Don't get SAD, Get DOSEd: How HigherDOSE Saunas May Help Alleviate the Winter Blues

Need a pick-me-up this winter? Here's how HigherDOSE saunas may help alleviate the winter blues.

Cozy knits, hot toddies, family gatherings and... quiet, relentless feelings of fatigue, gloom and mediocrity. Ah, winter. While many are packing for ski trips and cabin getaways, others are packing up their happy feelings to visit the winter blues.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that, for some, typically starts in the fall and can continue all the way through spring, zapping energy and destabilizing moods. When you need a mood-enhancing experience, HigherDOSE saunas activate the brain's happy chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins) to help you feel closer to the bright side.

Then there is something called winter fatigue. We're tired, because, trudging around in poly-fil puffer coats is basically the same as walking around in a sleeping bag. It sounds cozy but it can keep us in a consistent sleepy state. We're exhausted from constantly putting on chapstick, losing chapstick, and buying new chapstick. And we're confused, every day, when 4:00 p.m. feels like 10:00 p.m.

Are we just a bunch of wimps? 

Nope. The "winter blues" are 100% real. Although mostly associated with winter, SAD doesn't really have anything to do with colder temperatures. Seasonal depression is triggered by shorter, darker days and a loss sunlight, which makes infrared therapy one of the most effective treatments. And, HigherDOSE sauna's offer full spectrum infrared rays (far, mid, and near) to give you a maximum boost. 

Why Sunlight Is Important — And How the Time Change Messes With Our Natural Rhythm 

With the reduction of sunlight, comes a reduction in the amount of serotonin the brain produces — serotonin regulates anxiety, happiness, and mood.

The time change disrupts our circadian rhythms, aka the 24-hour biological clock that governs waking and sleeping. With less sunlight, we have lower levels of vitamin D, which has been linked to muscle weakness, greater pain sensitivity, and decreased endurance.

From minor reactions to destabilizing symptoms, the effects of SAD include sadness (hence the acronym), anxiety, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, increased sleeping, carbohydrate cravings, and weight gain. 

How a Sauna Sweat May Help with SAD Symptoms

Far infrared rays are natural, comfortable and identical to our own sun's rays (minus that harmful UV stuff). As light is absorbed through your retina, it tricks you into feeling like you've been in the sun all day.

The experience totally feels like soaking up the summer sun, it's warming, stimulating and relaxing — and just like the sun, infrared rays release natural, yet effective doses of serotonin within the body. Serotonin is a powerful happiness chemical in your brain. So, a release serotonin means a boost in your mood and increased feelings of happiness (it's part of our secret to getting you high, naturally).

It's also great for curing those muscle pain and stiffness issues that tend to creep up during cold, harsh winter conditions. And, it penetrates deeply into your skin, detoxifying the body of impurities that cause fatigue.

It rejuvenates dry winter skin (which we know, can definitely be a SAD inducer), giving you that summer-esque glow by boosting collagen, enhancing tone, and improving elasticity.

HigherDOSE saunas feature chromotherapy, a form of energy healing that works to rebalance the body's core energy flow.

Basically, between December and February, you need to lighten up. So, if you find yourself slothing over Netflix in bed, avoiding life more than usual, come DOSE. You'll feel better (we promise).

Learn more here:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/health/infrared-heat-eases-depression-symptoms-study-finds-1.2905272