A recent study found that using an infrared sauna three times a week for just half an hour per session, resulted in a loss of 4% total body fat over four months.
So, can infrared saunas really help you to shed weight?
Great question. Let’s dive straight in.
Table of contents
- Do Infrared Saunas Help with Weight Loss?
- Burning Calories
- Hormones Management
- Getting Weight Loss Benefits from Infrared Sauna Sessions
- How Long to Sauna For
- How Often to Sauna
- Is the Weight Lost in the Infrared Sauna Just Water Weight?
Do Infrared Saunas Help with Weight Loss?
Infrared saunas contribute to weight loss effects in two notable ways: by burning calories and regulating hormones. Both processes are important bodily energy transfer systems that help you lose weight.
Burning Calories
When you step into an infrared sauna, your core temperature will rise, and your body will use energy to cool you down. This will happen even faster than in a regular sauna, as infrared saunas heat your body directly instead of heating the room around you.
As your core temperature rises and your heart rate increases, your sweat glands will receive a signal and start working to keep you cool. Temperature regulation burns calories, contributing to your weight loss at the same time.
Hormones Management
Infrared heat activates the hypothalamus, which is essentially the brain’s hormone manager. The hypothalamus’ contribution to infrared sauna weight loss is three-fold:
- The hypothalamus regulates cortisol production. Cortisol is a hormone that helps support a healthy metabolism.
- Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, playing a pivotal role in weight loss.
- Heightened endorphin levels reduce stress and anxiety and regulate appetite.
Getting Weight Loss Benefits from Infrared Sauna Sessions
How Long to Sauna For
According to a Scientific World Journal study, a single 20-minute sauna session can result in a loss of 0.24 kg of weight for women and 0.84 kg for men.
If you want to achieve similar results in your weight loss regime, we recommend taking infrared sauna sessions of between 20–30 minutes — especially if you’re new to infrared saunas. Once you acclimatise, you can gradually increase your sessions to 25–45 minutes.
How Often to Sauna
Using infrared saunas for weight loss is completely different from going to the gym or jogging in so many ways. However, we will say that where these methods unite is their frequency.
You can’t visit an infrared sauna once and expect your extra weight to be gone. To truly benefit from infrared sauna weight loss, you need to make your visits part of your weekly routine and complement them with exercise and good dietary habits.
If you’re serious about infrared sauna weight loss, we recommend visiting your nearest sauna at least three times a week. Solely relying on infrared saunas as a weight loss method, unfortunately, won’t do much for you. It’s only when regular sauna visits are complemented by frequent exercise and good dietary habits that you’ll start to see the effects.
Is the Weight Lost in the Infrared Sauna Just Water Weight?
Water weight is what we call the extra water being held in the body. You might gain water weight when fluid collects in your tissues, causing swelling. Water weight may be accumulated if you eat loads of salt or spend too long sitting or standing.
While, yes, you will lose water weight during an infrared sauna due to sweating, there are other processes at work here, including the metabolism regulation, sweating, and calorie-burning we talked about earlier.
Final Thoughts
At a basic level, weight loss is burning more calories than you consume — and when you pair your sessions with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, you’re sure to reap the benefits of infrared sauna weight loss.
Rimba Sweat is your path to trying out infrared saunas for weight loss. Whether you’re a first-timer or a sauna veteran, we’ve got an infrared sauna with your name on it.