Menopause, the mid-life transition that women experience worldwide, is generally dreaded. That’s because many women experience unpleasant physical (and mental) symptoms during this period, some of which can last years. These symptoms include dizziness, joint pain, mental fog, weight gain, headaches…and the dreaded hot flashes. Each woman experiences menopause differently, with anything from very mild to severe symptoms. What’s important to know is that there are some relatively simple ways to manage the discomfort. One of those is taking regular sauna sessions. Let’s investigate how infrared can help put a pause on menopause symptoms.
Managing Pain With Infrared
Staying active well into the menopausal years and after is important, but even with regular exercise, certain pain symptoms can occur. Estrogen fluctuations can contribute to inflammation. This can manifest as aches, swelling, and even shooting pain.
One of the key reasons for purchasing a personal home sauna is for relaxation and pain management—the two often go hand in hand. Whether it’s occasional aches or chronic, recurring pain like arthritis, the intense heat of infrared is ideal for reducing the inflammation that causes pain.
Stepping out of bed first thing in the morning with stiff, achy muscles during menopause is not uncommon. Taking time for a sauna session first thing can be the ideal solution in fending off pain and stiffness. The warmth relaxes muscles and increases oxygen intake, naturally reducing inflammation. Just 20 minutes can do wonders!
Keeping Off Unwanted Weight
The menopause “pooch” – if you’re female it may sound familiar — afflicts hundreds of women. It’s basically extra weight gain around the middle section or belly. What can be done to shrink the pooch? Knowing that it’s a common result of menopause is the first step to mentally managing this added gain.
Estrogen loss typically leads to a redistribution of weight. Often, the recommendation to reduce the extra weight is to incorporate aerobic exercise or high intensity training into a fitness routine. Additionally, diet changes such as restricting carbohydrates may help. While these are both viable options, a third is to include infrared therapy as part of a regular treatment. It’s both no impact and non-invasive and can work as a supplement to other lifestyle changes.
An infrared sauna helps induce or expedite weight loss by promoting a beneficial reaction with your cortisol release, metabolism, and sweat levels. The intense heat will impact not only calorie loss via perspiration but also calm the nervous system, reducing stress which generally causes an increase in too much cortisol hormone. Overall, the result is to inhibit rather than encourage weight gain.
Reducing Hot Flashes & Balancing Hormones
One of the widely shared symptoms from menopause is hot flashes. This is directly related both to a change in blood pressure and a hormonal flux. As women age, hormones shift, and estrogen levels drop. Estrogen is naturally occurring. However, there are substances called xenoestrogens which mimic natural estrogen but actually wreak havoc on the system and throw off the natural process of estrogen metabolism. Specifically, it has been found that xenoestrogens contribute to hot flashes.
The body stores xenoestrogens in adipose tissue, or fat cells. They are the result of contamination, pollutants, and chemicals that get ingested or absorbed into the body. What many medical practitioners, in particular naturopaths and functional medical specialists, suggest is that with proper detox, our body can better manage hormone disruption.
The detox provided by an infrared sauna session is a complement to your normal liver function. By sweating we can relieve our system of additional toxins, and the heat will prompt endorphin release as well. Endorphins, according to Holly Lucille, a naturopath doctor, “counteract emotional imbalances often experienced during menopause.”
Increasing Bone Strength
It’s estimated that one third of menopausal and premenopausal women experience a loss of bone density, diagnosed as osteoporosis. That makes it more than a side effect; it’s a major public health problem. It’s often diagnosed or discovered around the period of menopause or after due to its association with estrogen deficiency.
What’s promising is that there are treatments that can reduce this condition and prevent further bone loss, even rebuild it. One of those is the use of heat, which can affect our gut biome, which in turn affects our bone strength. Specifically, a study done at the University of Geneva in Switzerland suggested that “ambient temperatures (above 90 degrees F) might prevent the loss of bone density typical of osteoporosis.” An alternate study in Taiwan found far-infrared specifically is a positive alternative in treating menopausal symptoms along with improving bone mineral density.
Infrared saunas are instrumental in both positively impacting our gut biome and in providing improved circulation which then leads to enhanced cell production that promotes growth and healing.
In general, if you’re looking for a way to manage your health, including uncomfortable menopause symptoms, sauna therapy can help. Check out our entire line and learn more about full-spectrum infrared for maximum health benefits.