Three Ways To Biohack A Sauna For More Heat, A Better Detox & Enhanced Fitness.

How infrared saunas differ from traditional dry saunas

Explains that infrared saunas heat the body directly through light waves that penetrate 2-6 inches into tissue, producing more sweat at lower temperatures (100-140F) compared to traditional dry saunas that heat the air first.

"All the information you need in one place, right here, right now, on the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast. Hey everybody, Brock Armstrong here, and we're trying something a little bit different today. I'm going to read to you Ben's usual Monday morning blog post and see if it helps people out. If you are a little more comfortable listening to it rather than reading thousands and thousands and thousands of words, or maybe you prefer to read stuff and this is a wasted effort. But anyway, we're going to give it a shot. Let us know what you think over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. That's bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. And that's also where you can find all the links, all the images, all the coupon codes, all the cool stuff that Ben mentions during his blog post. So make sure to head over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. So here we go. I'm going to read the blog post. So keep in mind when I say I, I mean Ben. This is Three Ways to Biohack a Sauna for More Heat, A Better Detox, and Enhan enhanced fitness. Narrated by Brock Armstrong and written by Ben Greenfield. I'll be the first to admit that I spend most of my life not really understanding the difference between a regular sauna and an infrared sauna. While I've certainly covered wet saunas versus dry saunas on a heat acclimation webinar for USA Triathlon, and I've thoroughly discussed the myriad of benefits from heat exposure, from dry saunas to steam rooms to those dorky sauna suits, in a very popular interview with Dr. Rhonda Patrick. Until the recent show called Shattering the Myth of Detox Therapy, Infrared Saunas, Health Scams, and More, I'd never really delved into the concept of infrared saunas on the podcast either. But now that I'm spending at least two, and based on the results of a finished longevity study, as many as five days per week in an infrared sauna, I figured it was high time I filled you in on what I'm doing with infrared, why, and three ways to biohack your sauna for more heat, more sweat, and bigger benefits. So let's start with why you should use a far infrared sauna. First, you should know that this article isn't really going to delve into the nitty-gritty of why heat therapy and saunas are beneficial, because, well, I've covered that in great detail before. You can find a link to that over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. But before learning how to biohack your sauna experience, it is important for you to have a basic idea of what infrared sauna is, and how it differs from dry saunas or steam rooms, especially if you haven't jumped on the sauna bandwagon yet. Basically, an infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses light to create heat. These saunas are sometimes called far-infrared saunas, and the far simply describes where the infrared waves fall on the light spectrum. A traditional dry sauna uses heat from rocks or other heating elements to warm the air, which in turn warms your body. So a dry sauna must rely on indirect means of heat. First, convection, air occurrence, and then conduction, direct contact of hot air with your skin, to produce its heating effect. But because an infrared sauna instead relies upon light, it can heat your body directly without significantly warming the air around you, and the light waves from the infrared sauna penetrate deep, two to six inches, into your body for a heating effect that allows more activation of your sweat glands compared to a dry sauna. So an infrared sauna doesn't feel as hot as a dry sauna, but you sweat as much or more. In the book Beyond Antibiotics, Dr. Michael A. Schmidt explains the benefits of the slightly low temperature of an infrared sauna like this. Quote, saunas are being used by some doctors to stimulate the release of toxins from the bodies of their patients. They have found that a lower temperature, which is 105 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, taken for a longer duration is most beneficial. These low temperatures stimulate a fat sweat, which eliminates toxins that are stored in fat, as opposed to high-temperature sauna, which encourages a water sweat. End quote. Interestingly, the far-infrared rays you get from an infrared sauna consist of similar wavelengths that are emitted naturally by the human body. Yes, your body emits its own light radiation. This is one potential explanation of why many people feel so energetically rejuvenated and balanced from contact with far infrared waves in an infrared sauna compared to the feeling of drained and dehydrated after a dry sauna experience. Tests have shown that the energy output in an infrared sauna is tuned so closely to the body's own infrared radiation that you absorb as much as 93% of the far infrared waves that reach your skin. There's a handy dandy little chart over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio that you can check out. So how does a far infrared sauna actually generate heat and invisible light? Far infrared saunas typically use either a carbon or ceramic heater, which do not turn red hot like the heating elements inside a conventional dry sauna, but instead produce invisible far infrared heat. This is the same type of heat that is produced by the sun, but without any of the side effects of solar radiation. For years, many folks in the alternative health community have sworn by using infrared heat lamps as a source of far infrared heat. But these lamps can be cumbersome. They can get extremely hot to touch, and they can be difficult to maintain at a constant temperature compared to an infrared sauna. So basically, an infrared sauna is like having a tiny little temperature-controlled sunshine inside an enclosed room without the UV radiation. In an infrared sauna, only 20% of the energy from the light is used to heat the air, leaving the rest of the energy to heat the body. The temperature inside a typical infrared sauna is adjustable and averages about 100 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on how long you warm the sauna up before getting in and what you put the temperature setting at. Many people actually find the lower levels of heat in an infrared to be more comfortable than a dry sauna. But although the temperature is slightly lower, you still sweat a ton in an infrared sauna, which is why they're so popular for detoxification. However, a typical infrared sauna is still not hot enough for me because I'm not just in there to detoxify, but also to produce a crap ton of heat shock proteins, stress resilience, and cardiovascular blood flow. So you'll find out what I do about the need for more heat shortly. So do the things actually work? As the Mayo Clinic has reported, several studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and rheumatoid arthritis, and these studies have indeed found some evidence of benefit. For athletes using a sauna post-exercise, those benefits can extend to being as powerful as illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But no adverse effects have ever been reported with infrared saunas, and until I recently began using an infrared sauna, I'd already been using infrared therapy with a heating mat called a biomat for the past two years. But even though a biomat offers you a relaxing, warm surface to curl up on for something like a soothing afternoon nap, it doesn't hold a candle to the biohacked sauna experience that you're about to discover. But first, the problem with infrared saunas. Unfortunately for most people, it's not the slightly lower levels of heat that tend to be the problem with an infrared sauna. Instead, it's the fact that most infrared saunas are concentrated hothouses chock full of electromagnetic fields, EMF, basically turning what is supposed to be a detoxification and longevity enhancing experience into the equivalent of hanging out in a microwave or perched inside a giant Wi-Fi router, leaving you with cell damage, brain fog, and inflammation after your sauna session. You've probably heard of EMF before, but here's a reminder. EMF are energy waves with frequencies below 300 Hz, or cycles per second. Unless you live on a pristine Himalayan mountaintop, the electromagnetic fields you probably encounter daily are from such things as power lines, radar and microwave towers, television and computer screens, motors, fluorescent lights, microwave ovens, cell phones, electric blankets, house wiring, and hundreds of other common electrical devices. For more detail on common environmental EMFs lurking in your home and office office and also practical instructions on how to mitigate them, I'd recommend you check out my book, How to Biohack the Ultimate Healthy Home. And you can find that link over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. Anyways, deleterious health effects associated with EMF include memory loss, depression, loss of energy, irritability, inability to concentrate, weakened immune system, chronic fatigue, and headaches. In case you want to investigate this more for yourself, there are some links, again, over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohacksaunaaudio for more information about the effects of EMF. There's one from the U.S. Center of Disease Control, one from the WHO, waveguide.org, a good article from Dr. Mercola, some general EMF info, and the EMF Journal Action Alert regarding EMF levels and cell phone use. Also, here's an excerpt from Peter Asmus's book, Introduction to Energy in California. Quote, Remember when people who spoke of cigarettes causing cancer were derided as being alarmist nuts? If you do remember that, you're at least 55 years old. Well, today, people who assert that there could be, let alone that there is, an associated risk with cell phone use are viewed as a bit wacky. Well, the Marlboro Man died of lung cancer, and it appears there's a growing body of information to suggest that the Nokia Man might be saddled with dementia or Alzheimer's, among others, for the privilege. Consider the following findings. 3% of the population may have severe reactions to electromagnetic fields, EMFs, thought by some to shorten life expectancy. Young people who start using cell phones before the age of 20 have a five-fold increase in brain cancer risk, and up to one-third of the population may suffer from electrical hypersensitivity from EMF exposure. End quote. And finally, for the ultimate guide to EMF, I recommend the book Zapped, Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock, and 1268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution. Anyways, it can be tough to generate infrared light without also generating EMF, and as I've mentioned before on the podcast, this is the reason the infrared biomat that i use comes with a built-in emf blocker between the wall outlet and the controller device and i'd settle for nothing less on an infrared sauna so for my own personal infrared sauna i chose a model that has a type of heater called a true wave 2 which contains a carbon-based infrared heater with virtually no EMF. It's made by a company called Clearlight, using a manufacturing process that allows them to cancel out EMF to levels that are nearly undetectable. Using ultra-sensitive EMF testing equipment, all of the true wave heaters inside the clear light saunas are tested to ensure low and safe levels of EMF. EMF is measured in milligauss, mg, and when measuring with a gauss meter, a simple technique I describe at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash 305, your exposure to EMF should not exceed 3 milligauss. This level is based on recommendations Thank you. fitness.com slash 305, your exposure to EMF should not exceed 3mG. This level is based on recommendations from both the EPA, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and also the Swedish standards for EMF. Now, I'm not really comfortable even getting very close to 3MGs, so I was pretty pleased to find out that the EMF levels measured inside my clear light infrared sauna, all around my seated position, are nearly 0 MGs. If I use a tri-field EMF meter and measure directly on top of the heaters, and I'm definitely not sitting on top of the heaters, the heaters have an average EMF output of about 2.5 MGs. That's compared to over 100 for other carbon-based heaters in standard infrared saunas. If you go over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, you can see a chart put together by EMF testing lab Vitatech Electromagnetics. It's pretty shocking how high the levels of EMF are in some saunas. You can also download the full test report PDF from Vitatech by going to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. The EMF readings in that chart are measured directly on the heater. And again, it's important to understand that where you are seated in the sauna, the levels are virtually zero, since you do not sit on top of the heater. Since I like to move around, exercise, do Bikram yoga, and even occasionally drag an exercise bike or a kettlebell into my sauna, the clear light model I chose is the Sanctuary Y model, which is the only combination personal hot yoga room and infrared sauna available on the market. You can leave in the two 35-inch benches and you have a state-of-the-art full-spectrum infrared sauna for lounging and reading, or you can remove the benches and have your own private hot yoga room built with heated yoga mat floor. With a built-in heated yoga mat floor. Even though the EMF levels are rock bottom, the TrueWave full-spectrum heater system in the clear light delivers over 20 times the power of any other infrared sauna. But that's still not enough for me, so I'll fill you in on my hacks in just a moment. Anyway, before we move on, here's how to get a fat discount at the same place I bought my Clearlight sauna. Number one, go to healthhacksreviewed.com. This is the same site that my guest Alex Terrace and I discussed in a recent podcast called Shattering the Myths of Detox Therapy, Infrared Saunas, Health Scams, and more. And there's a bunch of good deals on health equipment over there. Now number two, once you're there or in contact with them, mention my name or when you order, use the code BENGREEN15. Number three, that code, which you can use anytime, as much as you want, will actually give you 15% off anything on the healthhacksreviewed.com website, like portable saunas, lay down saunas, home detox equipment, and more. But in terms of EMF, yoga capabilities and heat, etc., I can't personally vouch for any sauna except the clear light. If that seems like too much trouble to go through or you just want to get your sauna direct from the manufacturer, you can also go to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash clear light. That's bengreenfieldfitness.com slash clear light. Okay, let's summarize what we know so far. Number one infrared saunas are a great way to heat your body from the inside out, which gives you not just heat and sweat benefits, but also detox benefits. Number two, most infrared saunas are concentrated sources of EMF, so I use the low EMF clear light brand. And number three, my sauna still isn't hot enough for my personal preferences. Now it's time to move on to the fun stuff. Three ways to biohack your sauna experience. This is where things get really interesting. Sauna biohack number one, hack your sauna hotter. Even though far infrared saunas do a dang good job of heating you from the inside out and producing the subsequent detoxification effect, there is one problem. Even if you sweat more quickly in an infrared sauna than you will in a dry sauna, and you will keep sweating for a long period of time, infrared saunas simply don't get as hot inside as a traditional dry sauna. Most of the heat escapes the sauna by rising and escaping out the ceiling. And I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to miss out on any of the positive physiological responses to uncomfortable heat, such as the production of heat shock proteins and stress resilience, the production of nitric oxide and enhanced blood flow, the increase in cardiovascular performance, the increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and all the other cool, or hot, things I discuss in my podcast episode with Dr. Rhonda Patrick, called Everything You Need to Know About How to use Heat Exposure to Enhance Performance, Burn Fat, Gain Muscle, and Think Better. And you can find that link over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. So you're about to learn how to get an extra 10 degrees out of your sauna and save a lot of electricity as a bonus. It's important to understand that most of the heat escapes an infrared sauna by rising and escaping out of the ceiling. The most important first step you can take when biohacking your infrared sauna is to insulate the ceiling. My friend Brett, a fellow biohacker who first put this idea in my head, charted his infrared sauna temperature and his sweat volume during a typical sauna session and found that after insulating it with the technique you're about to learn, he got 10 extra Fahrenheit degrees of heat and nearly 30% more sweat volume. So here we go. Instructions for insulating your sauna ceiling. Step one, remove plywood from the top of your sauna. Measure distance from the top of the sauna to the bottom of where the plywood was. This will determine the maximum amount of insulation board that you can use to replace the plywood. Some people insulate it even thicker and leave the plywood off, but this can detract from the aesthetic pleasantness of a nice plywood ceiling, so it's completely your call how thick you want to go with the insulation. Step 2. Once you determine your desired insulation depth, go to your local hardware or building supply store and get a sheet of the highest R-value foam board that you can find for that thickness. If you do one layer, a 4x8 sheet will easily have enough volume to insulate any sauna. You might find that two layers of thin board fits better or gives you a better R value. Also, get a good roll of quality duct tape. You will need a sharp, long, and stiff kitchen knife and a straight edge with which to cut and mark the foam board. Some small metal staples can also be handy for holding wires in place but aren't necessary. A roll of tape and screws or nails might prove helpful as well. Step 3. Measure the largest exposed sections of the sauna roof and cut the foam boards to fit the larger spaces. To cut foam board, simply mark it with a straight edge and a pen and then cut the marked area with your kitchen knife. Of course, it's better to make your foam board a little too big than too small, since you can always cut off a little more later if you need to. Be sure to note where the vents are in the sauna roof, and make sure that you plan to keep these clear when you put the foam board up, or drill or cut holes in the foam board to match the location of the vents. Also, move any and all wires to the edges of the sauna top and then staple or tape the wires in place if necessary. Step 4. Make holes in your foam board for thermostat, vents, speakers, and lights if your infrared sauna has these. Here's an easy way to do this. Make a loop of tape, adhesive side out, and place the tape on the spots of the ceiling you need to have uncovered, such as over a vent. Then place the foam board in position on the ceiling, and the tape will stick on the board. Then remove the board, and you now know the location of the board to cut out. If you have a sound system in your sauna, the tape won't stick too well to the speakers. So for the speakers, you can place screws on the perimeter of the magnet facing up, then press the board down over those areas and the screws will stick through the foam board. You then simply cut a circle in the foam board and chisel out the approximate amount of depth. I wouldn't cut all the way through this as this could allow airflow and heat loss. You just want it thin enough to where the speaker sound can come through. For the lights, you'll want to check to see if they are LED or incandescent. If they're LED, then you can cut out a small cavity and it'll work fine. If the lights are incandescent or fluorescent, you will want to allow an adequate hole for cooling of the lights. Also make sure not to insulate on top of the control mechanism, which is usually a stainless steel box on the top of the sauna. And step 5, after placing the large pieces of foam board, follow the same process and fill in the smaller areas of the ceiling with small pieces of foam board. Duct tape all of the seams, replace the plywood top, verify that all the vents are vacant, then duct tape the perimeter seams of the plywood top. Boom. Now you have a super efficient sauna that heats up quickly and allows you to create lots more heat and sweat. If you go over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, you'll find some photos of my biohacked sauna. You'll see a picture of the roof using some basic 10 pound weight plates to hold the insulation down and a close up of the roof and how the insulation is slightly cut to fit the siding. You'll also see a cork that's placed in the inside hole next to the speaker to hold the heat in, and how the sauna sits in my home gym. Alright, sauna biohack number two, add extra heaters. Okay, so now you've got your sauna ceiling insulated. This is going to significantly jack up the heat levels. I must emphasize that the clear light saunas have excellent low EMF heaters and get pretty hot, but I also realized that some of my readers are really masochistic heat hacking ninjas and may want to get a really, really intense sweat on. But I found that I wanted my sauna to get even warmer. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment. Perhaps I've grown too accustomed to heat because of all my racing in extreme heat places like Hawaii and Thailand. Or perhaps my body just has a lot of heat shock proteins and good cardiovascular cooling mechanisms, but I like my sauna really, really hot. Again, I could just use an extremely hot dry sauna, but I'd be missing out on all the benefits of infrared, and I want the best of both worlds. So here's the next step to get my sauna even hotter. I added two 2,000 watt heaters to my sauna. Now before you rush out to Google the best price on space heaters, you should know that just like most infrared saunas, most space heaters are notoriously annoying sources of EMF. My friend Brett, the guy I mentioned earlier, who first put the idea in my head of insulating my sauna, actually purchased several different space heaters and tested them all for EMF. He found the DeLonghi HVY1030 space heater to be both affordable and have very low EMF. But the problem is that a space heater shuts off at around 120 degrees, so it's only useful for preheating your sauna, helping it to heat up faster if you want to accelerate the preheating process. There is no space heater that Brett or I have found that doesn't have this annoying high temperature shutoff feature. It's probably some stupid fire code regulation or something. But you can think outside the box, and this is where a portable stove burner comes in. Yes, a stove burner is normally used for cooking food, but portable stove burners also don't have high temperature shutoffs, and they put out plenty of heat. Before choosing a portable stove burner, I'd recommend you first check your breaker to see how strong a stove burner you can get."

EMF dangers in most infrared saunas

Most infrared saunas produce dangerously high electromagnetic fields. Standard carbon heaters measure over 100 milligauss while low-EMF Clearlight heaters measure about 2.5 milligauss directly on the heater and near zero at seated position.

"All the information you need in one place, right here, right now, on the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast. Hey everybody, Brock Armstrong here, and we're trying something a little bit different today. I'm going to read to you Ben's usual Monday morning blog post and see if it helps people out. If you are a little more comfortable listening to it rather than reading thousands and thousands and thousands of words, or maybe you prefer to read stuff and this is a wasted effort. But anyway, we're going to give it a shot. Let us know what you think over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. That's bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. And that's also where you can find all the links, all the images, all the coupon codes, all the cool stuff that Ben mentions during his blog post. So make sure to head over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. So here we go. I'm going to read the blog post. So keep in mind when I say I, I mean Ben. This is Three Ways to Biohack a Sauna for More Heat, A Better Detox, and Enhan enhanced fitness. Narrated by Brock Armstrong and written by Ben Greenfield. I'll be the first to admit that I spend most of my life not really understanding the difference between a regular sauna and an infrared sauna. While I've certainly covered wet saunas versus dry saunas on a heat acclimation webinar for USA Triathlon, and I've thoroughly discussed the myriad of benefits from heat exposure, from dry saunas to steam rooms to those dorky sauna suits, in a very popular interview with Dr. Rhonda Patrick. Until the recent show called Shattering the Myth of Detox Therapy, Infrared Saunas, Health Scams, and More, I'd never really delved into the concept of infrared saunas on the podcast either. But now that I'm spending at least two, and based on the results of a finished longevity study, as many as five days per week in an infrared sauna, I figured it was high time I filled you in on what I'm doing with infrared, why, and three ways to biohack your sauna for more heat, more sweat, and bigger benefits. So let's start with why you should use a far infrared sauna. First, you should know that this article isn't really going to delve into the nitty-gritty of why heat therapy and saunas are beneficial, because, well, I've covered that in great detail before. You can find a link to that over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. But before learning how to biohack your sauna experience, it is important for you to have a basic idea of what infrared sauna is, and how it differs from dry saunas or steam rooms, especially if you haven't jumped on the sauna bandwagon yet. Basically, an infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses light to create heat. These saunas are sometimes called far-infrared saunas, and the far simply describes where the infrared waves fall on the light spectrum. A traditional dry sauna uses heat from rocks or other heating elements to warm the air, which in turn warms your body. So a dry sauna must rely on indirect means of heat. First, convection, air occurrence, and then conduction, direct contact of hot air with your skin, to produce its heating effect. But because an infrared sauna instead relies upon light, it can heat your body directly without significantly warming the air around you, and the light waves from the infrared sauna penetrate deep, two to six inches, into your body for a heating effect that allows more activation of your sweat glands compared to a dry sauna. So an infrared sauna doesn't feel as hot as a dry sauna, but you sweat as much or more. In the book Beyond Antibiotics, Dr. Michael A. Schmidt explains the benefits of the slightly low temperature of an infrared sauna like this. Quote, saunas are being used by some doctors to stimulate the release of toxins from the bodies of their patients. They have found that a lower temperature, which is 105 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, taken for a longer duration is most beneficial. These low temperatures stimulate a fat sweat, which eliminates toxins that are stored in fat, as opposed to high-temperature sauna, which encourages a water sweat. End quote. Interestingly, the far-infrared rays you get from an infrared sauna consist of similar wavelengths that are emitted naturally by the human body. Yes, your body emits its own light radiation. This is one potential explanation of why many people feel so energetically rejuvenated and balanced from contact with far infrared waves in an infrared sauna compared to the feeling of drained and dehydrated after a dry sauna experience. Tests have shown that the energy output in an infrared sauna is tuned so closely to the body's own infrared radiation that you absorb as much as 93% of the far infrared waves that reach your skin. There's a handy dandy little chart over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio that you can check out. So how does a far infrared sauna actually generate heat and invisible light? Far infrared saunas typically use either a carbon or ceramic heater, which do not turn red hot like the heating elements inside a conventional dry sauna, but instead produce invisible far infrared heat. This is the same type of heat that is produced by the sun, but without any of the side effects of solar radiation. For years, many folks in the alternative health community have sworn by using infrared heat lamps as a source of far infrared heat. But these lamps can be cumbersome. They can get extremely hot to touch, and they can be difficult to maintain at a constant temperature compared to an infrared sauna. So basically, an infrared sauna is like having a tiny little temperature-controlled sunshine inside an enclosed room without the UV radiation. In an infrared sauna, only 20% of the energy from the light is used to heat the air, leaving the rest of the energy to heat the body. The temperature inside a typical infrared sauna is adjustable and averages about 100 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on how long you warm the sauna up before getting in and what you put the temperature setting at. Many people actually find the lower levels of heat in an infrared to be more comfortable than a dry sauna. But although the temperature is slightly lower, you still sweat a ton in an infrared sauna, which is why they're so popular for detoxification. However, a typical infrared sauna is still not hot enough for me because I'm not just in there to detoxify, but also to produce a crap ton of heat shock proteins, stress resilience, and cardiovascular blood flow. So you'll find out what I do about the need for more heat shortly. So do the things actually work? As the Mayo Clinic has reported, several studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and rheumatoid arthritis, and these studies have indeed found some evidence of benefit. For athletes using a sauna post-exercise, those benefits can extend to being as powerful as illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But no adverse effects have ever been reported with infrared saunas, and until I recently began using an infrared sauna, I'd already been using infrared therapy with a heating mat called a biomat for the past two years. But even though a biomat offers you a relaxing, warm surface to curl up on for something like a soothing afternoon nap, it doesn't hold a candle to the biohacked sauna experience that you're about to discover. But first, the problem with infrared saunas. Unfortunately for most people, it's not the slightly lower levels of heat that tend to be the problem with an infrared sauna. Instead, it's the fact that most infrared saunas are concentrated hothouses chock full of electromagnetic fields, EMF, basically turning what is supposed to be a detoxification and longevity enhancing experience into the equivalent of hanging out in a microwave or perched inside a giant Wi-Fi router, leaving you with cell damage, brain fog, and inflammation after your sauna session. You've probably heard of EMF before, but here's a reminder. EMF are energy waves with frequencies below 300 Hz, or cycles per second. Unless you live on a pristine Himalayan mountaintop, the electromagnetic fields you probably encounter daily are from such things as power lines, radar and microwave towers, television and computer screens, motors, fluorescent lights, microwave ovens, cell phones, electric blankets, house wiring, and hundreds of other common electrical devices. For more detail on common environmental EMFs lurking in your home and office office and also practical instructions on how to mitigate them, I'd recommend you check out my book, How to Biohack the Ultimate Healthy Home. And you can find that link over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. Anyways, deleterious health effects associated with EMF include memory loss, depression, loss of energy, irritability, inability to concentrate, weakened immune system, chronic fatigue, and headaches. In case you want to investigate this more for yourself, there are some links, again, over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohacksaunaaudio for more information about the effects of EMF. There's one from the U.S. Center of Disease Control, one from the WHO, waveguide.org, a good article from Dr. Mercola, some general EMF info, and the EMF Journal Action Alert regarding EMF levels and cell phone use. Also, here's an excerpt from Peter Asmus's book, Introduction to Energy in California. Quote, Remember when people who spoke of cigarettes causing cancer were derided as being alarmist nuts? If you do remember that, you're at least 55 years old. Well, today, people who assert that there could be, let alone that there is, an associated risk with cell phone use are viewed as a bit wacky. Well, the Marlboro Man died of lung cancer, and it appears there's a growing body of information to suggest that the Nokia Man might be saddled with dementia or Alzheimer's, among others, for the privilege. Consider the following findings. 3% of the population may have severe reactions to electromagnetic fields, EMFs, thought by some to shorten life expectancy. Young people who start using cell phones before the age of 20 have a five-fold increase in brain cancer risk, and up to one-third of the population may suffer from electrical hypersensitivity from EMF exposure. End quote. And finally, for the ultimate guide to EMF, I recommend the book Zapped, Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock, and 1268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution. Anyways, it can be tough to generate infrared light without also generating EMF, and as I've mentioned before on the podcast, this is the reason the infrared biomat that i use comes with a built-in emf blocker between the wall outlet and the controller device and i'd settle for nothing less on an infrared sauna so for my own personal infrared sauna i chose a model that has a type of heater called a true wave 2 which contains a carbon-based infrared heater with virtually no EMF. It's made by a company called Clearlight, using a manufacturing process that allows them to cancel out EMF to levels that are nearly undetectable. Using ultra-sensitive EMF testing equipment, all of the true wave heaters inside the clear light saunas are tested to ensure low and safe levels of EMF. EMF is measured in milligauss, mg, and when measuring with a gauss meter, a simple technique I describe at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash 305, your exposure to EMF should not exceed 3 milligauss. This level is based on recommendations Thank you. fitness.com slash 305, your exposure to EMF should not exceed 3mG. This level is based on recommendations from both the EPA, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and also the Swedish standards for EMF. Now, I'm not really comfortable even getting very close to 3MGs, so I was pretty pleased to find out that the EMF levels measured inside my clear light infrared sauna, all around my seated position, are nearly 0 MGs. If I use a tri-field EMF meter and measure directly on top of the heaters, and I'm definitely not sitting on top of the heaters, the heaters have an average EMF output of about 2.5 MGs. That's compared to over 100 for other carbon-based heaters in standard infrared saunas. If you go over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, you can see a chart put together by EMF testing lab Vitatech Electromagnetics. It's pretty shocking how high the levels of EMF are in some saunas. You can also download the full test report PDF from Vitatech by going to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. The EMF readings in that chart are measured directly on the heater. And again, it's important to understand that where you are seated in the sauna, the levels are virtually zero, since you do not sit on top of the heater. Since I like to move around, exercise, do Bikram yoga, and even occasionally drag an exercise bike or a kettlebell into my sauna, the clear light model I chose is the Sanctuary Y model, which is the only combination personal hot yoga room and infrared sauna available on the market. You can leave in the two 35-inch benches and you have a state-of-the-art full-spectrum infrared sauna for lounging and reading, or you can remove the benches and have your own private hot yoga room built with heated yoga mat floor. With a built-in heated yoga mat floor. Even though the EMF levels are rock bottom, the TrueWave full-spectrum heater system in the clear light delivers over 20 times the power of any other infrared sauna. But that's still not enough for me, so I'll fill you in on my hacks in just a moment. Anyway, before we move on, here's how to get a fat discount at the same place I bought my Clearlight sauna. Number one, go to healthhacksreviewed.com. This is the same site that my guest Alex Terrace and I discussed in a recent podcast called Shattering the Myths of Detox Therapy, Infrared Saunas, Health Scams, and more. And there's a bunch of good deals on health equipment over there. Now number two, once you're there or in contact with them, mention my name or when you order, use the code BENGREEN15. Number three, that code, which you can use anytime, as much as you want, will actually give you 15% off anything on the healthhacksreviewed.com website, like portable saunas, lay down saunas, home detox equipment, and more. But in terms of EMF, yoga capabilities and heat, etc., I can't personally vouch for any sauna except the clear light. If that seems like too much trouble to go through or you just want to get your sauna direct from the manufacturer, you can also go to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash clear light. That's bengreenfieldfitness.com slash clear light. Okay, let's summarize what we know so far. Number one infrared saunas are a great way to heat your body from the inside out, which gives you not just heat and sweat benefits, but also detox benefits. Number two, most infrared saunas are concentrated sources of EMF, so I use the low EMF clear light brand. And number three, my sauna still isn't hot enough for my personal preferences. Now it's time to move on to the fun stuff. Three ways to biohack your sauna experience. This is where things get really interesting. Sauna biohack number one, hack your sauna hotter. Even though far infrared saunas do a dang good job of heating you from the inside out and producing the subsequent detoxification effect, there is one problem. Even if you sweat more quickly in an infrared sauna than you will in a dry sauna, and you will keep sweating for a long period of time, infrared saunas simply don't get as hot inside as a traditional dry sauna. Most of the heat escapes the sauna by rising and escaping out the ceiling. And I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to miss out on any of the positive physiological responses to uncomfortable heat, such as the production of heat shock proteins and stress resilience, the production of nitric oxide and enhanced blood flow, the increase in cardiovascular performance, the increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and all the other cool, or hot, things I discuss in my podcast episode with Dr. Rhonda Patrick, called Everything You Need to Know About How to use Heat Exposure to Enhance Performance, Burn Fat, Gain Muscle, and Think Better. And you can find that link over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. So you're about to learn how to get an extra 10 degrees out of your sauna and save a lot of electricity as a bonus. It's important to understand that most of the heat escapes an infrared sauna by rising and escaping out of the ceiling. The most important first step you can take when biohacking your infrared sauna is to insulate the ceiling. My friend Brett, a fellow biohacker who first put this idea in my head, charted his infrared sauna temperature and his sweat volume during a typical sauna session and found that after insulating it with the technique you're about to learn, he got 10 extra Fahrenheit degrees of heat and nearly 30% more sweat volume. So here we go. Instructions for insulating your sauna ceiling. Step one, remove plywood from the top of your sauna. Measure distance from the top of the sauna to the bottom of where the plywood was. This will determine the maximum amount of insulation board that you can use to replace the plywood. Some people insulate it even thicker and leave the plywood off, but this can detract from the aesthetic pleasantness of a nice plywood ceiling, so it's completely your call how thick you want to go with the insulation. Step 2. Once you determine your desired insulation depth, go to your local hardware or building supply store and get a sheet of the highest R-value foam board that you can find for that thickness. If you do one layer, a 4x8 sheet will easily have enough volume to insulate any sauna. You might find that two layers of thin board fits better or gives you a better R value. Also, get a good roll of quality duct tape. You will need a sharp, long, and stiff kitchen knife and a straight edge with which to cut and mark the foam board. Some small metal staples can also be handy for holding wires in place but aren't necessary. A roll of tape and screws or nails might prove helpful as well. Step 3. Measure the largest exposed sections of the sauna roof and cut the foam boards to fit the larger spaces. To cut foam board, simply mark it with a straight edge and a pen and then cut the marked area with your kitchen knife. Of course, it's better to make your foam board a little too big than too small, since you can always cut off a little more later if you need to. Be sure to note where the vents are in the sauna roof, and make sure that you plan to keep these clear when you put the foam board up, or drill or cut holes in the foam board to match the location of the vents. Also, move any and all wires to the edges of the sauna top and then staple or tape the wires in place if necessary. Step 4. Make holes in your foam board for thermostat, vents, speakers, and lights if your infrared sauna has these. Here's an easy way to do this. Make a loop of tape, adhesive side out, and place the tape on the spots of the ceiling you need to have uncovered, such as over a vent. Then place the foam board in position on the ceiling, and the tape will stick on the board. Then remove the board, and you now know the location of the board to cut out. If you have a sound system in your sauna, the tape won't stick too well to the speakers. So for the speakers, you can place screws on the perimeter of the magnet facing up, then press the board down over those areas and the screws will stick through the foam board. You then simply cut a circle in the foam board and chisel out the approximate amount of depth. I wouldn't cut all the way through this as this could allow airflow and heat loss. You just want it thin enough to where the speaker sound can come through. For the lights, you'll want to check to see if they are LED or incandescent. If they're LED, then you can cut out a small cavity and it'll work fine. If the lights are incandescent or fluorescent, you will want to allow an adequate hole for cooling of the lights. Also make sure not to insulate on top of the control mechanism, which is usually a stainless steel box on the top of the sauna. And step 5, after placing the large pieces of foam board, follow the same process and fill in the smaller areas of the ceiling with small pieces of foam board. Duct tape all of the seams, replace the plywood top, verify that all the vents are vacant, then duct tape the perimeter seams of the plywood top. Boom. Now you have a super efficient sauna that heats up quickly and allows you to create lots more heat and sweat. If you go over to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, you'll find some photos of my biohacked sauna. You'll see a picture of the roof using some basic 10 pound weight plates to hold the insulation down and a close up of the roof and how the insulation is slightly cut to fit the siding. You'll also see a cork that's placed in the inside hole next to the speaker to hold the heat in, and how the sauna sits in my home gym. Alright, sauna biohack number two, add extra heaters. Okay, so now you've got your sauna ceiling insulated. This is going to significantly jack up the heat levels. I must emphasize that the clear light saunas have excellent low EMF heaters and get pretty hot, but I also realized that some of my readers are really masochistic heat hacking ninjas and may want to get a really, really intense sweat on. But I found that I wanted my sauna to get even warmer. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment. Perhaps I've grown too accustomed to heat because of all my racing in extreme heat places like Hawaii and Thailand. Or perhaps my body just has a lot of heat shock proteins and good cardiovascular cooling mechanisms, but I like my sauna really, really hot. Again, I could just use an extremely hot dry sauna, but I'd be missing out on all the benefits of infrared, and I want the best of both worlds. So here's the next step to get my sauna even hotter. I added two 2,000 watt heaters to my sauna. Now before you rush out to Google the best price on space heaters, you should know that just like most infrared saunas, most space heaters are notoriously annoying sources of EMF. My friend Brett, the guy I mentioned earlier, who first put the idea in my head of insulating my sauna, actually purchased several different space heaters and tested them all for EMF. He found the DeLonghi HVY1030 space heater to be both affordable and have very low EMF. But the problem is that a space heater shuts off at around 120 degrees, so it's only useful for preheating your sauna, helping it to heat up faster if you want to accelerate the preheating process. There is no space heater that Brett or I have found that doesn't have this annoying high temperature shutoff feature. It's probably some stupid fire code regulation or something. But you can think outside the box, and this is where a portable stove burner comes in. Yes, a stove burner is normally used for cooking food, but portable stove burners also don't have high temperature shutoffs, and they put out plenty of heat. Before choosing a portable stove burner, I'd recommend you first check your breaker to see how strong a stove burner you can get."

Ceiling insulation hack adds 10 degrees and 30% more sweat

Insulating the infrared sauna ceiling with high R-value foam board is the most impactful biohack, adding approximately 10 extra Fahrenheit degrees and nearly 30% more sweat volume by preventing heat from escaping through the top.

"he got 10 extra Fahrenheit degrees of heat and nearly 30% more sweat volume"

Niacin detox protocol for enhanced sauna benefits

The niacin plus sauna protocol uses escalating doses of niacin before exercise and sauna sessions to trigger rebound lipolysis, releasing toxins stored in fat cells. The protocol was validated by doctors working with Gulf War veterans and 9/11 first responders.

"What was different about this book is that it had the actual research and data to prove its claim, along with numerous accounts of high levels of toxin in the blood being dramatically reduced by this protocol, and continuing to reduce for weeks after the protocol was completed. Then I learned that most detox experts from Dr. Yu to David Root said that Hubbard's protocol is the most effective detoxification protocol there is. Period. It is so effective that the government recently funded a study for vets doing this same protocol. The basic idea behind the protocol is this. High-dose niacin causes lipolysis, or rupturing of the fat cells, the same thing that happens with extreme rapid weight loss. This rupturing is what releases the toxins from the fat cells, and you can read exactly about how that whole process works in my article, Does Fat Cause a Toxin Release? The running and exercise part of the protocol, which you'll learn in a second, increases circulation, especially in the lymphatic system where the fat cells are carried. Then, the sweating in the sauna releases these toxins through your body's primary and largest detoxification organ, your skin. Later, even more of the toxins are eliminated through the stool. Supplements that you take during the protocol are primarily designed to replace lost minerals, electrolytes, and fats, and to help to absorb the mobilized toxins in the gastrointestinal tract. I will give a summarized version of the protocol in the subsequent paragraphs, but first, a big warning. Do not do this protocol without a full and comprehensive understanding of it. If you mobilize high amounts of toxins and do not completely include all other aspects of the protocol, you will suffer from hypertoxemia. So, to get a full understanding of the protocol, you need to read the book Clear Body, Clear Mind by L. Ron Hubbard. You also must get the 1987 or prior copyright date of the book, and bookfinder.com will help you get a used copy that's very affordable. The new editions of the book have been oversimplified and lack crucial valuable information. Now the protocol lasts about 30 days but can be customized to fit your schedule. The sauna duration is directly correlated to your toxicity. If you've been living healthy for a long period of time, for a decade or more, then reduced sauna time is needed. If you've been exposed to chemicals and eaten a standard American diet and taken drugs of any kind, legal or illegal, then you will need to increase the sauna duration. End quote. Brett then went on to explain this basic protocol. Quote, First, heat up your sauna long before you go for your run. You want it roasting hot. I have the best far infrared sauna made, the clear light, and I still have insulated the ceiling and put a space heater in it to get it even hotter. In addition, I block the hole where the thermostat is with a cork so the heaters stay on the entire time. Because of this, I purchased a separate thermometer to monitor temperatures. These steps increased my sweat volume dramatically. Next, take the high-dose niacin right before your run. A dosing chart is in the book. Follow it. Then go for a run for 20 to 30 minutes. If you can't run, you can ride a bike or use an elliptical trainer, jump on a mini trampoline, etc. The primary goal is to raise body heat and to increase lymph and blood flow. I also turn the sauna timer back on to make sure it is still warming up while I run. For the exercise, I recommend dressing as warm as you can tolerate to raise your core temperature. When I did this, I sweated much more while I was in the sauna. Next, get in the sauna and stay in the sauna for as long as you can tolerate. Around an hour works for most people, depending on toxicity. The more toxic, the more time. The less toxic, the less time. Finally, cool yourself with a lukewarm or cold shower. Then, take the appropriate doses of mineral, electrolytes, fats, and oils as described in the book. Repeat daily for 30 days. When you finish, you will have eliminated years of toxins and you will benefit tremendously in numerous ways from this protocol. This protocol is usually administered by professionals, so if you decide to do this without supervision, then you need to have complete knowledge of the protocol and access to others for support, and questions, and answers. I have a support group for this at Facebook called Sauna Detox with Niacin. End quote. It turns out that Dr. Joseph Mercola recently learned about this protocol. This guy has heard about every detox method there is, and he was shocked and amazed. Check out his reaction in the video over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. It's only about three minutes long, but it'll give you a good idea of the validity of this program from one of the most trusted natural health experts on the internet. The idea behind combining the niacin, the exercise, and the heat is that the niacin and the heat causes a rebound lipolysis, meaning that the niacin first tries to prevent lipolysis, and then after one to two hours, it rebounds and leads to a massive fat cell release of triglycerides, and at the same time release of toxic chemicals, such as BPA, PCBs, pharmaceutical byproducts, etc. Clearlight has a very helpful PDF that you can download, which outlines more of the science behind detoxification and their own clear light sauna session protocol. And you can find that at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. Now, here's the deal. I don't live a very toxic lifestyle, and I haven't for over a decade. So I didn't do the exact protocol per se, but instead simplified it to the following steps. Number one, I modified my sauna using the insulation and stove burner hacks you learned earlier in this article. I must emphasize that the stove burners aren't completely necessary because the sauna does get pretty hot by itself, and you may want to forego the stove burners altogether if you have kids around. Now, number two, I read the book Clear Body, Clear Mind, and for 30 days I followed the niacin dosing chart prior to my pre-sauna exercise. I used a form of niacin that you can find a link for at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, and for me it came out to 500mg for week one, 1,000 milligrams for week 2, out to 500 milligrams for week one, a thousand milligrams for week two, two thousand milligrams for week three, and three thousand milligrams for week four. I chose the thorn niacin because it's a safer form of niacin called inositol hexaniacinate. This is important because the side effects of high amounts of niacin range from flushing and itching to liver toxicity and impaired glucose tolerance. I didn't take any other supplements in the book because I already get plenty of healthy fats and oils and take a chelated mineral multivitamin complex. Number three, during the entire protocol, I used the following simple sauna plus exercise strategy. After my hardest workout of each day, I sat, read, stretched, did yoga, and foam rolled in the sauna for about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on my available amount of time. This may seem like a big chunk of time, but to maximize productivity, I simply saved all my reading and stretching and foam rolling and yoga for my sauna time. Although I did not measure my sweat volume, the amount of sweat pouring from my skin dwarfed any normal dry sauna session that I've ever had. I already eat plenty of fats and oils, but I included plenty of electrolyte powder in the water that I consumed after each session, along with hefty amounts of water and generous portions of sea salt with dinner. Although my eyeballs literally feel as though they're going to pop out of my head during these sessions, once I get my post-session cold shower in, I feel absolutely amazing. Again, I'm not sure how many toxins I dumped during my initial 30-day niacin phase, since I'm not very toxic in the first place, but for the rest of the day after my sauna session, I noticed marked improvements in skin tone, clarity of thought, calm, and focus. And even though now that I'm done with my 30-day protocol and I'm no longer doing the daily niacin sauna protocol, I'm still using my sauna nearly every day. You could probably say that I am now officially addicted to heat therapy. And yes, I am aware of L. Ron Hubbard's affiliations, and I am not a member of the Church of Scientology. I just like to get high on niacin and do kettlebell swings in my sauna. So that's it. What do you think? Do you plan on using any of these sauna biohacks? Leave your comments and thoughts and feedback over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio. If you want a clear light sauna, the same that I'm using and same Alex Terrace and I discuss in the episode Shattering the Myth of Detox Therapy, Infrared Saunas, Health Scams and More, you can simply go to healthhacksreviewed.com and when you call or write them, mention Ben Greenfield or use the code BENGREEN15 and you'll get 15% off anything on the site. You can use that code anytime and as much as you want. Or you can just go to bengreenfieldfitness.com slash clearlight and order directly from Clearlight. Oh, and if you happen to visit bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio, you'll find some fancy photos and specs for the Clearlight Sanctuary Y model that I personally use. You'll notice that the specs show the ceilings include something called color therapy, also known as chromotherapy. I didn't even tap into that concept in this article, but I'm working on another article about that for you too. It's a very slick and helpful feature for fixing and aligning your sleep cycles. Enjoy, and leave your questions and thoughts in the comments section over at bengreenfieldfitness.com slash biohack sauna audio you've been listening to the ben greenfield fitness podcast go to bengreenfieldfitness.com for even more cutting-edge fitness and performance advice Thank you. I'm out."

Ben Greenfield's simplified 30-day niacin sauna protocol

Greenfield's modified protocol: 500mg niacin week 1, escalating to 3000mg by week 4, taken before the day's hardest workout, followed by 30-45 minutes in the sauna. Uses inositol hexaniacinate (Thorne) to avoid flushing side effects.

"500mg for week one, 1,000 milligrams for week 2, two thousand milligrams for week three, and three thousand milligrams for week four"