Both hot and cold have been used to help people shed unwanted pounds, and although hot sauna weight loss methods are pretty well known, the chilled version is perhaps less so. This is unfortunate because there is a lot of science behind why keeping things cool may be better than warming them up in terms of sauna weight loss, and it’s because cool and calorie burning historically have gone hand in hand.
Hot rock saunas that induce mass amounts of sweating have always been popular amongst tips for losing weight. However, there is little evidence to suggest they do much more than relax the muscles and relieve stress and tension. But, a new type of hot sauna weight loss regimen is becoming more popular, and that is a type known as an infrared sauna. This treatment is said to burn between four hundred and eight hundred calories in a single session. This hasn’t been proven however, and more likely any weight lost from the procedure is more related to the mass amounts of perspiration that occur as a result. This isn’t weight loss per se, rather, water loss, which means that infrared sauna weight loss can be comparable to a diuretic or water pill and rather temporary in nature.
On the flip side, cold therapy actually does burn calories. When the body is exposed to extreme cold, it has to work very hard to warm itself back up, and this requires a great expulsion of caloric energy. In a cryotherapy cold sauna, participants are exposed externally to a chilly blast from liquid nitrogen which rapidly and effectively cools the surface of the skin. In turn, the body uses it’s caloric energy to combat the cold, which results in pretty efficient calorie burning. It’s in this way that cryotherapy results are truly proven, and many have had success losing some weight with repeat sessions.
However, there is another way in which cold sauna weight loss occurs, and it’s due to an elusive substance known as brown fat. Until not too long ago, brown fat was thought to only be contained in the bodies of infants and nonexistent in healthy adults. We now know that it does exist in everyone, although it’s hidden in places that make it difficult to access. Brown fat is different from white fat in that it really jump starts he calorie burning process. This process can be triggered by cold, especially during whole body cryotherapy where the layers in which brown fat resides can be reached. Our Cryotherapy Health and Wellness Inc. clients in Toronto enjoy up to 500-800 Kcal loss per session, and 200-300 calories daily between treatments!
There are other ways in which cold and infrared heat saunas differ, and that is in terms of additional benefits. Infrared saunas are thought to improve circulation, stave off disease, relieve pain and prevent aging, however not all of these additional benefits have been proven or documented. Conversely, the additional benefits of cryotherapy have been documented, studied and proven. The technology was originally developed to provide pain relief for arthritis, but it’s been found to help relieve pain from injuries and health conditions alike. Athletes find that it’s useful in helping them recover from events and also heal faster following an injury. This is thought to be because many physiological processes are prompted by using a cryosauna. The immune system is thought to kick in to start rapid repairs, the endocrine system reacts by pumping out pain relieving endorphins, and sensitive nerves are temporarily numbed thanks to supercooled temperatures. However, cold sauna weight loss benefits continue to be one of the most popular uses for the technology.
There are benefits to both hot and cold sauna weight loss, however the benefits of the cryotherapy based procedure seem to far outweigh those of the infrared sauna because the caloric burning benefits of cryotherapy have been proven in some ways. Both hot and cold saunas can provide natural pain relief. However only cold therapy has been shown to actually reduce pain in the long term and shorten recovery time.
Using either type of sauna weight loss can be beneficial and ramp up lifestyle efforts to shed unwanted pounds. However, the most important and common sense tips for losing weight involve dieting and exercise, which should always be the staple component of any weight loss regiment. Another of the most important weight loss tips for women and men alike is to speak to a doctor before beginning any diet or alternative weight loss program to ensure that it is safe for you to do so. While using hot infrared or cold sauna weight loss therapy is considered generally safe, there are health conditions and medications that can make it unsafe, and it’s incredibly important to proceed after a consultation with a health care provider.