sense, yes, but not quite to the degree of said claims. Instead of a quick weight loss solution, incorporating sauna use into your health regimen provides a long-term and gradual boost to losing weight. If you are serious about losing weight and are interested in an effective solution with long-lasting results and a slew of health benefits outside of weight loss, consider infrared sauna treatment.

Whether at home, at the gym, or at the spa, see the science behind using a sauna to lose weight:. Increased heat results in increased metabolic rate which results in increased calorie burn. The burn is more of a slight boost to your regular sedentary calorie burn. For example, if your BMR indicates a burn of calories a day, you should expect to burn about 45 calories during a minute sauna session:. The boost is especially beneficial if using a sauna after working out , as it prolongs the benefits of exercise well past stepping out of the gym.

Working out or not, the increase in metabolic rate lasts for a few hours after leaving the sauna, giving you an extra calorie burn boost throughout the day! Exercise is one of the largest factors in getting in shape and losing weight. Experiencing any discomfort in your joints or muscles is a deterrent to getting active, and it is easy to use minor aches and pains as an excuse to not get motivated.

You can reduce, and sometimes even eliminate, aches and pains by using an infrared sauna. The infrared heat therapy penetrates deep into muscles and tendons to release tension. Even the most minor aches and pains can destroy your motivation to go to the gym though. You can cut down on some of it by heading to the sauna after a heavy workout.

This will make it go into red alert and create more white blood cells. The white blood cells will reduce any inflammation in your muscles, ease tension and heal them faster. There is no point in using the sauna after a workout if you hurt yourself on accident. You can avoid injury by taking a few safety precautions before you hop in the sauna.

Again, a lot of the water that you lose in the sauna is water weight. You can burn a little bit more of this weight by drinking cold water before you get in.

Your body will have to burn up extra energy to regulate your temperature. All the sweating that you do in the sauna will cause you to lose electrolytes. You may get lightheaded and pass out. Do a session of 5 minutes or so the first time and work your way up from there.