I recently jumped at the opportunity to try out a few sessions at New York’s trendiest infrared sauna, HigherDOSE. They have a cult following of die-hard fans that swear by their saunas–and since I love the idea of an intense sweat-sesh, it seemed to be a perfect fit.
I’d like to consider myself realistic pricewise. However, I have a weak spot for the latest wellness trends, along with lots of other Manhattanites. Infrared saunas are not cheap. One 60-minute session is $65 at HigherDOSE. But if you consider some of the benefits, like weight loss (burning up to 600 calories in one session), improved skin, blood circulation, a boost to your immune system, and light therapy balancing different parts of your body, $65 seems like a small price to pay. I was sold.
You enter the HigherDOSE sauna in nothing but a towel and are given an aux cord to play your music. I went to three 60-minute sessions in one week and each one felt better and better. Let’s get real. Session one was quite brutal. I was hot and bored since you can’t be on your phone because it will overheat and I didn’t come prepared with anything else to do. I told myself I would most definitely be bringing my tablet to read next time. (PSA my tablet did not overheat). I had to step outside the sauna at least 5 times to get water and cool off. And quite frankly, 60 minutes is a painfully long time to sit in a tiny room that’s 154 degrees with nothing to do. I lasted about 45 minutes with breaks.
My second session was better. I was more adjusted to feeling like a piece of bacon on a frying pan. I only got out for water a few times and lasted an entire 52 minutes. Reading and having something to do made the time go infinitely faster. I played around with the different lights for different purposes to see which I preferred. My favorites were red and blue.
Red: Promotes great energy, courage, will-power, speed, determination, independence, physical strength, health, sexual attraction, and potency.
Violet: Purifies our thoughts and feelings and connects us to our spiritual self-bringing guidance, wisdom and inner strength, and enhances artistic talent and creativity.
Blue: Connects us to holistic thought, and gives us wisdom, enhancing communication and speech. Brings great calm and peace to the mind that is worried, excited, or in a nervous state.
Green: Cleanses and balances our energy, feeling renewed and at peace. Used to balance our whole being.
Yellow: Helps awaken mental inspiration providing clarity of thought, increasing awareness, and stimulating interest and curiosity. Connects us to our mental self.
Orange: Relieves repression and combines physical energy with mental wisdom, introducing a transformation between lower physical reaction and higher mental response. Best emotional stimulant helping to remove inhibitions and promoting independent behavior
The third session was definitely the best. My body was ready for the heat and by then I learned to enjoy it and relax. It was an amazing way to detox from the day.
In conclusion, light therapy and infrared saunas are definitely something you have to decide if you think is worth the money or not.  Although the effects are not immediate, there is plenty of science to back up these benefits. I will say my skin was glowing and radiant each time I attended these sessions and the heavy sweat made me sleep fantastically. If you’re trying to save money, I would say that your gym sauna or steam room is a decent alternative to get the sweat you want from this. However, if you’re like me and love a heated sweat to cleanse from that heavy Cinco de Mayo weekend you had, definitely go check it out. I’ll be heading back the next time I need to detox, feel a cold coming on, or when I’ve had one too many margaritas.