Red Light (Therapy), Green Light, GO!
Last week, I entered my thirties. Last week, I completed two months following an intermittent fasting lifestyle (more on that to come). Last week I finished my third book in a row focusing on becoming more resilient, living longer, and aging backward. This has been a recent obsession of mine over the past couple of years and I have tried A LOT of new things. Is this what thirty is? A fresh and vigorous attempt to turn back the biological clock?
Look, I’m not here to bash aging or push the idea that getting older is something to hide or be ashamed of. I AM ABSOLUTELY HERE to live my best and healthiest life. So, that’s what I’ve been on a journey to do.
I'm not the best at taking the time to write down my thoughts, but this year I am going to try my hardest to share my experiences more openly with you. Whoever the “you” is that wants to read about this. HI! And welcome to my journey into bio-hacking. This month, we are starting with Red Light Therapy and Infrared Sauna sessions. Ready? I went to Arete Float in Carrboro, NC for these sessions. You have an option of a 15 or 30-minute Sauna sesh, a 20-minute RLT sesh, or a combo with 30 minutes in the sauna and 20 minutes of RLT. I chose the combo.
So, what is an infrared sauna? Unlike a traditional sauna, infrared saunas don’t heat the air around you, they use infrared lamps and electromagnetic radiation to warm your body from the inside out. No, it’s not like in LOST when they didn’t press the button and all of that electromagnetic energy was unleashed, turning the room red, sending everything metal flying, and generally causing a lot of dangerous commotion and potentially frying brains. It’s not that. Infrared saunas allow heat to penetrate tissue more effectively and can operate at a lower level (about 120 and 140 degrees F) A traditional sauna is heated as high as 180 degrees. No, thanks.
Exposing yourself to infrared panels, heating your body and sweating in this environment is supposedly good for:
Relaxation
Better Sleep
Detoxification
Sore Muscle Release
Joint Pain Relief
Clearer and Tighter Skin
Improved Collagen Production
Improved Circulation
Does it really do all of this? I’m not sure yet, but I plan to try this method for an entire month to see if I experience any noticeable results. I’ll include before and after photos, so don’t miss out on my follow-up blog post in about a month! (If I don’t end up on the island… any LOST fans here? Just me?)
Infrared Sauna lit by the bright RLT panels behind me.
Let me start by walking you through my first experience and filling you in on exactly what happens when you visit an infrared sauna.
Honestly, it was way more simple than I thought it would be and I spent the majority of my time alone. I met with an employee upon arrival and got a quick rundown of how the sauna works, where everything I needed was, and rules about what to bring into the sauna. For complete safety, don’t bring anything into the sauna except some water in a cardboard container (these were provided). No one wants to fry their phone or burn themselves on a metal water bottle. YES, it does get hot inside the sauna, so use common sense here.
The sauna itself is about the size of a walk-in shower. There’s a place for you to sit with towels covering the wood-paneled surfaces so that your body is never touching anything hot. The sauna temperature and timer are controlled by the staff, so you just have to get inside and check out. You’re alone behind a curtain and some pretty dividers and you are encouraged to undress to your comfort level while always leaving underwear on. Gotta let those rays get ya! I wore some booty shorts and that’s about it. Yes, it is warm when you get inside. It is not uncomfortably hot and feels similar to walking into a hot yoga studio. My sauna was set to 155 degrees F and my timer was set for 30 minutes. This sauna had a cute little remote that let me change the overhead light to whatever color I wanted and then I could turn the surrounding lights on or off. I went for the full red experience overhead and turned the rest of the lights off. The sauna was super quiet and I immediately felt a little more relaxed and unplugged in my brain.
I am always cold, so the temperature upon getting in was comfortably toasty. It doesn’t take long, however, to become acutely aware that you are sitting at 150 degrees in a small enclosed space. After about 5 minutes, I was pretty warm and felt an all-over dry heat that wasn’t completely uncomfortable but wasn’t something I was excited about being in. After a few minutes of raised adrenaline and my mind racing with “Okay, but was this really a good idea? What happens if I pass out in here? How long before someone would notice? Why am I doing this? Can I still breathe? Shit! I left my water bottle outside, I’m going to die”, I suddenly felt the tingling of sweat popping out all over my body. If you don’t know how sweat works, you will after a sauna session. As soon as those sweat beads started dripping, it felt as if my entire body cooled about 10 degrees. Okay, I got this! I relaxed a little and just let the sweat pour.
The next 20 minutes consisted of me being able to actually relax. It was still hot in there, but I trusted that my body was doing what it needed via sweat to keep me stable. I closed my eyes, counted my breaths, and worked pretty hard to stop overthinking everything. The most uncomfortable part was finding a seated position that I could remain comfortably in for long periods of time. I wanted to lay down, but it is safer to keep your head above your heart, so the sauna has you sitting in a slightly reclined upright position, sort of like the top setting on a beach chair. Every time I moved, the wood underneath me creaked and all I could think about was whether or not the staff member was going to think I needed help from all of the fidgeting I was doing! SItting in that sauna with no shirt on and probably looking like a lobster… I definitely didn’t want anyone checking on me! They didn’t. I was fine.
I didn’t start counting the minutes until I had bout 8 left. I noticed that my timer was counting down and I didn’t have to just sit there wondering how long I had left. My heartbeat became heavy, similar to what happens when you walk up the stairs too fast on a hot summer day. I didn't feel lightheaded, breathing was fine and my brain stayed super clear, so I wasn’t worried about this, and the staff member told me ahead of time that heavy and increased heart rates are normal. Had I been listening to a podcast or music, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. And then the timer was up! The lights came on and it was time to get out.
This boutique provides a dry towel, a foaming cleanser that is applied and dries on your skin, and a cooling wet towel. You’ll have extra water if you need it as well. I dried off, cleaned a little, and then got ready for my second sesh: Red Light Therapy.
So, what is Red Light Therapy and why is it a thing? Red Light Therapy is a therapeutic technique using red low-level wavelengths of light to produce a biochemical effect in cells that strengthens mitochondria. Mitochondria make up the powerhouse of a cell. Put simply, Red Light Therapy helps rejuvenate your cells which is kind of like rejuvenating yourself from the inside out.
Some of the benefits are said to include:
Promotes wound healing and tissue repair
Can improve hair growth
Can act as a short term treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome
Can relieve stiffness from arthritis
Improves skin, promotes collagen, and helps diminish wrinkles
Help mend sun damage
Can lessen the appearance of scars
At this location, RLT is done via two tall flat panels on the wall that you stand about 2-3 feet in front of, and just let the light cover you for 20 minutes. Yep. All you have to do is stand there and bask in the light. I kept my same outfit from the sauna and turned on the light panels. For the first 10 minutes, I stood facing the panels, letting the light hit the front of my body. It’s SUPER BRIGHT and I kept my eyes closed, although I was told that keeping them open facing the red light would in no way damage my eyes. Personal preference. The red light appears slightly golden when you are standing in it and with my eyes closed, facing this bright golden light, I kind of felt like a majestic goddess or a backlit performer about to rock it on stage. You’ve got time here to play out whatever badass scenario you want. The lights are so bright that if someone was in the room, standing behind you, they would probably just see your silhouette with golden light beaming all around you. It was probably a missed photo op, but like… I’m not going to set up my camera on a tripod to get that masterpiece shot for the gram. That completely defeats the point of this therapy. So I just stood there (I took ONE selfie because it looked cool) and tried to imagine my little mitochondria jumping around excitedly because I was finally treating them to an energy boost.
Basking in the RLT spotlight. To my eyes, in the moment, this room looked golden, not red, so this photo is extra interesting!
After the first 10 minutes, I did the same thing with my back facing the panels. The RLT panels are not hot, so this was just like standing in a comfortably heated room with a spotlight on you. Super simple, super quick.
And that’s it! 50 minutes and you’re done. This is about the time I would spend in a workout class, so you won’t need to set aside a huge chunk of time. After you’re done, there is a nice little room where you can sit, continue to cool off, and rest your mind for a few minutes before leaving. I sat in there for about 10 minutes and then headed back to my car.
Did I notice an immediate, life-altering, magical change? No, but that’s not really how this works. Infrared Sauna visits and RLT are therapies that improve over time. If you go to a high-intensity fitness class, you don’t leave 10lbs lighter with sudden excellent stamina. This is why I’ll be committing to at least a month of regular visits so that I can give you a clearer idea of what happens with regular exposure. Short term, I did get a great sleep score that night and my forehead felt unusually smooth and tight for the next couple of days. Was it a coincidence? Did I just use the right moisturizer? I don’t know! But I’ll check back in with you in a month!
Got additional questions about my visit? Drop a comment below and I’ll fill you in!