Natalia is a chief physician in internal medicine and geriatrics, with an interest in complementary therapies, such as light therapy. She is one of 10 people who will be testing the IR SaunaPod for professional and personal reasons.
She herself suffers from brain fog after COVID and wonders if infrared heat can help with it.
– I still cough and feel foggy when I need to be sharp.
In addition, she is interested in laser therapy and how red and near-infrared light can help with wounds, pain, and other ailments, as a complement to current treatment. She has a bachelor's degree in biology from the USA and a doctorate in medicine from Poland. Originally Polish-American. She moved to Norway in 2011 for love.
– We don't have all the answers in medicine, and there's a lot of positive research on infrared saunas. Maybe it can become part of a holistic approach to better health for many? I really want to have more to offer my patients, because I know that current medicine alone isn't always enough.
WEEK 0 - Research shows health benefits.
When Norway shut down during the corona pandemic, there were still some who had to go to work. Natalia was one of them, and it hasn't been easy to take care of herself during the unusual times we've lived in.
– More work and less energy. I'm struggling with burnout, and I gained a few kilos during the pandemic that I'd like to lose.
Natalia has remained COVID-19-free until recently. She is now back at work in the hospital, where she is a geriatrician, working with elderly patients with complex issues; functional impairment, dementia, and palliative care.
– We need more community health centers and better services for everyone, not just the sickest, for whom there is also a varying range of services across the country. Especially for frail elderly people. They often lie in bed and are given medication when they are restless, but maybe painkillers aren't what they need. Perhaps an infrared sauna could help them? We don't know, but other countries, like Japan, have tried it with good results.
Research on infrared saunas can show health benefits, even for the elderly, with better oxygen uptake and improved quality of life. Studies have shown that they become happier and more flexible in the body, which in turn prevents falls and fractures. Symptoms from e.g. heart failure become less severe.
– I'm currently sitting with a pile of research in front of me, but almost none of it is on light therapy for the elderly. Pain in the elderly – nothing. I think we, Western medicine, offer too few tools to patients. It makes me frustrated as a doctor.
WEEK 3 - Brain fog is reduced.
Natalia feels clearer, calmer, and regenerated.
– I am definitely thinner and my skin is tighter, she says. The plan for the next seven weeks of her health journey is simple: she will enjoy her infrared sauna.
The first three weeks of Natalia's infrared health journey, she describes as absolutely fantastic.
– The sauna is easy to use and maintain, incredibly comfortable to experience, and something I've easily incorporated into my life. She has also brought it with her for weekend shifts at work, and keeps a journal that she updates for each treatment.
Natalia is well underway and grateful to be part of this journey.
– Now I set aside time for myself to sit in the sauna. I haven't changed any other factors in my life other than taking saunas. I still have long working days, the familiar stress of work and toddler and family life, and I sleep too little. After society reopened, there have been three rounds of infections at our house.
Less brain fog, more flexible body
Natalia experiences that the brain fog is much less after a sauna session.
– Everything becomes clearer, calmer, and I feel regenerated, she says, smiling as she explains that she is surprised that a person can sweat so much in such a short time.
The portable infrared sauna is not complicated to use. The foot mat is warm, but the temperature can be adjusted and the mat can be moved to other areas that need extra heat. Natalia has done this after playing tennis.
– With only light, she emphasizes.
– I haven't played tennis in 20 years, but I booked an appointment on a day off. I pushed myself completely; I ran and played like I used to. After a couple of hours, my body started to stiffen. I was so stiff that I was limping. My knees, butt, and back were angry after the tennis experience.
Natalia sat in the sauna, and after 30 minutes, she immediately noticed that her body softened up.
– I lifted the foot mat up with a towel and placed it over my sore knee.
WEEK 6 - Six weeks into the infrared health journey
Six weeks in, the infrared sauna has become fully integrated into Natalia's life.
She has more energy and mental clarity, firm and smooth skin, less water retention, and overall better health.
The results are even more noticeable than at week three, even though everyday life is busy. She sleeps too little and has far too many projects going on.
– Life doesn't stop and there are only 168 hours in a week, she smiles.
Down 0.5-1 kg after a sauna session
She says she sweats a lot, a lot, a lot.
– It starts quickly, and the sweat pours off me. I can lose 0.5-1 kg on the occasions I've measured my weight before and after the session. My skin is firm and smooth, and I experience an interesting balance of energy, clarity, and relaxation during and after the treatment.
At the beginning of her health journey, she noticed that her sweat smelled strong, like ammonia, but the smell disappeared after the first five or six treatments.
Natalia can hardly believe it's been six weeks already!
– The sauna has become an important and very common part of my week. I take a sauna three to five times a week, depending a bit on my body's needs.
Maximum session time is 30 minutes.
– I rarely have my arms outside the sauna tent. I usually listen to a meditation. Sometimes there's some music, but I use sauna time to focus on myself and concentrate on the experience itself. No email or mobile, she emphasizes.
WEEK 10 – «A tool to promote health and recover faster»
Natalia wondered what she could achieve in 10 weeks with the IR SaunaPod. After a total of 37 sauna sessions during her health journey, the answer is: long-term symptoms after COVID-19 have disappeared, she feels more energetic, and has lost 3 kg.
– I have also received confirmation that I will research and continue to work with infrared heat. At the same time, it strikes me how much I've missed all these years not knowing about far (FIR) infrared saunas. It has existed for a long time. Why has no one said anything, she exclaims, describing the health journey as being born again.
Infrared heat, COVID-19 and brain fog
As a chief physician in internal medicine and geriatrics, Natalia is enthusiastic about the future light research she will undertake. She has already made many plans.
– The journey never ends for me. I look forward to the future, she says, adding that she is eternally grateful to be chosen as a participant and for the opportunity she has had to research herself as a starting point.
Infrared sauna has become an integrated part of her life.
– It's time I set aside for myself to focus on my own health. I cannot help others without helping myself.
Natalia was curious if infrared sauna could help her with brain fog, cough, and fatigue after COVID-19.
– No matter what I did, I felt unfocused, tired, and I had a bothersome asthmatic cough for several weeks. Those symptoms are completely gone. The cough disappeared after the second sauna session.
Whether the brain fog has disappeared naturally, she cannot know, but she is clearer, more focused, and handles tasks better and faster than she did even before she got COVID-19.
More radiant skin and 3 kg weight loss
Natalia has seen changes in her body, and emphasizes that she has not made any other changes than introducing the IR sauna into her daily life.
– My skin is more radiant, softer and smoother, and there's less "jiggle," if you know what I mean, she smiles, explaining that she sees better contour in her buttocks. She has lost 3 kg; 6 cm around her waist and a total of 10.6 cm all over her body.
The sauna has also accompanied Natalia to work when she has had long shifts at the hospital.
– I put it in the back of the car and walk around the corridors, carrying a flat-packed sauna, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
When she has a break, she unpacks it and sweats through a session.
– Sweat, sweat and more sweat. I hadn't imagined how much I was going to sweat. During the first five or six treatments, I also experienced a strange smell from my skin. Something had to come out, she says.
Text: Trine Dahlman
Photo: Private
Read an update on Natalia's health journey ONE YEAR LATER!
