Infrared sauna is a powerful biohacking tool with many health benefits, tapping into the essence of biohacking: cellular rejuvenation, better health and a longer life. Take charge and become the very best version of yourself.
"For many biohackers, sauna, and infrared sauna in particular, is a hugely important tool for optimising health to the fullest," says Siw Hansson Kaulbach, founder of Radiant Health.
She has noticed that the biohacking community in Norway has grown in recent years.
"You take health and wellbeing from the general level up to here," says Siw, raising her hand well above the edge of the table where we are sitting at one of her favourite places, Oslo Raw.
Experimenting on one person: yourself
Biohacking is essentially about methods and strategies for hacking the body's biological systems in order to optimise their functions. Based on science, you experiment on one person: yourself. Various technologies are used to measure the effect.
While some call themselves "hobby hackers", others go "all in" and adopt more extreme strategies and methods in pursuit of perfection and eternal life.
Which strategies and methods you use depends on your goal. The methods can be anything from intermittent fasting, food supplements, diet, exercise, contrast therapy with cold and heat, meditation, light therapy and wearing a heart rate monitor, to blood sugar monitoring, gene therapy, hyperbaric chambers, stem cell therapy and blood transfusions from younger people.
One of the world's best football players, Erling Braut Haaland, has become a well-known biohacker. When he appeared on Logan Paul's podcast, he talked about the measures he takes, small steps every day, for optimal recovery and performance.
"Biomechanical movement and sleep are important," he says, adding that he wears blue-light-blocking glasses three hours before bedtime, sleeps with tape over his mouth, and uses sauna, steam baths and ice baths.
He has also previously mentioned clean food and meditation.
The measures are tailored to the individual. The professional footballer stresses that what works for him may not have the same effect on others.
Infrared sauna, heat shock proteins and autophagy
"The Father of Biohacking", Dave Asprey, swears by infrared sauna, which he has used regularly since 1997, mainly for detox. At the time he was ill with exhaustion, Lyme disease and mould poisoning. Today, infrared sauna is one of the fundamentals he uses to stay healthy.
Read: Infrared sauna and detox. Can you detoxify the body through sweating?
He is particularly interested in heat shock proteins, which increase when you use a sauna, and how these may affect autophagy. He is keen on biohacks that "give him time back".
Autophagy, perhaps best known in connection with intermittent fasting to support cell renewal, removes hazardous waste, also called cellular junk, such as damaged cell parts or proteins that have clumped together.
Several diseases are caused by autophagy not working as it should. If you remove the cellular junk, you may avoid these diseases developing. Strengthening autophagy may therefore help, among other things, to delay ageing, improve health and prevent disease.
Until relatively recently, many of the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the therapeutic benefits of heat therapy were poorly understood, but studies suggest that the cellular process of autophagy is central to heat treatment.
Other things that stimulate autophagy are sleep, stress reduction and physical activity. That said, it is well known that sauna sessions can both calm the body, contribute to better sleep and set off many of the same processes as light exercise, minus the muscle building.
There is a lot of good health in a sauna, including:
– Detox
– Effective recovery
– Improved cardiovascular health
– Strengthened immune system
– Relief from pain and inflammation
– Reduced risk of all-cause mortality in a dose-dependent manner.
Read: Infrared sauna gives me better recovery.
Simple hacks have become a lifestyle
The founder of Radiant Health is personally interested in biohacking. It came naturally at the start of her own health journey, when she faced health challenges. By "hacking" her own biology, she found her thing.
"I tested many things, such as functional medicine, gene therapy, raw food and apitherapy," she says with a laugh, adding that she tried a lot.
"Infrared sauna, various supplements, herbs and clean food became some of what I have pieced together that works for me, my health and my everyday life. I will probably never manage to go fully extreme, but that is subjective," she says thoughtfully, having started the day by drinking two bunches of juiced organic celery.
"Some people may think it is intense. I filter my tap water and I often make a detox smoothie, but to me that is not extreme."
It has become a lifestyle.
"But I will never go to what I consider truly extreme, because my lifestyle with work and family life does not allow it. I find Biohacking Girls a huge inspiration."
Infrared sauna is the founder's main hack
When the founder talks to customers, she is keen to convey that small steps in everyday life can have a big impact.
"You do not have to do everything at once. If you want to take better care of your health and you do not like or are unable to exercise, infrared sauna can be a good place to start."
Infrared sauna is an "easy tool" for many health benefits. If you have a portable sauna at home, whether a sit-up or a Lie-down Sauna, it is a short step to doing something good for yourself.
"If you are out of shape, it is easy to start with heat therapy, and later complement it with other therapies, exercise, aids or supplements to improve your health. I have heard some people say that the improvement they experience from using a sauna motivates them to take other steps later."
Infrared sauna is Siw's main hack
"Do not stress about everything else. Start with sauna, and then you can make the detox process easier by gradually combining antioxidants, binders and that sort of thing."
Radiant Health's range also includes the IR Sauna Blanket LumaRed, where you can enjoy the benefits of near-infrared and far-infrared heat, combined with red light and jade stones.
Read: Red light therapy and infrared heat therapy
Disclaimer: The content of this article is intended as general information only. Research on infrared heat and red light therapy is still developing, and individual results may vary. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Contact a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional if you have questions about your own health, diagnosis or treatment.
Text: Trine Dahlman
