If you’re a home sauna user, there’s a way to supplement this healthy lifestyle treatment with red light therapy.
In this article, we discuss the ways that red light therapy can amplify the benefits of sauna treatment.
Red Light Therapy: The Basics
This section covers some of the basic benefits of using red light therapy regularly. Skip down to learn more about the benefits of combining red light therapy with sauna use.
Red light therapy involves exposing the body to a series of wavelengths that stimulate the mitochondria. As the light photons absorb, they can spark a chain of beneficial changes by energizing the body. Research shows that this can supplement the process of bodily healing and accelerate recovery time.
Saunas treat the body with heat. Frequent sauna use can strengthen the immune system, dilate blood vessels, and produce heat shock proteins.
The body produces heat shock proteins in response to thermal stress. This process can reduce inflammation and strengthen healthy cells.
Red light therapy may support this effect by increasing energy production in the mitochondria. Healthier cells are at the core of healing, whether from a wound or a chronic disease.
Heat shock proteins produced during sauna use have a neuroprotective effect. Frequent sauna use may also reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Red light therapy has been used to treat stroke and traumatic brain injury as well, so it serves similar goals to sauna treatment.
Improved Blood Circulation with Sauna and RLT
Sauna bathing may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by promoting blood vessel dilation and making arterial walls more supple to encourage healthy blood flow and normalize blood pressure.
Meanwhile, red light therapy can promote microcirculation by stimulating angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels, and by stimulating the production of nitric oxide which is a natural vasodilator. This has been shown to reduce high blood pressure.
Red light therapy also has a protective effect on red blood cells, which can improve not only cardiovascular system health but the health of all organs.
Pain Relief with Sauna and RLT
Saunas offer pain relief in part because of the soothing heat that relieves muscle tension and muscle spasms, as well as the anti-inflammatory healing effects. This is partly why they’re popular among people who suffer from chronic pain, especially joint pain.
Meanwhile, red light therapy can have supplementary benefits, as it is also known for its analgesic properties. These make it a popular remedy for osteoarthritis joint pain, low back pain, or any other type of chronic pain.
Weight Loss Treatment with Sauna and RLT
Some people use saunas for weight loss. Sauna use increases sweating which means you can lose water weight during a sauna session.
Red light therapy has an interesting effect on fat cells. It causes them to develop temporary perforations that allow lipids to leak out of the fat cells.
In one study, just four minutes of treatment with red light resulted in 80% of the contents of fat cells releasing into the body. After 6 minutes of treatment, nearly all of the lipids had been released from the treated cells.
Traditional and infrared sauna therapy sessions can also help increase muscle mass. Red light therapy has this effect as well. This is important for weight loss since greater muscle mass increases an individual's metabolism to burn more calories while at rest.
Save Time with Sauna and RLT
Finally, one of the other key benefits is simply that using RLT during sauna treatment saves time during the day because it allows you to do both at once. Cutting 15-20 minutes from your morning routine could allow you the time to get in a session of red light therapy.