Does Sauna Help Metabolism: 5 Powerful Health Insights

There are many sauna claims that users run into while browsing the internet. While some are quite accurate, others are often overstated. This usually comes as part of marketing campaigns, designed to sell more. If you are thinking of getting a portable sauna, or installing a traditional one, you might be wondering: does sauna help metabolism?

The short answer is that sauna use can temporarily influence your body to spend more energy. During use, your body is exposed to increased heat. In an attempt to cool off, it starts to sweat.

You could say that your body works a bit harder to maintain your core temperature. This is where the need to spend the extra energy comes from.

Despite this, it does not significantly boost metabolism in a major way. It certainly doesn’t have the same impact as exercising. It is also not able to build long-term metabolic changes on its own.

As mentioned, many claims exaggerate the relationship between saunas, metabolism, and weight loss. In this article, we will discuss what sauna use can truly do for your metabolic rate, and what is just a myth.

Does Sauna Help Metabolism?

Before we explain what saunas do for your metabolism, let’s first talk about metabolism itself. As you may know, metabolism is the process that happens inside your body. It is a process during which your body converts food into energy.

Essentially, your body mixes the food you eat with oxygen and uses it as fuel to power you and enable daily tasks. This process powers everything, from breathing and thinking to moving around.

The more active you are, the more energy you spend. This is why physical activity is crucial to maintaining a balance in your body. What you consume is what you spend, leaving the body fit and in proper balance.

Of course, in today’s way of life, this is not always the case. Many people spend more time sitting while doing a desk job, after which they go home and watch TV or sit at the computer.

But, even though you don’t move around as much, you still need to eat. As a result, you get a lot of the converted energy stored for potential later use, which causes weight gain.

How Does The Sauna Experience Affect The Body?

The reason many believe that saunas can help with metabolic effects comes from claims that using them is equal to light exercise. However, this is not how it works.

Sauna produces heat, and when you enter it, your body gets exposed to said heat. This causes overheating due to an external source (steam or infrared panels). As a result, your body will start to cool itself using sweat.

So, while you sit in a sauna, you can increase blood flow as you elevate your heart rate – similar to light exercise.

However, that is where the similarities end. Without physical activity, you are not burning a significant amount of calories.

There is a slight increase in the amount of energy you spend, but it is fairly modest. In other words, sauna burns calories only slightly more efficiently than sitting in a chair at work. To actually burn calories, you need physical activity.

Also, note that this temporary increase in energy use ends as soon as you exit the sauna. Your body will immediately start to cool down again, and spend normal amounts of energy.

What Happens to Your Body During a Sauna Session?

As mentioned, entering a sauna causes the body to start to overheat. Steam saunas usually feel more intense, as the heat is accompanied by heavy humidity. However, infrared saunas typically have slightly higher temperatures. But whether you use a traditional sauna or a portable tent, the effect is the same.

The body’s natural response is to immediately start the cooling mechanism. This starts with a change in your cardiovascular system.

Your heart starts to pump faster, and your blood flow is directed towards your skin. At the same time, a process called vasodilation happens. This is when your blood vessels widen to enable faster blood flow.

The blood carries fluids to the surface of the skin, and you begin to sweat to cool the body. This, of course, means that you also experience fluid loss. As a consequence, you also experience a slight weight loss.

This response from your body requires energy. With that being the case, it is accurate to say that the sauna slightly improves your metabolism. But this should not be confused with fat burning or a permanent increase in metabolism.

Sauna, Calories, and Weight Loss

One of the common myths about sauna use is that it can help with weight loss. However, this is a misunderstanding of what happens during sauna therapy.

As mentioned, when you use a sauna, you lose fluids because you sweat. Sweat is not produced from your body out of nowhere – your body has a supply of water that is used for this purpose.

However, this is not the same as fat loss. You simply lose water weight as it exits your body. As soon as you exit the sauna and hydrate, you will replenish the supply, as well as the lost weight. Of course, it goes without saying that drinking water is a must to avoid dehydration.

It is also important to note that a sauna is not a substitute for exercise. You still need physical activity to boost your metabolism and burn calories.

If you are interested in pursuing weight loss, exercise and a calorie-controlled diet are what’s important. Sauna is only an addition, more as a relaxing and recovery tool than a weight loss tool.

It can help with stress reduction and relaxation, but not with calorie burn or changing your body composition. 

Can Sauna support a Healthy Lifestyle?

Regular sauna use can support a healthy lifestyle, yes. However, this might not be done in the way you expect it to. Using a sauna for weight loss will not produce the desired results.

Even with regular heat exposure, any weight loss will be only temporary, because you don’t burn fat. It is simply water loss, which you will regain after hydration.

Sauna is far more helpful for relaxation and stress management than for your physiological parameters. It can’t affect your muscle mass, but it can help your muscles relax after heavy exercise. Many also apply heat and cold treatment to further increase the process.

Sauna use may be able to support potential cardiovascular benefits with regular use. However, note that this is something that researchers are still studying, and is not definitive.

Finally, sauna use can also enable better sleep for some people. Not because it makes you sleepy, but because it lets you relax. In a relaxed state, you are more likely to fall asleep easily and sleep more deeply.

As such, a sauna can and should be used as a way to support healthy habits. However, it doesn’t affect your body directly on its own.

Even your metabolism can’t be increased in the long-term. It gets increased only slightly, and only while you are using the sauna.

FAQs

Conclusion

If you were wondering: does sauna help metabolism, the answer is yes, but only slightly. The effects do not last for long, pretty much ending as soon as you exit and start to cool off.

The heat from a sauna increases your energy expenditure, but only for a bit. This is because your body needs to make a greater effort to maintain a natural temperature.

However, that doesn’t make sauna use a replacement for exercise. It is an addition to your wellness routine. You can’t use the sauna to cheat the system, even if you turn it up to extreme heat.

If you wish to add sauna sessions to your routine, you can, assuming you do not suffer from any heart issues. However, installing a traditional Finnish sauna can be very expensive. The materials and the installation process usually cost thousands of dollars.

For casual use, you can use a portable sauna as an alternative. We can help you get started by looking at some of the best portable sauna tents for home use.

Any of these will help you sweat and benefit from the sauna therapy; you just need to pick the one that seems best for you.