Dr. Justin Marchegiani and infrared sauna expert Vic Riffle discuss the benefits of infrared saunas, including detoxification, improved sleep, and enhanced wellness.
🔥 Detoxification: Infrared saunas help eliminate toxins through sweating.
💤 Improved Sleep: Regular use can enhance sleep quality and promote relaxation.
💪 Muscle Recovery: Infrared heat aids in muscle recovery and reduces inflammation.
🧠 Mental Health: Sauna sessions can alleviate symptoms of depression and boost mood.
🩺 Heart Health: Infrared saunas can benefit cardiovascular health and circulation.
🚿 User-Friendly: Sunlighten saunas are easy to set up and use, with customizable options.
🌞 Natural Healing: Infrared light mimics the sun’s healing properties without harmful UV rays.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Hey guys, it's Dr. Justin Marchegiani. Welcome to the Beyond Wellness Radio podcast. Feel free and head over to justinhealth. com. We have all of our podcast transcriptions there, as well as video series on different health topics ranging from thyroid to hormones, ketogenic diets, and gluten. While you're there, you can also schedule a consult with myself, Dr.
J, and our colleagues and staff to help dive into any pressing health issues you really want to get to the root cause on. Again, if you enjoy the podcast, feel free and share the information with friends or family. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Hey there, it's Dr. Justin and Marc Gaggiani. I have infrared sauna expert, Vic Riffle, here today.
We're gonna be talking all about infrared saunas, the benefits, we'll compare them and contrast them to other saunas out on the market and just kinda dive into the technology and who may benefit, some of the top benefits. So Vic, welcome to the podcast. How you doing today?
Vic Riffle: Dr. Justin Marchegiani Great.
Thanks for having me. Um, it's a beautiful day here. So I'm excited to talk about infrared light and, um, all the benefits that it has. Dr. Justin
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Marchegiani Absolutely. And it's kind of full disclosure. I've had an infrared sauna through sunlight and for the last six years. I love it. I use it a couple times a week.
It's just right over there. And, uh, it's the way I think we said it was the Amplify brand, the Amplify one. Yeah, it's great. And so I reached out to sunlight and to get an expert on the show to kind of chat about it and just really go into the technology, whether or not you get a sunlight and or some other brand, we're going to just talk about the benefits, the tech, and again, I only.
Bring people on that I have, I enjoy their products and already believe in for myself and family. So I'm excited to dive into this topic today. So Vic, how did you get into the space? Uh, how did, how did everything come about for you? How did you start seeing the benefits in inference on a technology for yourself and family?
Vic Riffle: Yeah. So for me, um, I came to sunlight and just over three years ago. Um, and at the time, I mean, I had. my own health and wellness down. I thought like, wow, I knew I know a lot. I'm meditating. I'm doing all the right things. Um, I was a competitive athlete. I swam collegiately. Um, and with that, I mean, you just think that, okay, I'm eating the right things.
Um, in college, we may not get as much rest as we should. Um, so it's like the whole person aspect that maybe I didn't grasp because I was still doing really well with what I was doing. Right. So in college, my trajectory, a lot of the times by the end of your career, You're not maybe as fast as you once were, but I was the opposite.
So, like, I was continuing to grow and get better and faster. Um, and I had, um, found out about this role at Sunlight and through a couple of friends and just those connections, like they are people that I respect immensely, have heard amazing things about and were well ingrained in the, um, community here in Kansas City.
And, um, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is the perfect role for me. Cause it had to do with partnerships. It had to do with working with experts and all things, health and wellness. And, um, I kind of lucked into this role. Um, we needed someone that could come in and work with all the partners that help us teach our audience and.
Their audience is about infrared and, um, it just seemed like a great fit. And once I got here again, that's, that's where I really have felt the most growth for my own health and wellness. And like, I've taken a, a bigger approach of just thinking beyond what I'm doing right now and what my future health looks like.
Um, so that's where. Um, once I got my toes in the water here at Sunlighten, um, I dove in head first and I've just really, really loved my time and all the information and people I've got to meet along the way.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: We'll put a link down below if you guys want to get more info. You want to look at accessing a sauna, justinhealth.
com slash sauna, justinhealth. com slash sauna. Take a look at it. It'll be in the description. But let's go dive into some of the mechanisms. So first off, people, you know, may remember saunas back in the day, kind of the Swedish type of saunas where you'd have stones and they would kind of be heated up via convection.
Maybe you pour some water on it. Can we just kind of compare, contrast, you know, that, that Swedish type of sauna versus what an infrared sauna looks like compared to that?
Vic Riffle: Yeah, and it's super important because infrared is not new. Ever since the sun became, um, an object, it was emitting infrared light. So it's always been around, but we just don't understand it.
Um, even within the industry, there's still new information that's coming out. So I really want to take time to break down a little bit of each of the wavelengths as well. But when we first think saunas, of course, the traditional is what people think of, the steam saunas. Um, those saunas have incredible health benefits.
There are studies out there showing a reduction in all cause mortality and, um, many other benefits, including heart health and on and on improved immunity, brain health. We all want that, right? So. with infrared saunas, you get a little bit of that heat because it's hot static air that is stressing your body.
It's the hormetic effects. Your body is starting to sweat. It's purging, um, everything that it can out through your pores. And you're reacting to that because it's hot. It's not necessarily always an enjoyable experience. Um, but that gentle stress of hormesis is what's activating your systems to get them primed because in today's environments, I mean, we're often in an office that's climate controlled.
We've got the air conditioning in the summer heaters in the winter. Um, so we aren't always put through those stresses that can help our body be stronger. Um, so with infrared, you still get some of that heat. It's a more enjoyable experience because it doesn't have to get as hot because what's also happening is you're getting the benefits of light.
Light energy is part of this spectrum of light and we don't, I mean, with light, we always think all the colors and, and whatever we see and, uh, the LEDs, but there's an invisible part, which is infrared and infrared is absorbed into the body further than what colored light does too. So that's where they always, when referencing infrared, they say heats you from within.
And that's because the far infrared wavelength, it's the longest wavelength, and it does get absorbed into the body via water, which is one of the components that is reacting to this light. It's a photoreceptor. So it's taking that energy. It's moving within the body, and that is what's getting that warmth in a more gentle way.
But still, it's heating the body from within and, um, and The main thing is it's more enjoyable. It's not that hot, static, um, situation that you would be in with a traditional sauna. And the infrared
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: is like right around that 800 to 1, 000 nanometer frequency. Yep. So there's different And the far infrared is a little bit higher than that,
Vic Riffle: right?
So far infrared is the longest wavelength. And then mid infrared is shorter. Near infrared is the shortest. And when you think about it, infrared means just under red. So in the spectrum of light, it's right next to red. And as you get into those colors, that's when the energy increases there too. Um, so blue light has the most energy, um, and that's why we try and avoid it at night so that we can, um, keep our melatonin from being suppressed and have that, um,
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: ability to
Vic Riffle: fall asleep.
So
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: your blue light's gonna be right around 400 nanometers or so, your red's gonna be in the mid 600s, and then you start hitting infrared at 800, and I think far infrared starts closer to a thousand, right? Is that kind of the general frequency? Dave Korsunsky Yep, exactly. Dr. Justin Marchegiani And what's interesting too, is that was just in my sauna, um, yesterday morning, and what I'll do is I'll go in my hot tub first.
Dave Korsunsky Yep. I'll go on my sauna for 15 minutes and then I'll jump in my cold plunge afterwards. I try to have the spectrum of all these different hormetic type of stimulators, stimulants regarding the environment and temperature. I only get my sauna sometimes up to 120, 125 and 15, 20 minutes, I'm out.
Like the amount of sweat pouring off of me is insane. You can totally feel that heat from within happening where compared to a Swedish sauna. I mean, I remember being in Mexico and being at, you know, 120, 130. And comparing it to my sauna, and I'm in there 20 minutes and I'm bone dry. Like it's just, whoa, it's a totally different experience in regards to the amount of heat that you need.
You know, from a temperature standpoint to elicit a response, partly because of that infrared is what you don't see, and that's going within, heating you up more within versus more of an outside response. That's more just convection heat. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M. D.: From a Swedish sauna where you have, you're missing that infrared wavelength that really heats you in deeper so you don't have to have it as hot to get that sweating detoxification benefit on the outside, right?
Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M. D.:
Vic Riffle: Absolutely. And what's cool too is what you just talked about is like you get in the hot tub before. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M. D.: So your core temperature is already kind of raising. And so you're just stacking that together. So that's something that we recommend for those people that want that hotter experience.
Um, go out and do a hit workout, do some jumping jacks, do your rebounder and then get in the sauna because it's all related. I mean, your lymphatic system, everything is stimulated. Your blood pressure goes up a little bit and you're Stimulating a lot. So with that light energy, you want to be able to resort to absorb it as best you can.
And that's what's important when you're out there looking for the right tools for that. And that's what you want to look for is emissivity. And so that's your body's ability to absorb this light energy. And it has to do with the heaters because just like with anything, I mean, with nutrients, if you're eating um, uh, bunch of blueberries.
You may not be getting, um, the right amount of the certain nutrients if it just was poorly grown, right? So you want to get the organic blueberries and so that your body is able to take that energy from the food. Same thing with light sources. Um, light source really goes a long ways. And, um, even the temperature of the environment makes a difference, too.
So the hotter you get, the harder it is for the infrared to be absorbed because the wavelength kind of just isn't a steady or well re Um, so with some of the c with dr Michael Hamlin, o He reminds us like you don't have to get super hot. You can receive this light energy even at really cool temps. What we would call cool at like 80, 90 degrees, you're still getting that infrared light energy.
So um, really cool how, how that all works. Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Also too, with that heat stress, that infrared, you get a big growth hormone spike and growth hormone is very helpful for anabolic metabolism, anabolic repair. So growth hormone is a nice benefit that you get from heat. I mean, I tell people.
It's And I think even Tony Robbins talked about this like, hey, if you're sedentary and you're having a hard time exercising, just jump in a sauna 15 minutes. Just sweat and call it a day. Like even if you are tired and you don't wanna exercise, just go sit in a sauna, get a growth hormone release. That's gonna help your anabolic hormones to help you recover and heal.
So if you're feeling tired and you don't wanna do anything, just jump in a sauna. Get some kind of a sweat in there, you're still getting a hormonal benefit that's helping your body.
Vic Riffle: Yeah, and that's what's nice too is it's with traditional saunas. You're not gonna tell someone 70 80 years old Go get in the sauna and really push yourself.
You can still get in the sauna and it's it's a passive workout Essentially, it's getting your heart moving. It is and that is a huge asset for a lot of people because wherever you're at on your health journey saunas can support you. Of course, please do talk to your doctor before you're going to get in and sauna and take the right precautions, hydration, that kind of thing.
But the amount of people that are struggling, um, with all sorts of issues, diseases, saunas are there to support to make you feel better, um, so that you can take those steps to really starting to feel better, um, and get past some of the injuries or, um, whatever's keeping you from actually getting a good workout in.
Dr. Justin
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Marchegiani Yeah, also, very good. And I also find that it really helps improve sleep quality. I find you get a good parasympathetic kind of bump afterwards, especially if you can combine it either with a cold shower afterwards or a cold plunge. I find it can really help the HPA access and you do get this parasympathetic response that does kind of relax you afterwards.
does provide better kind of sleep score. Um, also on top of that, you get detoxification benefits. I mean, you're going to liberate some toxins in your body, but you're going to get a lot to the skin, which is nice because then you can wash it off. So you're not having to push all those toxins out through the kidney, through the liver.
Now some of it's going through your skin, which essentially is the biggest organ of your body. It's part of the integumentary system. And so if you could push some of these fat soluble toxins out to the skin and then go rinse it off, the biggest mistake is patients make is they go sweat, come back out, let that stuff dry back on their skin and let it reabsorb.
Not good. So always make sure you shower afterwards to get that good, uh, that good detoxification release.
Vic Riffle: Yeah, that's an awesome tip because when people think sauna is oftentimes it's detoxification that we've been taught about, but there's also people pushing out there in the medical world that say sweating has nothing to do with detoxification, it's only for thermoregulation.
But there are some amazing studies. Um, one of them is the bus study, blood, urine and sweat. And they tested participants, um, blood, urine and sweat for these heavy metals and other toxicants. And, um, the most impressive number was not many people or it was like 15 percent had mercury in their blood, but every participant had it in their sweat.
So it's supporting these pathways that are often burdened because there's so many toxicants in our environment that's absorbed into our body. I mean, we may not be directly, um, affected by heavy metals, but like, if you have other things going on in your body and then all of a sudden you reach that tipping point, then that's when bad things can really start to happen.
The inflammation builds up. So we have to use sauna to help support that. So it's a lifestyle support system. It's kind of like we call it the ultimate longevity whole body hack because it just helps with so much at the foundational level and detoxification is one of those foundational benefits that we love to talk about.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani I agree,
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: especially with infrared, you're penetrating deeper than a typical you know, convection based sauna. So you're going to get more tissue release. And a lot of times with metals, we're dealing with heavy metal toxin tissue burden. And so, you know, we're, we're getting a deeper release because that infrared is going to go up to four centimeters in deep.
And if you have a lot of metal stored in your, in your fatty tissue, you could get a Also too, is talk about You get a release from your skin, but isn't there some internal release as well? You're getting something with that. So also I tell patients if you're really sensitive, you can always add in like a binder.
Dr. Justin
Vic Riffle: Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yep. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Like a, a fulvic mineral or zeolite or activated charcoal or chlorella kind of binder just to kind of mop up any internal release of
Vic Riffle: toxins. Yeah, exactly. And so we've even had some of our partners, like a Dave Asprey, he talks about every time he saunas, he makes sure to add a binder because that's going to help with the brain fog that he's getting, because sometimes when you're releasing these toxins, um, and everybody is different.
So I will say that. So some people can do the binder and sauna and other people can't handle it at all. So that's where like some of those examples you gave, um, are some great natural binders that just help support that activation, um, and just the release of those, um, toxins. Um, but it's even within the lymphatic system, like I mentioned earlier, like everything is just moving differently.
So, um, it is important to take precautions or I love the tip of make sure you shower afterwards. Um, Especially if you're in these public saunas. I mean, that's a great place to saunas at the gym, but just imagine what's out there, um, in the world because of everyone is sitting in these hot rooms and sweating.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Dr. Justin
Vic Riffle: Marchegiani Exactly. Now, I
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: generally recommend go into your sauna session hydrated. Or at least bring, like, I'll do a Topo Chico or like a Mountain Valley. Just a good mineral watering glass. Be very careful bringing plastic bottles in because that infrared heat potentially could release some toxins, some of the PCB or BPA toxins in the plastic.
So try to choose stainless steel or glass. I do notice like stainless steel gets heated up really fast. So does glass. So. Just be mindful of that. Usually I'm only in 15 minutes, but I try to stay hydrated. I tell patients, and I have it in my thyroid book in regards to detoxification, when you're starting out, if you're sensitive Start with five or 10 minutes.
Find an amount of time where you walk out of the sauna feeling good, feeling invigorated and not lightheaded. We want to make sure we're avoiding lightheadedness. And if we do, that's where we want to be more on top of electrolyte supplementation and hydration before and or during and find that sweet spot where you're not walking out feeling dizzy and exasperated and kind of beaten up.
Yeah.
Vic Riffle: So the, um, electrolyte piece is extremely important because so many people just don't understand, okay, yes, we're, we're purging our system, but it's also some of the good things like we need to have that salt in our system, the, the electrolytes to maintain the balance, um, of everything. And you're right.
We do not want to be exiting that sauna, feeling drained, exhausted, woozy. Um, it should be energizing. And of course, like I said before, everybody reacts differently. Um, but our co founder Connie, she constantly is talking about, she goes in there and so do I, like I go into my sauna. And have some of the best ideas that I've had while in the sauna.
So like I'll bring a notebook and scratch a couple notes while I'm in there. Um, because my brain, the activity is just different. And so it's that light energy that we talked about, um, that you're receiving. So. You do not want to get in and be exhausted, um, work towards that. So maybe you get in at 20 minutes and that was too much.
What's just like any exercise program that you're starting, you have to build up to it. You're not going to sign up for a 5k having never run it. go out there and run those first 3. 1 miles. No, it's it's step by step, making sure you're doing everything that you can and take notes of how you feel. Maybe the one time you were a little bit foggy in the brain, maybe the other time it was more, um, you noticed an increase in heart rate that was too much.
So be mindful and use this as a way to see and feel what happens to your body in these situations.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: A hundred percent. Someone in the chat said, you know, can you sweat out heavy metals? Uh, most studies say no. I think the biggest thing you have to differentiate, I put the link to the bus study. Um, but the biggest thing you have to differentiate is, is sauna therapy that's convection based or like your typical Swedish sauna versus infrared, right?
The infrared that's wavelength is going to penetrate deep. And so due to the deeper wavelength, you're gonna get a deeper
Vic Riffle: release. Dave
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Korsunsky
Vic Riffle: Yeah. And just by supporting your other pathways, that's huge too because it's not as much of a burden on your kidneys or your liver, um, because some of the other heavy med or other toxicants have been released and are out of your body.
So, um, that's something important too is like it's supporting your systems for overall better health. So maybe yes, some, some, um, um, Heavy metal, maybe that one does not get released through sweat, but, um, it's helping your body get better and, um, improve the other pathways as well. Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Exactly.
And also, too, I've seen some other doctors that, patients that are sensitive to like DMSA or DMPS, some of these, um, heavy metal chelators, they'll do chelation studies or chelation urine kind of provocation before a metal test to kind of provoke. So 1 Dr. Justin Marchegiani We increase the amount in the urine so we can see what the body load is.
Some of these patients who are sensitive to DMSA or DMPS, they'll actually do a 15 20 minutes sauna session and then say, let's collect your urine afterwards for 2 3 hours and see the metal load there. So I know doctors have been doing this for a bit and they do use it as a challenge and so it wouldn't be something that doctors were doing if they didn't see some kind of an uptick in Marchegiani Which is good to know.
Absolutely. Dr. Justin Marchegiani So let's just kind of just continue to hit some of the benefits, right? Because heavy metal detoxification is one. We talked about that. Uh, we talked about potentially some of the HPA access benefits with the growth hormone and that parasympathetic response that we get at nighttime where it could be very helpful at sleeping.
Or sometimes I'll wake up early before my kids and wife and I'll just jump in my sauna and I'll drink my hot coffee right in it first thing, especially in the winter months. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. 15 20 minutes, time I finish it, I am sweating, I'm ready to go, and then I will just rinse off and then jump in my cold plunge and like, man, you wanna start your day off, that's one of the best ways to start your day.
Dr.
Vic Riffle: Justin Marchegiani Yeah, and just talking about sleep too, it can be extremely beneficial in the evening, uhm, and that can help with your sleep because what you need for that sleep to really, uhm, just be optimal is you need, your body needs to be cooling itself. And so it's kind of counterintuitive, but when you sauna in the evening, your body temperature raises, but then that turns on the systems to cool yourself off.
So your body is actively trying to cool itself down so that by the time you're getting into bed, you're kind of on that downswing. And so your body doesn't have to work as hard to cool itself because it's already doing so. And that works for some people. Other people, it's just too much energy and that does not work for them.
They are hot and they don't cool, cool down as well. Um, so to your point, what you just said is like, I'd like to sauna in the morning. That's another great time to kind of improve your sleep, because if you're doing it in the morning, you're prepping yourself for a great long day ahead. You're getting yourself that energy in the morning, the light energy that we need.
Um. And then continuing that through the day so that by nighttime, you're ready to wind down and actually get some good sleep. So, um, we actually added sleep as a health benefit on our website within the past year or two, um, almost only because of the amount of people that would just tell us my sleep scores visibly improved on my health tracker.
Like it's one of those things that you can just see, and all you need is your Apple watch or your, um, or a ring and you can. make that one to one case of like, this is helping me. So that's where it's important too. It's helping you, um, figure out what works for you.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Dr. Justin Marchegiani microcirculation benefits because it's penetrating so deep.
Your body has to try to cool that blood off. And so it's going to essentially mimic exercise. It's going to mimic the heart rate, the breathing. It's going to mimic the the circulation. And so like I tell patients, you don't want to exercise. It's a great way to get exercise benefits without actually doing the physical work.
Your heart's still doing it. Your lungs are still doing it. Your body is still, um, utilizing those capillaries that it would normally do with deeper exercise. So you're getting that good benefit there out of the gate. So we talked about the circulation. We talked about, um, the breathing. We talked about all of the growth hormone benefits.
Um, we talked about the sleep. What else? What other big things that you have your customers or patients that you work with report back? Transcribed
Vic Riffle: So, back to kind of the foundational support that detox provides, the inflammation piece is huge, um, because that is what is the root cause of pretty much all chronic disease, and obviously we're not just gonna cure any inflammation within the body, but we're gonna help you feel better, so heat alone is great with inflammation, um, but beyond that, um, With infrared, there are markers that can be reduced.
Um, that are these inflammatory markers that are showing that with infrared use, you are less inflamed because you're able to down level some of that and Support your body's just natural ability. And some of that has to do with the circulation. You're getting more oxygen delivered to these inflamed areas and getting these nutrients to allow it to start feeling better and healing.
Um, but that is to me, the inflammation is just massive because whether it's your brain. or just inflamed areas, um, any reduction is going to be beneficial, especially long term.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Dr.
Vic Riffle: Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: That makes sense. And so, you talked about inflammation. Inflammation is really big because infrared, I have a class three medical laser, uh, in the office and I use it all the time.
It's like, it's at a I think it's at 805 nanometer frequency, so it's at the closer end on the, on the near infrared, but it works wonderful with ligament and joint inflammation. So I love it. Now I find patients go into these infrared saunas and they get a really good benefit which is overall systemic inflammation reduction.
You feel limber, that circulation, the joints feel better. Also the biggest thing I use it for, anytime I get sick, I'm on that precipice of just not quite feeling right. I go in there to create. my own fever, if you will, and fevers are beneficial because it starts to essentially knock down that mesophilic bacteria that that medium temperature bacteria that starts to get knocked down at that 99 100 101 temperature, you start to mimic that fever, you can start to lower your bacterial loads and thus support your immune cells by jumping in an infrared.
So I find that amazingly helpful Clearing out my sinuses and just getting ahead of a cold. My whole family does that anytime we're on the fence, jumping a sauna, infrared 20 minutes just to get your immune system a little bit of a jumpstart. Thoughts on that?
Vic Riffle: Dr. Justin Marchegiani Yeah. Um, amazing.
Especially given the timing. I mean, it's October. We're headed into the holidays. Stress is at an all time high. Um, so that's when your immune system can, you kind of be faulty. So we need to be able to support it. And what you just said about the false fever, that's exactly right. When we're talking about traditional saunas, um, it's all about core temperature raise.
And that's when you're activating heat shock proteins. They are your system's defense mechanism, and we can help that. By activating these heat shock proteins, um, and building them stronger. It's like armor. So we're helping them so that they can then turn around and boost your immune system, um, so that you can fight off the common cold and do it right from the start.
because I even use it post travel. Um, when I'm in the airports and just in front of and around all sorts of people or after long trade shows, like the thing that I crave the most is just my sauna time because I'm like, I've got to get rid of all this crap that's in me. And this is a great way to do that.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani Yeah,
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: I'm gonna try to jump on my phone here and pull up that way I can walk over and show people my sauna just so we can put like a You know, a face to it. We're looking at here. So, I'm gonna see if I can get that going here for you guys. Do, do, do, do, do. Um, alright. So, as I'm pulling that up here, I'll let you know when it's ready.
Um, what else? What else? What are the big benefits that we can chat about here?
Vic Riffle: So, um, the one that comes to mind and is, um, really still being studied a lot and there's some really promising information is the mental health piece. Um, so, um. I mean, with infrared and heat and light, um, and just again, testimonials of people that use our products, countless individuals.
I was just at a trade show, um, out in Phoenix and everybody that came up to us that has their sauna, it was basically like, this is my sacred place. This is my place to step away. So. People are using this as a tool to also just kind of get away from the noise. Like, not often can you be in your own space by yourself, taking that time to feel better.
Um, and that's just like a small piece of it because there are studies that have shown that even a single sauna session and that raise in core body temperature is going to decrease depression symptoms for an extended period of time. Um, there was a study done by, um, Dr. Ray's own and Ashley Mason, um, and that was the depression study and, and we can link it after this, but even just a single session helped relieve depression symptoms, um, for weeks.
And so they're building off of this, like it, it's has a lot to do with the heat, but near infrared specifically is really powerful for the brain. So it's, it's also helping with other. Brain diseases like Alzheimer's, because it all has to do with neuroplasticity and recreating some of those links that have gone away.
So, um, the mental health, just especially again in today's environments, um, there's just so much going on that people are not able to de stress and take time for themselves. It's always go, go, go. So, um, to have a tool that can help with mental illness, um, that's huge. Excellent. All right. I'm going to jump into
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: my inference on here.
Hold on one sec. All right. Can you hear me? Okay. You still hear me? Good.
Vic Riffle: Yep.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: All right. Good. I got you switching mics here. All right. So I'll pull you guys over here.
All right. So this is where the magic happens for me. And this is what this is the amplify one, right?
Vic Riffle: Um, actually it looks like the signature.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: So very, very similar. Yeah. Yep. And so how we have it set up here, I got my little towel here that we change out. But one of the big things I found, this one did not have a timer on it.
And so I found that if I came in and press these two together, it gave me a countdown timer. So this was like eight hours before we go on or nine hours. And so at. you know, eight o'clock at night. If I'm going to be up at six or seven, I would just time it up eight or nine hours. So then it's already on 30 minutes.
Kind of give me a head start, but this is how this bad boy looks right here. Any, any comments on this one? Try to back up. Yeah.
Vic Riffle: So this is our signature sauna. Um, what's nice about it. You just showed it. It's extremely simple. You can turn it on, off the temperature, the time, um, it is based in far infrared, so you're getting to us.
That's the foundational wavelength because it is absorbed the deepest. It interacts with water model, water molecules, your mitochondria, um, and helps heat the body from within in the best way. So, um, the signature amazing option, um, that looks like the basswood. So it comes in different wood types. Um. And the heaters that you're surrounded with, we've done third party testing to prove the emissivity that I talked about earlier, um, which lets you know that you're going to get the best quantity and quality of infrared that's available, which that's the whole point of these saunas is to get that energy.
And then, um, the sauna you mentioned previously was called the amplify. It looks just like that, but it has extra heaters that are in the front. that heat it even more, and then also provide near and mid infrared. So you're getting extra wavelengths. Yeah, um, and so with that extra heat, you can kind of vary your sessions a little bit more.
Um, but they, those are two extremely, um, awesome options. And as you can tell, you can kind of tuck it away. They aren't, um, necessarily the biggest saunas. There's different sizes that we have, so. And this thing breaks down
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: phenomenally. So it's like a puzzle piece. So this guy comes right off here. And then each one of these kind of latches in at the bottom.
So it's basically like a big puzzle piece. So you don't have to move this in. You can break it down and then set it up in a smaller room. So if the door is too small, I guess it's a really small door. We custom built this closet just for this thing, but we could put everything in one by one, set it up while in there.
And it was, it was doable.
Vic Riffle: Yeah. And that is funny that a lot of people kind of assume that the sauna is going to arrive to them fully assembled, but these ads. As you can see there, um, would not fit through many doors, let alone the front door. Um, so it is, uh, does not come pre assembled, but it's a pretty easy process.
And as you said, it just fits together nicely. 15 minutes, probably
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: two people, but 15 minutes is easy. So I go from here and I jump on my, I go right from here and I have a built in shower. I go right from there and then I go right over to my cold plunge right there. So I try to hit it, you know, boom, boom, boom.
That's my kind of, my flow.
Vic Riffle: That's the way to be.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: I'm going to get back here on my regular computer here.
Vic Riffle: Awesome. Thanks for the tour because it does help to see, um, these other modalities, um, or just options that are out there, um, and how nice they can look too. That's every time we're in person with Asana, um, it's just, that's the first comment is, wow, this, this looks really nice.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani I can't hear you, Dr. J. Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: And we had to move it a couple of times with, you know, two people, 15 minutes to break it down. Just leans it all up against the wall or just take it out one at a time. It's totally doable. So I like that. So if you're in between homes or you have to move it from, you know, a vacation home or whatever, because you know, it's, you know, seasonal changes.
It's totally doable and easy.
Vic Riffle: Absolutely. And, um, just take it apart as, as well as you do, um, putting it together and not, not too many, um, issues that should arise with that.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: So any other big sauna benefits? Cause I think I just want to get the listeners out there. Just even if you're doing a regular sauna, like you're a Swedish sauna, I think there's still some benefits to be had there and it's still worthwhile.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani So if you have a sauna, just use it. I think, you know, most of the benefits happen just through using it, whether it's infrared, whether it's near infrared, whether you add the red light to it, um, there's still benefits. So any other big benefits? I know some of the newer saunas you guys have add the red light, I mean, I have a red light, um, box on the wall and such, and I have a red light laser.
Can you talk about what some of those red lights do to enhance the infrared sauna benefits?
Vic Riffle: Dave Korsunsky Yeah. So let's start with some of the things we've already talked about, which is going to be the inflammation, um, the mitochondrial support. I mean, that energy, as we talked earlier about the wavelengths and low or long to short, Um, there's more energy within red light and near infrared.
So, um, the mitochondria, you're able to basically deliver them energy to, to help create energy for our body. So, um, the inflammation though, beyond that is amazing. So just as you were talking, about benefits and inflammation reduction, especially with red light and near infrared. I have a red light panel at my house as well.
And what I did this morning was just put it along my back because I've had some lower back pain and it was all Inflammation focus like that's all that I was trying to get out of that session.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yep.
Vic Riffle: Um, so there and then beyond that, um, we used to call near infrared the vanity wavelength. It helps with your skin, fine lines, wrinkles, collagen production, um, and That was to me, the first thing that I felt as I got out of the, um, sunlight and sauna for the first time was I happened to reach up and touch my skin.
And I was like, Oh, wow, this is, um, something I was not expecting. Um, but it's extremely powerful for people to have a tool like this, where you can step out and feel that glow. I mean, just with body positivity, like you're, if you're feeling less inflamed and you feel like your skin is glowing, what else could you ask for?
I mean, if. If that's something that you have in your home and you can use it as a tool. Um, I mean, it's just like sunshine. Like that's, that's something that I talk about too, is we've all felt infrared, right? We just may not have put it. Put a pin to like exactly what that moment was. But like on a cloudy day, it may feel nice out, but then as soon as, as soon as that sun pops out away from, from behind the clouds, you feel that warmth.
You feel that, um, just positive hug of light, basically. And that positivity is just hands down. One of the things that I think about all the time, like before we got on the, um, this interview, I went and sat outside and just sat in the sun for a moment. Like, I know it's kind of silly that I'm at a infrared sauna company and I didn't just get in our sauna, but I just wanted that bright.
pleasant sunshine. Um, so for, to have a tool that can do all of what I just talked about, the inflammation, the skin, um, just feeling good, the positivity, like that, that's huge.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Dr.
Vic Riffle: Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Absolutely. And then, so when you're talking about the sun's wavelengths, right? Sun has UVA, UVB, right? Those can kind of burn you, right?
That's that, you know, 280, 275, right up to 400. So you're saying the sun also produces infrared, so it does produce those higher wavelengths too?
Vic Riffle: Yeah, so infrared. Um, I know that I think around 50 about half the sun's wavelengths are infrared. Um, but that's where it's totally at different wavelengths. And I don't know the breakdown between near mid and far.
Um, but yeah, the sun is Infrared is the healthy healing parts of the sun minus the, the UV that you just discussed there. Um, and that's why too, like with this job that I've had, um, I've really prioritized getting out in the sun at the right times of the day. Um, maybe protecting myself from the sun in different ways, whether that be through shade, um, clothing and that kind of thing, but really just using it to my advantage.
Um, whenever I can get out and see that early morning sunshine, um, I'm just a much. Um, I'm just much more cognizant of what kind of light I'm getting and that's where with the infrared, I know for a fact I'm getting, um, just about as much infrared as, as one could ask for. Oh, very good.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Interesting. Yeah, about 50 percent of all the sun's radiation is infrared.
So infrared's gonna be 700 to 1400, but usually that 800 to 1000 is typical. And then your mid is 1400 to 3000 and then uh, far as 3000 great. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Very cool. Excellent. Well awesome. Is there any other kind of big value items you want to highlight or leave us with in regards to kind of sauna benefits or sauna like little tidbits at all?
Dave Korsunsky
Vic Riffle: Yeah so, um, one of the, we hadn't talked about the impulse sauna that we have and I think that's kind of where um, sunlight and does differentiate itself from other people out there, other companies, other options, um, is we make it easy for you. We've put in the work, this is our 25th year.
Um, and we have our impulse sauna that has pre, um, programs that are based on, um, different wavelengths and studies. That are going to give you the most benefit for detoxification. There's a detoxification program. Um, there is a pain relief program, so you're able to get targeted benefits with True science behind it.
So I personally think that's, um, a great way to go about any session. If you're going to spend the time in your sauna, even in like a signature, like you have, if you can get in and have that mindset of I'm going to work on detoxification and then have your body follow suit, like let your body listen to that.
And then to me, that just helps amplify the benefits even more because by preparing your body for detox. detoxification. Um, you're just thinking about it a little bit differently. And then as the sweat starts pouring out, it's like, wow, I'm doing a great job supporting my health. And so when you can get in the sauna and just push that button like that right there makes it easy.
And so that then that can become a habit that you keep. So if there's any lasting bit of information that I have here, it's gonna be sessions, but, um, make it part of your lifestyle, like use it as that momentum pusher that can get you over the edge and get you to see some of those best benefits because it's, once you get down that rolling, as the ball gets rolling and you're able to continue that momentum, that's when you're going to pick up other healthy habits.
And then maybe the detoxification that you were starting with, that's. like you're going to get beyond that. You're going to not need to detoxify as much and you're going to be able to, um, help your foundational health in other ways. Um, but it's making it your lifestyle. Like this should be something that I'm going to do whether I'm healthy, sick, happy, sad, um, just to get better a little bit every day.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Do you have to worry about your eyes when you're in the infrared or red lights on a
Vic Riffle: red light? Um, is one that would maybe be the most question just because it's so dang bright, like those red light panels, um, are extremely bright, but no, there's no, um, major issues with, um, especially near infrared.
There's studies out there that maybe point towards, um, there being issues with your eye, so you have to, um, wear protection. I want to say the studies that they had done, it was like near infrared lasers and maybe even for, um, welding tools. Like, that is not at all the infrared that you're going to get in your sauna.
Um, so, no. Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: laser like intensity where Dave Korsunsky Right.
Vic Riffle: Dr. Justin
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Marchegiani Eye eyeglasses that would be needed to to block that, so you're okay. Dave Marchegiani Good. That's very good. Dave Korsunsky And then let's talk about the sauna types. I have the signature, you said, right?
Vic Riffle: Dave Korsunsky So that's the signature?
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay. And that's kind of a starter model, right?
Vic Riffle: Yeah. Um, starter model, but still it's the patented technology that we have that has that emissivity. So it's not like it's a knock on that product, um, that it's still a little more basic. That's good
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: to know because the one thing I just, I didn't love about it was just the heat up time.
And I'm like, okay, so that makes sense. There is one step up because I feel like I need to be on for at least 20 or 30. I'd say at least 30 for me to feel to get into that one 20 ish range where one 20 I'm like, I'm sweating in 20 minutes, right? And so that's a good temperature. If I go in right away or within 10 minutes, it's going to take me 15 minutes longer.
Right. And so that's good to know. And I use that countdown timer with the, you know, the two at the same time that helps. So we have, that's the signature. And then what's the one level up? How much faster does that heat up to?
Vic Riffle: Um, it's hard to say. I don't have the exact numbers of, of how much faster, but it gets up about to 165.
Um, How many more heaters does it have? Um, I know it at least has the two in the front. Um, I couldn't tell you the exact number because it kind of depends on the size of the unit too. Um, but the front heaters, those are the ones that provide the other, um, wavelengths as well. But that one is called the amplify because it's amplified heat.
Um, and another option that is great for Just about anybody as well is our solo. So that one is more budget friendly and it's smaller. It can actually be kind of packed away into the corner of your house. Oh, cool. You lay down and have like a telescoping dome that goes on top of you. Um, and that still has the same technology that's in our pan or in our cabin saunas, which I like to point that out too, because.
There are some great portable saunas out there that are going to deliver some nice heat and get you sweating, but it's not going to have that same infrared energy because many times, like if it's the blankets, um, it's, I don't see much infrared being emitted through the materials, like the plastic bag type of material that you're in.
There's not much light getting through that. It's more just the heat that's helping you. Um, but with our portable solo, um, you don't need extra electricity. Um, which is something that you will need for the cabin saunas. Um, it's just plug in, lay down, relax, and uh, get your sweat on. In fact, it's the sauna that I have at home.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh, that's cool. Okay. So we got the signature which I have, then it's the impulse is one step up, right? Evan Brand Signature and then amplify. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Amplify. And then the amplify is 20%, 30 percent heats up faster, you think? What's your best guess on that?
Vic Riffle: Um, that would be a good, good guesstimate because again, it's just extra heaters.
So, um, it just goes faster, like get them all running and, and get it, get it hot. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Very good. So then you mentioned the telescopic one, which is called the solo, solo and then one step opposite
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: the one with the red light and then the, yeah, so then the impulse is that
Vic Riffle: next one. Yep. So the impulse has all three wavelengths, um, near, mid and far.
Can you customize
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: it to Dr.
Vic Riffle: Yeah. So you can get in, choose your own program. You could get in and do near infrared only do that at a lower temperature. You could do far infrared only. Um, you can completely customize it how you want. Um, and that is the one that has the programs as well. And it has a touchscreen too.
So, um, you can change these different programs and some people don't like that extra tech, right? Um, all of our saunas have been tested for safety. So, um, We're not tested for safety designed with safety in mind. And testing has been done over time to mitigate E. M. F. S. We don't have clues. We don't have the fillers, um, that could be off gassing while you're in that sauna.
Um, so safety is another thing I should mention as we're talking through these products, because that's our number one priority. I mean, we want people to get in the sauna and get better, um, not be reintroduced to other things that could be making them worse.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: And then with that one, is there an app where I can turn it on and turn it off without having to go up to the sauna?
Vic Riffle: I set up a
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: program like every day at 6. Mm hmm. Like it can, it can be at, you know, I can have it go on 30 minutes ahead of time so it's ready to go.
Vic Riffle: Yep, exactly. So that's, that's where it would be.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: That's where it'd be absolutely essential because then if you're, even if it's like, hey, I'm going to wake up, I'm going to do 10 minutes in my sauna, jump in the shower, start the day.
I could see that as an incredible kind of. Bump. Yeah. Especially in the winter months, people have SAD, you know, seasonal affective disorder and you add the red light component in there and then you change some of the wavelengths. I could see that being a really nice bump.
Vic Riffle: Oh yeah. Most definitely. And that's, I mean, when you're able to schedule it, that's part of the habit forming too, is like if you can schedule that session for yourself, um.
It just makes it even easier to actually do it and follow through with it and uh, make it part of your
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: lifestyle. Well, thank you so much, Vic, for coming on the podcast and just kind of talking about the benefits and whether you go with Sunlighten or somewhere else, it doesn't matter. Get the benefits.
Again, I only bring to you guys products I personally use. Used it for years. I got this on in 2018, so I'm on year six of it. Love it, especially in the winter months. It is Awesome. Uhm, so, think about that as a good option again, justinhealth. com slash sauna, justinhealth. com slash sauna, S A U N A, there'll be a link below if you wanna dive in and get more intel.
Thanks so much, Vic. Anything else you wanna leave us with? Dr. Justin Marchegiani
Vic Riffle: No, I don't think so. Uhm, appreciate you having me on, and uhm, Just get out there and research. Like if this is your first, um, dip into exploring an infrared sauna, just get out there and look at the options. Um, of course, Sunlighten is the company that I work for and I, I stand behind and back our products a hundred percent.
Um, but my favorite part is just talking about it, like getting people to understand what it is, how it might help them out, um, and then letting them decide what to do from there. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Absolutely. And we
Dr. Justin Marchegiani: live in a very toxic world, plastics, pesticides, chemicals, and using it, everyone should have some kind of a modality in their toolbox to help get toxins out.
I think this is just one of those good things outside of just supplements, outside of good exercise by itself, outside of sleep, it's just one other tool in your toolbox to make sure your detox systems are working optimally. So I really appreciate you sharing that, Vic. Vic Gundotra Of course. Thanks for having me.
Dr. Justin Marchegiani All right. Take care. Bye now.
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