Chase the Runner’s High... Without the Running

Sauna use has a long and storied history of providing social and physical benefits to users—from the Finnish and Ancient Greeks & Romans, to the Russians and Native Americans. Valued for the hot, dry conditions that detoxify while easing tension and stress, infrared saunas can also bestow the coveted “Runner’s High” on athletes of all interests and capability levels.

Whatever your sport, you can walk away from a session rejuvenated and feeling great thanks to the full spectrum of infrared heat generated by a sauna like the ProSeries 200.

How it Works

Hyperthemic conditioning—or heat acclimation—penetrates your skin and heats cells directly, boosting performance by increasing endurance, building muscle mass, and improving brain function. It also creates a “Runner’s High,” a euphoric feeling caused by the release of natural peptides, hormones, and chemicals in your body in response to the stress of intense exercise or extreme heat.

During a long, tough run your body releases a peptide called dynorphin (the opposite of endorphins) that create a feeling of dysphoria, making you more sensitive to beta-endorphins, natural opioids that are part of our built-in painkiller system called the “mu opioid” system. The system blocks pain signals from the body to the brain, producing a natural high. The heat stress of an infrared sauna mimics this feeling, causing the body to react as though you’ve just exercised.

After only a few sessions with the ProSeries 200, you will find that you automatically have this reaction when leaving the sauna. Enhanced stability, reduced anxiety, and greater happiness are all-natural byproducts of this complicated conditioning.

Advantages of the Runner’s High

In addition to benefits like easing pain, raising metabolism, and increasing your heart rate, the infrared sauna creates a “chill” effect, eliminating low-level, free-floating anxiety, making you feel calmer and more focused, happier and stable. You will find that you are simultaneously more relaxed, and energetic, feeling generally good.

Not a Runner?

If running isn’t your sport, fear not! You too can reap the benefits of the Runner’s High with the accessible benefits of an infrared sauna. Why not see how the ProSeries 200 full-spectrum infrared sauna can help you achieve this natural high?

Sources:
Mayo Clinic Consumer Health FAQ -- What is an Infrared Sauna? Does it Have Health Benefits?, MayoClinic.org
Are Saunas the Next Big Peformance Enhancing "Drug?", The Time Ferris Show blog
Far Infrared Sauna, PureConditioning.com blog
Infrared Sauna Therapy Takes Hotboxing to the Next Level, MilwaukeeRecord.com
The Power of Infrared Saunas Q&A, HealWithHeat.com blog
The Basics of Heat Training for Running, TrailRunnerMag.com
Far Infrared Saunas: Explaining the Latest Trend in Athlete Recovery, SI.com