CONTRAINDICATION IS WHEN IT IS NOT SAFE TO USE INFRARED SAUNA- Always discuss this with your physician prior to usage.
*Pregnancy; A relatively safe temperature 39° (102.5) or 70° (158) if under 20 minutes or 33.4° (92.1) if under 45 minutes.
*Absolutely no alcohol usage
*Hypotension particularly in the elderly age. Note, if your blood pressure has been constantly and consistently low then it is not necessarily hypotension
*Recent myocardial infarction
*Unstable Angina Pectoris
*Severe Aortic Stenosis
-Altered/ Reduced sweat function Multiple Sclerosis Central Nervous System Tumor Diabetes with Neuropathy
*Medication- Ask your physician if the infrared sauna is safe when using any prescriptions.
*Heat increases stress on the cardiac system, increasing blood flow and the heart rate has the potential to increase by 30 beats per minute for each degree of increase of core temperature.
- Sobajima M, Nozawa T, Ihori H, Shida T, Ohori T, Suzuki T, Matsuki A, Yasumura S, Inoue H. Repeated sauna therapy improves myocardial perfusion in patients with chronically occluded coronary artery-related ischemia. Int J Cardiol. 2013 Jul 15;167(1):237-43. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.12.064. Epub 2012 Jan 13. PMID: 22244482.
- Rhonda P. Patrick, Teresa L. Johnson, Sauna use as a lifestyle practice to extend healthspan, Experimental Gerontology, Volume 154, 2021, 111509, ISSN 0531-5565,
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2021.111509.
- (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556521002916)
- Abstract: Sauna use, sometimes referred to as “sauna bathing,” is characterized by short-term passive exposure to high temperatures, typically ranging from 45 °C to 100 °C (113 °F to 212 °F), depending on the modality. This exposure elicits mild hyperthermia, inducing a thermoregulatory response involving neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and cytoprotective mechanisms that work in a synergistic fashion in an attempt to maintain homeostasis. Repeated sauna use acclimates the body to heat and optimizes the body’s response to future exposures, likely due to the biological phenomenon is known as hormesis. In recent decades, sauna bathing has emerged as a probable means to extend healthspan, based on compelling data from observational, interventional, and mechanistic studies. Of particular interest are the findings from large, prospective, population-based cohort studies of health outcomes among sauna users that identified strong dose-dependent links between sauna use and reduced morbidity and mortality. This review presents an overview of sauna practices; elucidates the body’s physiological response to heat stress and the molecular mechanisms that drive the response; enumerates the myriad health benefits associated with sauna use; and describes sauna use concerns.
- Keywords: Cardiorespiratory fitness; Cardiovascular disease; Heat shock protein; Heat stress; Hormesis; Hyperthermia