Table of Contents
Most people know that fasting can help them lose weight and improve their health.
However, not everyone knows about the benefits of combining fasting with heat exposure.
Heat exposure may actually boost the benefits of fasting and help you reap even greater rewards for your health and fat loss results!
Also be sure to check out the Best Outdoor Saunas.
Shop the top Infrared Saunas, Traditional Saunas, and Outdoor Saunas
Can you Sauna When Fasting?
In this article, we’ll look at whether saunas are good for people who are fasting, how they can enhance the benefits of fasting, and what kind of saunas are best suited for use with an intermittent fasting program.
01
of 09
Saunas are an excellent way to get rid of toxins and lose weight at the same time.
No matter how hard you train in the gym, your body needs help purging itself of all the bad stuff that accumulates from living on Earth.
Saunas have been used for centuries as a device for cleansing the body.
They’re also used today by professional athletes, who understand that they can help them recover faster after a workout or match while giving them more energy overall (all while dropping weight).
02
of 09
Sauna use increases the body’s production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, this can actually be beneficial for your fasting results.
Heat exposure speeds up thermogenesis—which is a fancy way of saying the burning of fat—and increases growth hormone levels.
Heat also seems to work well with fasting in another way: It makes you feel fuller.
Your body isn’t getting any food energy from what you eat anyway, so if there’s no food in your system, it won’t need as much fuel (calories) to maintain its normal temperature through the day or night.
That means less hunger pangs!
It really does seem that heat exposure has a synergistic effect with fasting by accelerating fat burning and boosting metabolism even more than either activity on its own would do alone
Benefits of Sauna While Fasting
Sauna while fasting seems to boost the benefits of fasting.
Heat exposure increases the body’s production of stress hormones, which can speed up thermogenesis (fat burning) and increase growth hormone levels.
Sauna use may also enhance your fat-loss efforts by increasing insulin sensitivity and helping you get leaner faster.
This is why people who have used infrared saunas, traditional saunas or outdoor saunas for weight loss report that it’s an effective way to lose weight without feeling hungry or fatigued.
03
of 09
The body produces stress hormones when exposed to heat.
These hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, are part of the fight-or-flight response that kicks in when you’re faced with a stressful situation.
Your body releases these stress hormones in response to certain threats, like tigers or deadlines at work—but they’re also released during hot sauna sessions.
The increase in the body’s production of stress hormones can have many benefits:
- Stress hormone release helps with fat burning (1).
- Stress hormones increase our metabolism by up to 3 times its normal rate (2).
- They help with muscle recovery after exercise.
04
of 09
You may have heard that saunas are a great way to lose weight. Sauna use increases your metabolism and, therefore, calories burned.
While the heat exposure from sauna use doesn’t do much for weight loss on its own, it does increase thermogenesis (calorie burning).
Thermogenesis is the process by which your body increases energy expenditure to keep you warm.
As a result of this process, more fat is burned during exercise or rest because your body has to work harder to keep itself warm at a higher temperature than normal—kind of like how you burn more calories when running in cold weather compared with running in hot weather.
The hormones responsible for thermogenesis during fasting include growth hormone (GH), thyroid hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines such as norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E).
- Growth Hormone plays an important role in protein synthesis as well as providing anti-aging benefits including improved skin quality and reduced fat mass.
- Norepinephrine helps control heart rate while increasing blood pressure;
- Cortisol reduces inflammation while aiding in muscle repair after exercise;
- Epinephrine stimulates lipolysis meaning it causes the breakdown of stored fats into free fatty acids for energy production within cells or conversion into ketone bodies like acetoacetate or beta-hydroxybutyrate.
05
of 09
You may have heard that the body produces growth hormone in response to stress, such as heat.
This is true—heat is a form of stress, and your body responds by producing growth hormone to help you adapt.
So if you’re trying to build muscle or burn fat, sauna sessions can help boost your growth hormone levels—but if you want to look younger instead, there are other options available.
One reason for this is that older adults produce less growth hormone than younger adults do; another reason is that some types of cancer treatments can lower your natural production of GH by up to 80%.
06
of 09
Fasting and heat do seem to work together to burn fat and boost your metabolism.
Heat exposure increases the body’s production of stress hormones like adrenaline, which can speed up thermogenesis (or fat burning), according to research from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Increased levels of growth hormone may also be responsible for these metabolic changes, says Dr. Taylor Covington, MD, an integrative medicine physician in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The increase in growth hormone that happens during fasting also prompts your body to break down more stored fat for energy than normal (a process called ketosis).
07
of 09
As you can see, sauna and fasting can be a great combination for weight loss.
Sauna and fasting are both very effective in helping you lose weight because they give your body a rest from digesting food, which results in less fat being stored.
And in addition to speeding up your metabolism, sauna use has also been shown to increase the amount of fat that is burned during exercise by up to 44%.
If you want to get the most out of your calorie-restricting efforts then try incorporating regular sauna sessions into your routine!
08
of 09
- Sauna can help reduce stress levels and lower cortisol levels.
- Sauna can help in detoxification, especially the skin.
- Sauna can help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism, reducing cravings and improving digestion; this is also known as appetite suppression.
- It’s great for sleeping better at night by increasing serotonin production and improving sleep quality, which are both important factors when it comes to health and happiness!
09
of 09
Sauna can help reduce stress levels and lower cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress.
It’s important to reduce cortisol levels, which can improve your weight loss results by improving insulin sensitivity (the way your cells use sugar for energy) and reducing fat storage, according to Shawn Tassone, MD, a physician at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence, it seems like a sauna and fasting are two sides of the same coin. They work together to boost your health and metabolism in a variety of ways.
I hope that you’re now a little more excited about the idea of incorporating sauna into your fasting routine!
I know it can seem daunting at first, but once you get started and find your groove, it will become second nature to you.
And remember: If any part of this process seems too difficult or uncomfortable for you, don’t push yourself.
Everyone is different and has different needs—so always listen to those inner voices that tell us what works best for our bodies (even if they aren’t telling us what we want!).
Also, if you want to buy an infrared sauna online or search for outdoor saunas for sale be sure to check out bathparlor.com.
