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it was spring of 2022 and you were in one of two groups hearing how Kim K drastically lost weight to fit into Marilyn Monroe's dress or listening to the huberman Lab podcast hearing Andrew promote deliberate heat exposure protocols for health and performance it burns or you're like me and heard both everywhere I turn people are talking about saunas infrared dry saunas Andrew huberman is talking about a Kim Kardashian opposite side of the spectrums are talking about and I want to figure out what all the fuss was about people have told me Sonic can increase metabolism increase blood circulation pain reduction improve cardio and immune health and most importantly for me Stress Management I won't be on the red carpet anytime soon but what would happen to me an average fitness loving girl if she did sauna every day for 30 days [Applause] foreign [Music] for this challenge I will be tracking calories burned to either debunk or prove that you can swap your cardio for the sauna how my body changed how my skin changes and most importantly my stress I'm pretty blown away by this
your HRV your heart rate variability the higher it is the more recovered you are last night it improved 15. it usually takes me like a month two months of not traveling to get us to go up 15 points and it was in one day I had a good sleep did it help my sleep I boom my biggest goal in this challenge HRV Improvement HRV heart rate variability is one of the best indicators to monitor if you're stressed or over training and due to my excessive traveling and generally being a water balloon of anxiety my HRV sucks when I was in there there's two other girls in there and they were just like geeking out about saunas and like cold plunge and all that because I kind of geek out about that kind of stuff and it recruited in the people in the sauna will be those people it was great take back everything I just said I just realized that children is those six-year-old man that sit inside us talking to a biohacking and I'm not okay with it the protocol I followed was via Andrew huberman he says top of
improvements you can see from heat exposure is at 60 Minutes a week so I decided to break it down into three 20-minute segments you could do six ten minutes you could do two 30 minutes and it seemed to be anything above 60 you didn't see any extra improvements I was just having really good sleeps it's hard to say it feeling good because of sleeping well or if I feeling good because of the sauna I can't fall asleep before 10. I love to wake up early I love waking up before sex but I can't fall asleep before 10 I just can't get sleepy I can't stop my mind from racing I have my sleepy tea I have a nighttime routine it doesn't matter but suddenly it was like I was laying on the couch at 9 30 and I was just like sitting here kind of just like you know what I could fall asleep at 10. I'm getting so lame
well I'm here I did not want to do this today I was blaring music I wanted to dance not chill then I flew back to emden for the weekend to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my family it was my mom's birthday and she loves a good sauna session so I surprised her by bringing her to a Russian Saun house also known as the Banya where we altered between sauna Steam and the dreaded cold shower ah week one and two my HRV hasn't plummeted even though I've drank even though I traveled and that was insane and look at this I've never gotten this from my Aurora ring optimal HRV it got into the 40s I have never had my HRV be this good and consistent I've only lost 10 minutes today I have to tell you guys Story Time about
what happened to Saudia yesterday I feel so bad because I got trapped and I almost died being over dramatic without exposing This Woman's intimate details I would already been in there like 15 minutes and I was having this conversation with one girl another lady walks in and she kind of chimes in and explain about a bad day she had and then she went off and it was the most traumatizing story you can think of what this lady's gone through over last year like I I can't get over it you know when people are telling a story in a normal conversation you kind of implement in but they're telling something there's no way to interrupt especially this topic and I don't really plan to be in there 10 minutes guys I almost fainted other people were looking at me and I was trapped behind her and I couldn't get out and I didn't want to be an and I almost died I need to set up better boundaries I didn't know where to just be like I know what you're talking about is traumatizing but I'm a stranger and I'm about to faint peace Grace yeah now the tough thing about this challenge
is what did I see start to improve my HRV my digestion my skin kind of had a nice little glow but I don't know if it was because the sun was making me sleep better and the Sleep Improvement caused all that just got back from Nassau and the last thing I want to do hungover is sit in a hot sauna but we made it and it felt good now I realize this is middle February and this video is filmed back in the middle of September and October let me explain why honestly I had this footage and I was sitting on it for a long time and I didn't feel I wanted to post it because I didn't have any drastic change except for like I felt mentally well and it was a slight Improvement but looking back it was a great Catalyst to wanting to work on my mental health and physical health in my routine and in terms of like rejuvenating and just taking time in my days not very excited to do more and do more but like times to just like sit and be and when I saw how much it improved like my quality sleep so I had more energy and my digestion was better and I
felt I was shutting off work at a certain amount of time and like because I was doing that I was also like you know what stop and make yourself a nice meal it was like the first time because it was forced for 20 minutes to not be able to work not be on my phone and it showed me that like by doing less I could do more I have to sleep at 6am coffee but I just checked my or is it Aura Aura I always got Aurora Aura ring I said I had a lot of restorative time and I'm well recovered even though I did work out a lot yesterday and like I was not well recovered from the airplane ride in Nashville so I'm wondering so I was so sleepy by 10 was it because I didn't sleep much before was because the salmon made me sleepy was it a combo of everything is everyone else traumatized by me having coffee near this couch ah it is the middle of February actually way past this challenge what improvements did I see in this there wasn't any real drastic change between my skin seemed kind of about the same
but considering I was traveling so much and usually when I travel a bunch I get bloated I break out my skin gets dry the fact that like I just didn't see any negative side effects even with traveling is actually a really good indicator that I think there was some improvements I really like that I baked this because it's been like three months and I have kept up with this habit so guilty I'm just being honest to you guys of trying these new Wellness trends for you guys doing it for YouTube seeing some results and then just forgetting about it and moving on to the next YouTube video now I'm not so hardcore I'm not like 3 20. check check must be done but now it's kind of like after gym I'm like I'm gonna pop in the sun today oh I'm a little stressed out at work I'm gonna go for a sauna it's like one of my tool kits now my health stats HRV improved by an average 15 to 30. my heart rate was averaging around 52 ended around the same total calories burned around 665. notes I just use my Apple watch to track calories very inaccurate was more of a compared Harrison to other workouts my weight stayed within my usual natural fluctuations quality sleep my REM and deep sleep did improve about 10 to 20 minutes every single night I
did the sauna and most importantly my mental health despite four belts of international travel I didn't feel that overwhelming sense of Doom and chaotic energy I usually feel when traveling I didn't see any drug changes to my skin and hair but I will be monitoring this because I'm working on some other future challenges that we'll talk about this but that's really tough to say in 30 days there's no cure to my redness or dryness or anything like that we know massage we know eat a healthy meal we know sleep but the reality is there's so many things thrown at us whether it be stress from Tick Tock negative news hearing about Job layoffs crappy weather you never know what it's going to throw at you and the more tools you can have the better the song is now one of my tools it isn't going to make you lose 10 pounds no that's an utter lie if you're a UFC fighter trying to make weight yes you can use the sun if you sit in there for hours on end and lose a lot of water weight but you're risking life for death and you're not fighting in the UFC and then that's weight loss not fat loss not even muscle loss just water I used my Apple watch to track it that's a very inaccurate way but it did kind of show that my heart rate did Elevate say my Apple watch is correct I burned 600
calories roughly 3 500 calories make a pound 20 loss of a pound over a month but calories in calories out is very complicated that is very very very not accurate way to do it I think the best part so far about my Wellness diary is is just finding little things that make me pause in the chaos of the world and do something good for myself to just re-center myself doing the little things of self-care and self-care not self-maintenance which I kind of like about sauna skin care Hair Care doing a mask all that getting your nails done it's fun it's self-maintenance it's exhausting it's a full-time job sometimes when you do a glow up sauna yeah it makes you feel good but it's also in that moment you're kind of meditating you're calm that's more self-care I feel like sauna versus hair mask I feel sauna's a bit more self-care and my Wellness Journey has slowly been adding more things like that I'm not perfect every day I'm never going to be that girl who's structured every day five o'clock but this step stay hard it's nice to have tools when I feel the burnout trick me and that I'm taking on too much and the world is chaos and I
feel I'm slowly imploding and it's 10 o'clock at night and I'm sitting on the couch and I'm supposed to be watching Netflix and making a meal but I'm just sitting there spirally with anxiety about to implode too much work go for a song comment down below any of those kind of practices you guys have I think the more we have the more we can find one that sticks and that can be a catalyst to a lot of things and most importantly go pet a dog love you guys bye
Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.
In a world where wellness trends come and go, the sauna protocols has emerged as a steadfast sanctuary for those seeking both physical and mental rejuvenation. This ancient practice, rooted in tradition, has gained recognition for its potential benefits on heart health, stress management, and overall well-being. But what happens when one commits to daily sauna sessions for an entire month?
In this exploration, we delve into a personal journey of daily sauna use, tracking the impact on heart rate variability (HRV), sleep quality, and mental clarity. The findings reveal that while dramatic physical transformations may not be the primary outcome, the subtle yet significant improvements in mental health and stress management are worth examining.
due to my excessive traveling and generally being a water balloon of anxiety my HRV sucks
15 Average HRV improvement points 665 Total calories burned over the month 10 Minutes of improved REM and deep sleep per night
Introduction to Sauna Challenge
The journey began with a simple question: What would happen if I incorporated daily sauna sessions into my routine for 30 days? Guided by protocols suggesting a minimum of 60 minutes of heat exposure per week, I divided my sessions into manageable 20-minute intervals. This method, inspired by research from experts like Andrew Huberman, promises a range of benefits, from improved cardiovascular health to enhanced mental resilience.
As I embarked on this challenge, my goal was not merely to track calories burned but to observe the holistic effects on my body and mind. Would the sauna become a tool for self-care amidst the chaos of daily life? The answer unfolded gradually, revealing layers of insight into the practice of intentional thermal exposure.
"By doing less I could do more." — Speaker
Tracking Progress
Throughout the month, I meticulously tracked various metrics to gauge the sauna's impact. One of the most notable changes was in my heart rate variability (HRV), a key indicator of recovery and stress resilience. On one occasion, my HRV improved by an impressive 15 points overnight—a stark contrast to the usual months it takes to achieve such a shift.
In addition to HRV, I monitored my sleep patterns. The results were encouraging: my REM and deep sleep durations increased by an average of 10 minutes each night. This improvement in sleep quality contributed to a greater sense of clarity and energy during the day, reinforcing the sauna's role as a sanctuary for restoration.
Mental Health and Sleep Improvements
Beyond the physical metrics, the most profound changes occurred in my mental health. The sauna became a refuge—a space where I could disconnect from the demands of daily life and simply be. As I noted, 'By doing less I could do more.' This realization came to light as I observed how the sauna sessions encouraged me to pause, breathe, and cultivate stillness amidst a busy schedule.
The ritual of entering the sauna transformed into a meditative practice, allowing me to process thoughts and emotions. Even during periods of intense travel, I found that my anxiety levels were notably lower. The sauna had become one of my essential tools for managing stress, providing a sense of equilibrium that I had previously struggled to maintain.
Reflections on the Experience
Reflecting on the 30-day challenge, it became clear that the sauna's benefits extended beyond immediate physical changes. While I did not experience drastic transformations in my skin or body composition, the absence of negative side effects during a month of travel was a significant indicator of improved resilience.
The experience underscored the importance of self-care—not as a luxury, but as a necessity in navigating the complexities of modern life. The sauna, as I discovered, is not merely a means to an end; it is a ritual that fosters a deeper connection to oneself. As I continue to integrate sauna sessions into my routine, I am reminded that wellness is a journey, one that requires intention and the cultivation of practices that support both body and mind.
Words Worth Hearing
"It's nice to have tools when I feel the burnout." — Speaker
I'm a little stressed out at work I'm gonna go for a sauna it's like one of my tool kits now
Practical Takeaways
Incorporate sauna sessions into your wellness routine to enhance mental clarity and resilience.
Prioritize self-care rituals that foster stillness and intentionality amidst a busy lifestyle.
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