Infrared saunas provide gentle heat that helps your muscles to unwind, reduces stress and tension and relaxes you physically after a long, tiring day. In addition, infrared sauna therapy also offers plenty of health benefits for people of varying ages, with differing activity levels and with/without any health conditions. Research reveals that infrared sauna therapy helps you to sleep better, reduces colds, flu, muscle and joint soreness, pain and more.
So, are saunas beneficial for your respiratory system? Sauna therapy is actually beneficial and can help to alleviate symptoms of colds, congestion, flu, bronchitis, asthma and other COPD-related conditions.
How Can Infrared Sauna Therapy Help with Asthma?
Asthma, a breathing disorder causes shortness of breath and if severe, can lead to blocked airflow or an asthma attack. Asthma can be quite debilitating and can be quite terrifying for people suffering from the condition. Fortunately, infrared sauna therapy has proved to be beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of asthma.
Infrared sauna therapy can immensely help people suffering from asthma or bronchitis with symptoms of asthma. The muscles in the respiratory tract tense up because of asthma. The gentle heat of the infrared sauna helps to relax the muscles in the lungs (bronchioles). Infrared sauna therapy also helps to build the immune system, which is doubly beneficial, especially if you suffer from respiratory diseases or asthma and are more susceptible to infections.
Infrared saunas work at very low temperatures and offer you the option of setting the temperature according to your comfort. This offers people suffering from asthma the freedom to use the sauna without feeling short of breath or overwhelmed by the extreme heat of the sauna.
What Sauna Therapy Can Do for the Respiratory System?
Infrared sauna therapy helps to clear symptoms of respiratory illnesses and also aids to strengthen the respiratory system. The infrared heat from the sauna boosts the heart rate and widens the blood vessels. This helps to enhance the blood flow in the body and there is a movement of oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood throughout the body.
So, how does all this help the respiratory system and your breathing? The enhanced blood circulation aided by the infrared sauna therapy makes your body and all the organs work more efficiently, which also benefits the respiratory system. The body starts working better and pumps the blood more easily, making your breathing much easier, thereby improving the lung function.
If you’re suffering from any kind of lung disease such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, etc., infrared sauna therapy can help your breathing. In fact, for several years, sauna therapy has been included in treatment regimens for respiratory and breathing issues. Infrared sauna therapy has been found to be beneficial with cold, congestion and flu symptoms and it has been found that frequent visits to the sauna also helped to reduce the risk of developing pneumonia.
How Is Infrared Sauna Effective in Respiratory Illnesses?
Studies have revealed that the use of infrared sauna therapy can help to reduce common colds, and also improve the breathing and lung function in patients suffering from lung diseases like chronic bronchitis, asthma or COPD.
A study, which studied and tracked the health of around 2,210 middle-aged Finnish men for more than 25 years showed that men who went to the sauna frequently showed a reduced risk for developing pneumonia.
It is believed that the heat produced by the infrared sauna helps to clear the congestion in the lungs by improving the ventilation and helping to drain the lungs. The heat also helps to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, which are both the cause for the development of disease and chronic conditions. The sauna works at both ends of the problem—it attacks the respiratory symptoms, while also calming the body, enabling it to handle the cause for the chronic respiratory conditions effectively.
In the study, Dr. Krop also stated that sauna therapy works to reduce symptoms of asthma because the profuse sweating in the sauna helps to remove the toxins from the body, not just fat from the buttocks and belly, but the fat cells in the cell membrane.
The membrane of every cell contains fat and when there are toxins present in the fat, the alveoli, which is the smallest part of the lung, is not flexible. And, when the toxins are removed, the lungs work better, enabling you to breathe better.
In conclusion, infrared sauna therapy is a safe and effective way to strengthen your lungs and ensure easier and better breathing without any side effects. Sauna therapy works to rebuild the functioning of the respiratory system and strengthen it by triggering a response deep within your body. And, there is nothing simpler than sitting in an infrared sauna, allowing the therapeutic heat to heal your body, while you feel completely invigorated and relaxed.
