Heat Therapy For Peak Performance: A Q+A With the Founders of HigherDOSE

Heat therapy is an essential tool for peak performance. By adding heat therapy to our neurohacking routine we activate the release of serotonin in our brain, stabilizing our mood and boosting our happiness. Heat experts and founders of HigherDOSE, Lauren Berlingeri & Katie Kaps answer 7 important questions on the science behind heat therapy and a few others on biohacking!

How Our Brain Reacts to Infrared Therapy and PEMF

You mention that “when you get DOSEd, you #GetHighNaturally.” Can you explain the science behind that statement to our readers?

Humans are feel-good addicts, always chasing the next hit of happiness. It’s part of our evolutionary hardwiring: our brain is constantly releasing chemicals to signal what is good for us and what is bad for us. When we are feeling good, we are being flooded with a DOSE of the four major happiness chemicals: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, & Endorphins.

Many people manipulate these happy chemicals with unhealthy habits (from to-do list tyranny to substance use). But there are endless ways to stoke healthy, natural surges of these feel-good messengers – and get high on your own supply. Take a walk in nature. Connect with your community. Eat good food. Break a sweat. Have sex. Laugh hard. Hang with your dog. Each of these actions stokes a DOSE of happiness chemicals in your brain, raising your mood, and making you feel high, naturally.

At HigherDOSE, we’re taking natural highs to a new level. Our advanced wellness technologies – including infrared and PEMF – are all designed to ignite a healthy DOSE.

Science-Backed Benefits of Heat Therapy

What are some of the benefits associated with heat therapy?

Heat therapy (specifically infrared technology) is one of the most powerful tools out there when it comes to raising your mood, activating a natural glow, detoxing your body, and igniting inner vitality.

Heat therapy (specifically infrared technology) is one of the most powerful tools out there for raising your mood, activating a natural glow, detoxing your body, and igniting inner vitality.

Heat therapy works by raising your body’s temperature to improve circulation, strengthen immunity and increase blood flow. It’s a great way to manage pain, relieve muscles, and detox the body. Heat therapy can take many forms, but our favorite is infrared… naturally. Infrared Sauna benefits include detoxification, boosted immune system, calmed nervous system, pain relief, collagen boost, anti-aging effects, skin purification, improved cell health, and improved circulation.

Sauna Therapy and Longevity

What do you know now that you wish you knew 5 years ago about sauna therapy?

Dr. Rhonda Patrick has shared fascinating research that links sauna use to longevity. When body temperature is elevated, Heat Shock Proteins flood the body to protect your cells against heat stress. HSPs help keep proteins in your cells from being misfolded and forming aggregates, which are associated with diseases of aging. Heat stress also happens to activate a well-known longevity gene, known as FOX03. Turns out that hitting the sauna might increase your chances of becoming a centenarian.

Combining Heat and Cold Therapy For Peak Performance and Recovery

Our community digs cold therapy. Can you tell us why combining cold therapy with infrared heat, to create contrast, is key to peak performance and recovery?

We always recommend jumping into an icy shower after your sauna session. Turning down the temperature in your rinse-off may shock the system, but that cold shock comes with some serious benefits: strengthened immunity, improved circulation, reduced stress levels, and muscle relief, to name a few.

Contrast therapy is a powerful practice – one that has been around for centuries. Heat raises your core body temperature, increases blood flow, and opens pores – to facilitate a deeply detoxifying sweat that pushes out toxins and delivers oxygen & nutrients to your muscles. Cold water routes the blood back to your vital organs, contracts your pores to regular size, and reinforces your body’s natural defense system. In short, the hot-cold contrast trains your immune system – so you can achieve peak performance and rapid recovery.

3 Science-Backed Benefits of Contrast Therapy

Give us three science-backed benefits to combining cold and heat therapy.

1. Increased performance. Hot-Cold Therapy increases HGH (human growth hormone) levels in your body. This hormone turns back your body’s internal clock, helping you rapidly build muscle and slash flat, all while elevating your energy levels through the roof.
2. Freeze away fat. Studies suggest that cold showers improve your body’s supply of healthy brown fat (in the upper neck, shoulders, and chest) and burn off harmful lipids, which are the calorie-heavy fats attached to areas like the waistline. Combined with infrared sauna’s calorie-melting capacity, contrast therapy is a potent weight loss duo.
3. Double dose of euphoria. Infrared Saunas stoke a healthy dose of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins – helping you feel high, naturally. Jumping in a chilled shower after your sauna session triggers a fresh jolt of adrenaline and revs up dopamine levels in your brain. A double DOSE of euphoria.

How to Get Started With Temperature Therapy

If someone is just starting to wade into temperature therapy how would you suggest they get started?

Our Infrared Sauna Blankets are designed to bring heat therapy into your living room. Slip into the technology, turn the heat up, and enjoy your DOSE. When you’re done, jump into a cold shower. Start with mildly-chilled water to rinse of the salt, sebum and toxins that were released during heavy sweating. When clean, plunge to even icier temps.

If you don’t have a HigherDOSE Sauna Blanket (yet!) or want to achieve a daily hit of contrast therapy in between infrared sauna sessions, you can simply adjust your shower settings. Enter in warm water, then turn the nozzle for an icy finish. We doubt you’ll need your morning coffee.

Activating Happiness Chemicals With Infrared Therapy

What’s one benefit associated with infrared that our readers might not be familiar with?

Saunas deliver more than a full-body detox – the infrared heat activates the release of serotonin in your brain, stabilizing your mood and boosting your happiness. The euphoric ‘high’ you experience after your sauna session is a result of normalized serotonin levels. This isn’t just a quick hit, thought. Serotonin is a chemical precursor to melatonin. You’ll enjoy a deep sleep at night, and wake up feeling refreshed.

Get to Know Lauren and Katie - Founders of HigherDOSE

What books are you reading right now?

Lauren: I’m more of a podcast person. I’m usually listening to Zach Bush MD, Ben Greenfield, or Lacy Phillips.

Katie: I’m currently reading Atomic Habits, Stealing Fire, and Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom.

Favorite quote?

Nikola Tesla said, “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” We think he was on to something.

What is one biohack you cannot live without?

Lauren: I might be biased, but I cannot live without an infrared sauna.

Katie: I love an IV drip to restore and revitalize the body.

Do you consider yourself a good sleeper? When did you realize you were one? What helped you become a good sleeper?

Katie: Yes! The infrared sauna helps you sleep like a baby. In addition to regular sauna sessions, taking CBD before bed helps to get me out of my head and into my body. Gummies like Charlotte’s Web Calm Gummies knock me out (in a good way).

Walk us through your sleep routine from dinner until you hit the pillow. What devices, supplements/teas, tech, textiles, etc. do you use?

Lauren: My night routine has changed significantly since having twins. If I can get them down at their bedtime at 6pm, this is when I’ll meditate and do a sauna session, followed by a cold water shower. I always eat on the earlier side –to avoid going to bed full, so that the body can repair at night. I really try not to look at my phone past 6:00. I definitely don’t do any work after this time, and while I don’t like watching television, we have been chromecasting MasterClass to our TV and using our time in the evenings to learn something new. Those are my wind-down hacks!

Connect With Lauren and Katie, Founders of HigherDOSE

Lauren Berlingeri & Katie Kaps are the founders of HigherDose, owners of premier infrared sauna spas in New York City and creators of the highest-quality infrared sauna blanket on the market.

If you’d like to learn more about infrared therapy check out the HigherDOSE blog or connect with them on Instagram.

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