Infrared sauna = what we do know about them?

#41

I asked Gemini 3 pro-thinking about how infrared sauna, red wine, and berberine seem to affect my perception of red light. Its response:

The phenomenon you are experiencing is a documented (though often overlooked) physiological response related to retinal mitochondrial efficiency.

What you are describing as “sharpened” vision—specifically the hyper-saturation of red light to a “blood red” hue—is likely the result of three different triggers converging on a single pathway: the metabolic “recharging” of your L-cones (long-wavelength sensitive cones).

(The video link it gives may be a hallucination. But that doesn’t mean the rest of what it wrote was false.)

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#42
  • Frequent sauna use is linked to significantly lower risks of all-cause mortality, heart disease mortality, Alzheimer’s, and dementia, with the greatest benefits seen at about four sessions per week or more. Sauna bathing is associated with reduced cardiovascular mortality and improves risk prediction in men and women: a prospective cohort study | BMC Medicine | Springer Nature Link
  • Sauna bathing acts as a form of heat acclimation, causing adaptations in the cardiovascular system such as lower resting heart rate, increased plasma volume, and improved vascular function within just days of consistent use.
  • Increases in aerobic capacity (VO₂ max) and reductions in blood pressure and total cholesterol are amplified when sauna use is combined with regular exercise over several weeks.
  • Optimal session structure appears to be 15 to 20 minutes per sauna session, totaling roughly 60 to 80 minutes per week for maximal cardiovascular mortality reduction.
  • Physiological responses occur across time within a single sauna session: sweating begins early, heart rate rises around 12 minutes in, immune cell markers increase after 15 minutes, and heat shock protein responses emerge after about 30 minutes.
  • Progressively longer timelines of sauna benefits are reported: lower heart rate in about a week, enhanced aerobic capacity and circulation improvements over several weeks, and long-term disease risk reduction over years of regular sauna practice.
  • Adaptive responses begin quickly (in days), but reaching peak benefits for cardiovascular and metabolic markers often requires continued sauna exposure over up to 8 weeks.
  • Sauna exposure triggers vasodilation and elevated heart rate similar to light exercise, helping improve circulation, endothelial function, and heat stress resilience. How do saunas affect your health? Learn more about the health benefits of saunas and when you shouldn’t use them
  • Sauna sessions may boost immune function through increased white blood cells and heat shock proteins, which support immune response and stress adaptation.
  • Consistency is crucial: benefits fade gradually if regular sauna use is discontinued, so long-term routines are recommended to sustain cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuroprotective effects.
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#43

I did not end up moving into that building with the IR sauna by the way. I moved to another building that has a dry sauna so I get to stick to that. 6-7 days a week.