Does the Sauna or Steam Room burn Calories

Loozin

Yes sitting in a sauna does burn calories.


The heat in dry saunas cause an increase in body temperature followed by an increase in metabolism. This, in turn results in more calories burned at rest which can result in weight loss. In a 20 to 30 minute sauna session, one can burn up to 600 calories.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/317216-calories-burned-while-in-a-dry-sauna/#ixzz1wrsSNy2n

I like the look of this...
&
Love Lance Armstrong - What an INSPIRATION.
So wanted to buy some of his Running shoes, but was told they weren't designed for me and my size.

Anyway, I'll keep going to the Sauna...

aoikirin

It depends. Sometimes depending on what is done yes. I have seen some rather startling things occurring in them at gyms before that did involve physical activity.

I don't really care if I took this the wrong way because the notion was hilarious. :laugh:

You took it in the right way. ;0 Oh my eyes what I have seen

kknauss5

Maybe 180 calories an hour? When your body heat rises it works to regulate the increase and normalize the temperature. Lance Armstrong was right about a lot of things (!) but not about burning 600 calories for 30 minutes in a sauna or steam room. The steam room has the benefits of opening your pores to sweat out toxins giving your skin a healthier glow, hydrating your skin (while dehydrating you from all of the sweating), dropping some water weight although you'll want to stay hydrated, relaxing your muscles and helping them recover, opening your capillaries and encouraging blood flow, and clearing the sinuses working as a decongestant, etc.

phjorg1

Yes.

My resting heart rate is ~60BPM while in the sauna it is ~110BPM

heartrate is an indication of heartrate... it has no bearing on calorie burn. it can although be an indirect measure of oxygen uptake during cardio and you can guess calorie burn from it. but a sauna has nothing to do with this.

MrsSenecal

Also, the sweat helps release sodium your body is storing if you happen to go over on your sodium. It comes out in the sweat. I use it to help me with muscle pains after working out and to relax me. It is amazing for your pores and makes your skin super soft.

Edited to add- Make sure you drink LOTS of water while using it though!

slkehl

I wish burning calories was that easy...

suziramsdell

I have a Far Infared Sauna (dry) and "supposedly" you will lose weight because it is increases your metabolism, however, I have not noticed any weight loss whatsoever in using my sauna. I see other benefits, so I do continue to use it.

peap0d

Yes, it does burn calories, and it doesn't have to be unhealthy either. Think on it logically. Sauna makes you sweat, the act of sweating burns (WAY less than a workout) calories. IF you drink water while you are in the sauna, it keeps you from getting dehydrated and helps you burn a few extra calories (about 200 in an hour) but staying in the sauna for extended amounts of time is not healthy for you. Most public saunas have a 15 minute limit for this reason. Steam rooms work on the same concept and burn about as many calories. I think of it as my work out dessert...a couple extra calories burned as my treat for a good hard workout!

mockchoc

In the newspaper yesterday it some scientist believes that 15 minutes of being freezing cold burn the equivelant amount of calories as 1 hour of moderate cycling. Not sure if it's true or not.

KellyToronto

Yes, it does. The increase in heart rate raises your metabolism and burns calories the same way that raising your heart rate doing cardio does. You burn as much/minute as any activity that raises your heart rate the same amount. Saunas and steam rooms are very hot and the moisture prevents you from cooling as you would outside in the summer. So the short answer - yes. But don't rely on it as the only thing you do… it just supplements your efforts and feels great at the same time.

Azdak

In the newspaper yesterday it some scientist believes that 15 minutes of being freezing cold burn the equivelant amount of calories as 1 hour of moderate cycling. Not sure if it's true or not.

That same scientist also believes his toaster is a TARDIS, so I would keep that in mind.

DerekVTX

In the newspaper yesterday it some scientist believes that 15 minutes of being freezing cold burn the equivelant amount of calories as 1 hour of moderate cycling. Not sure if it's true or not.

Probably is true.........buy hypothermia sucks.