How Does Infrared Sauna Therapy Work and What Is It?
Type II diabetes mellitus is a widespread and challenging chronic disease that manifests itself in numerous health problems. Trends show that the number of people with diabetes globally will continue to rise and that the disease will reach epidemic proportions. In the context of complementary health, the use of far-infrared saunas as a method for improving the quality of life is interesting. These saunas, approved by the relevant health institutions and marketed as recreational products, have shown the potential to improve the lives of people with chronic diseases, including diabetes.
How Does Infrared Sauna Therapy Enhance Detoxification?
Two studies dealt with populations burdened with toxic substances. Both included multimodal therapies with sauna as a prominent but not the only intervention, and both showed improvement in self-reported measures of quality of life. Ross and Sternquist 2012 documented an improvement in post-treatment SF-36 (36-item Health Questionnaire) scores in symptomatic police officers exposed to work-related drugs and toxic substances compared to baseline scores (using a 2-tail Student’s paired t test and Wilcoxin paired test and sign test), on all subscales after 4-6 weeks of infrared sauna sessions with up to 4 hours of sauna bathing per day. The FASE (Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Education) 50-item questionnaire and neurotoxicity questionnaires also showed fewer “bad physical health days” (9.3 vs. 1.8 days); fewer “sick days” (2.0 vs. 0.3 days); more hours of sleep (5.8 vs. 7.6 h); and a reduction in neurotoxicity scores (65.5 ± 24.8 vs. 14.6 ± 11.5 points).
What Are the Potential Health Benefits Supported by Evidence?
Cardiovascular benefits
There are several cardiovascular benefits of sauna bathing. The skin temperature rises rapidly to 40.8°C in the sauna, and the length of time spent in the heat determines how much the rectal temperature rises. Sweating starts right away and peaks in around 15 minutes, resulting in an average weight loss of 0.5 kg. While blood flow to internal organs declines, blood flow through the skin increases from 5% to 10%, accounting for 50% to 70% of the total cardiac output. In addition, cardiac output increases by 60% to 70% in accordance with the increase in heart rate, while cardiac stroke volume remains unchanged. The effect of sauna bathing on blood pressure is variable, and regular sauna bathing can improve thermal tolerance and reduce the intensity of changes. After a sauna, the sudden exposure to cold activates the sympathetic nervous system and causes the skin’s blood vessels to constrict. Cardiovascular changes in the cold are usually the opposite of those during sauna bathing: heart rate decreases, while cardiac output and diastolic and systolic blood pressure increase. This increases the workload of the heart. However, these cardiovascular differences between sauna bathing and cold exposure generally do not last long, but normalize within a few hours after the session.
Skin benefits
For the most part, bathing in a sauna is harmless to the skin. Repeated stays in the sauna (30 minutes 4 times a day for 7 days) do not cause drying of the skin and do not change the loss of water through the skin (transepidermal water loss). Although sauna bathing is rarely used as a therapy for skin diseases, it can benefit patients with psoriasis by helping to keep the skin free of thick scales on skin lesions. In some atopic individuals and patients with cholinergic urticaria, sauna bathing can cause intense itching of the skin. Contact urticaria associated with the use of a breska broom while bathing in a sauna (an old tradition in Finland) is a rare occurrence. It is possible to get yeast infections on the feet from the floor in the forcing room, but the probability of getting STDs from the surfaces on the sauna sticks is extremely low.
Lung benefits
Sauna bathing reduces pulmonary congestion and increases vital capacity, tidal volume, minute ventilation and forced expiratory lung volume. Patients with asthma or chronic bronchitis report that sauna bathing improves their breathing. Twelve patients with obstructive pulmonary disease who used a sauna as part of a rehabilitation program also showed improved lung function. However, other data do not show such changes. Studies by Ernst et al and Einenkel suggest that regular sauna bathing may reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infections, but that saunas should be avoided during the acute phase of infection. Common wood used to make sauna benches can sometimes cause contact urticaria, allergic rhinitis and asthma in sauna builders. Studies indicate that the high incidence of lung cancer in Finland is due to smoking habits and occupational exposure, not sauna bathing.
Conclusion: How Does Infrared Sauna Detoxification Impact Overall Well-Being?
Our results suggest that infrared sauna use improves quality of life in people with type II diabetes. Moreover, acceptance of infrared saunas as a therapeutic modality in type II diabetes is greater than acceptance of standard lifestyle interventions. The combination of favorable adherence/compliance as well as effectiveness in improving quality of life makes infrared sauna therapy an attractive complementary option in the treatment of type II diabetes.
For most healthy people, as well as for most patients with stable coronary heart disease, sauna bathing is well tolerated and safe. Physiological and hormonal changes that occur during sauna bathing are transient. Bathing in a sauna does not cause drying of the skin. The effects of hyperthermia on the pharmacokinetics of several orally administered drugs are minor. Sauna bathing does not reduce fertility in either men or women, nor is it harmful in moderation for healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Healthy children who are used to sauna bathing tolerate it well. It has also been demonstrated that most coronary patients with stable angina pectoris or a history of myocardial infarction can safely sauna. Sauna bathing lowers the risk of myocardial infarction, coronary mortality, and sudden death compared to other everyday activities.
Sauna use is not advised in patients with unstable angina pectoris, recent myocardial infarction, severe aortic stenosis, or high-risk pregnancies. Cardiac arrhythmias and decompensated heart failure are relative contraindications. Although these occurrences happen less frequently during sauna bathing than during exercise, certain studies have found ECG abnormalities, high heart rates, and perfusion deficits suggestive of myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary heart disease. Blood pressure can drop after a sauna, sometimes leading to syncope. Drinking alcohol while bathing in a sauna can create serious health risks and should be avoided. Regular bathing in an infrared and/or Finnish sauna has the potential to provide many beneficial health effects, especially for those with cardiovascular and rheumatological diseases, as well as for athletes seeking improved sports performance.
There is currently insufficient evidence to recommend specific types of sauna bathing for specific clinical conditions. Although regular sauna bathing appears to be well tolerated in the clinical setting with only minor and rare side effects reported, further data on the frequency and severity of side effects are needed. Further studies are also needed to investigate the mechanisms by which sauna bathing produces physiological, psychological and metabolic effects, as well as to better define the benefits and risks of different types of saunas and the optimal frequency and duration of sauna bathing for beneficial health effects.
References:
- Beever, R. (2009). The effects of repeated thermal therapy on quality of life in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(2), 125-128.
- Hannuksela, M.L., & Ellahham, S. (2001). Benefits and risks of sauna bathing. American Journal of Medicine, 110(2), 118-126.
- Hussain, J., & Cohen, M. (2018). Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: a systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 1857413.
- Masuda, A., Nakazato, Y., Kihara, T., & Minagoe, S. (2005). Effects of repeated sauna treatment on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with chronic heart failure. Circulation Journal, 69(5), 589-594.
- Crinnion, W.J. (2011). Sauna as a valuable clinical tool for cardiovascular, autoimmune, toxicant- induced and other chronic health problems. Alternative Medicine Review, 16(3), 215-225.
