Calories burned in a Saunas

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twilighttabby
twilighttabby Posts: 51 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How many calories do you burn in a sauna???????Different sources (mainly, sauna retailers and manufacturers) make a vast range of claims as to the calorie-burning effectiveness of sauna use, ranging from 50 to 900 calories burned in a half-hour-long session.I love setting in the sauna after working out and would love to know if you do burn calories and if so how many?If anyone knows please tell me.
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  • jdjefferson
    jdjefferson Posts: 55
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    Zero. It's just sitting.
  • twilighttabby
    twilighttabby Posts: 51 Member
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    A sauna heats the body, forcing it to work to cool itself. This engages the metabolism, increasing heart rate and circulation in much the same way as physical exercise.That much I know. I does burn calories just setting there,I just don't know how much.That info came from my doctor.
  • BettyBoop82570
    BettyBoop82570 Posts: 1
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    Let me know if you get an answer, that is an interesting question.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
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    You asked this question ealier and you got the same exact answers as now, you burn so few calories that it DOES NOT COUNT, similar to eating celery.

    Here is what was posted last time you started this thread:

    Depends on what you are doing in the sauna. You can sit on a couch, or you can sit in the sauna and you will burn the same amount of calories. You can do jumping jacks in the sauna and burn as many calories as you would if you did jumping jacks outside of the sauna, but that seems a little dangerous.

    The moral of the story, the sauna is for relaxing, it is not going to benefit you in a calorie burning way. Don't let that stop you, though, enjoy it!
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
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    I sit in the sauna for about 30 minutes after working out. I always wear my Polar HRM, and I burn maybe 10 calories. I too saw websites that claimed 300 calories for 1/2 hour, but no go.

    Its great for my skin and relaxation though.
  • NIKKIDDS2015
    NIKKIDDS2015 Posts: 5 Member
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    i have a friend that loves going in the darn sauna drives me crazy when i go to the gym with her lol, i'm like if i wanna sweat and sit, i can do that in my car any time between May and October :) i always figured it did nothing, losing water that your going to drink anyways?! sorry that was my opinion, and is not backed by any scientific claims lol
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    It's not exercise, you do not count it. All you do in a sauna is lose water that comes back as soon as you drink. It's good for ridding yourself of toxins and nothing else.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
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    Bikram (hot) yoga burns a ton of calories, but the poses themselves are less challenging compared to regular yoga, which hardly burns any. So sitting in a sauna must burn a significant amount.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    Bikram (hot) yoga burns a ton of calories, but the poses themselves are less challenging compared to regular yoga, which hardly burns any. So sitting in a sauna must burn a significant amount.

    is this like...sarcasm?
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    A sauna heats the body, forcing it to work to cool itself. This engages the metabolism, increasing heart rate and circulation in much the same way as physical exercise.That much I know. I does burn calories just setting there,I just don't know how much.That info came from my doctor.
    Holding your breath causes an increased heart rate too, but do you think that by sitting on the couch and moving less than a normal person sitting on the couch (you're not using your muscles to inhale or exhale) causes you to burn more calories?
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    The same amount you burn sitting around my uncle Tito's house.
  • FaithHopeBELIEVE
    FaithHopeBELIEVE Posts: 626
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    Bikram (hot) yoga burns a ton of calories, but the poses themselves are less challenging compared to regular yoga, which hardly burns any. So sitting in a sauna must burn a significant amount.

    I've heard this too but maybe someone should wear an HRM to really find out.
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    From the Canadian Medical Association Journal:
    Some believe the sauna is useful for weight reduction, but there has been no evidence to support this theory. There is a transient weight loss related to fluid loss just after a sauna is taken; afterwards this weight is regained quickly with the intake of fluids. Salt too is lost during a sauna.

    Why, then, do people take saunas? There are few reasons that would stand up to scientific scrutiny. Indeed, most would seem to be word-of-mouth promotion schemes by those of us who enjoy the relaxation afforded by a warm environment; we attribute the relaxation to the decrease in peripheral vascular resistance afforded by heat.

    Source: The Sauna: A Health Hazard?; Earl M. Cooperman, MD; Associate Scientific Editor Canadian Medical Association Journal (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1818735/pdf/canmedaj01421-0014.pdf)
    And in anticipation of someone saying that you can "sweating out toxins" in a sauna, that would only be true if you had a "true toxic exposure".
    LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – A typical sauna uses steam to heat the body, but a new kind of sauna works by infrared light, in which radiant heat is absorbed by the body. Some claim it's better than steam because infrared saunas will make you sweat more. There have been many claims that any sauna can get rid of deadly toxins, but one expert at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital says here's what you need to know about sweat.

    "When we sweat a lot, we are releasing some toxins, but that's only if one has a true toxic exposure," said Dr. Daniel Monti, an Integrative Medicine Expert. "For example they have high levels of mercury or lead in their blood, that needs to be assessed in a medical way and addressed in a medical way."

    Dr. Monti says there are many claims linked to infrared saunas like burning calories, speeding anti-cellulite programs, relieving arthritis, and even boosting white blood cell counts, but there is no proof of any of that.

    Source: http://www.kcbd.com/story/12260474/facts-and-myths-on-using-saunas-to-cleanse-the-body-of-toxins
  • Yasmine91
    Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
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    The whole losing weight while in a sauna is false. You weigh yourself before you go in, and then back out maybe you'll be a 1lb or so, drink a cup of water and all the water that was lost from sweating, which is the 'water' weight loss will come back :P
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
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    My uncle's brother's sister's friend's baby sister Tracy told me it was 300 calories per 1/2 hour!!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Bikram (hot) yoga burns a ton of calories, but the poses themselves are less challenging compared to regular yoga, which hardly burns any. So sitting in a sauna must burn a significant amount.

    I've heard this too but maybe someone should wear an HRM to really find out.

    Bikram yoga does NOT burn "a ton of calories" for the same reason that sitting in a sauna doesn't burn many calories--and for the same reason that HRMs cannot estimate calories burned in this type of environment. Thermal stress in and of itself does not significantly increase your calorie burn, even though it may increase heart rate.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    1. Log sauna time as 900 calories
    2. Eat back 900 calories lost, preferrably McDonalds (calorie dense).
    3 ??????
    4. PROFIT
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
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    It's not exercise, you do not count it. All you do in a sauna is lose water that comes back as soon as you drink. It's good for ridding yourself of toxins and nothing else.
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