Chornic Stress, Belly Fat, and Saunas: Relax Into a Slimmer Body

Have you tried every diet, and exercise regime under the sun and still have lingering fat around your abdomen? If this is true, then you are not alone. Many individuals who get plenty of exercise, and eat a well balanced diet struggle with the fact that after all of their efforts there seems to be an ever lingering issue with stored fat around the belly.

For those wondering why belly fat lingers on them, you may be happy to find out that it is not for lack of trying, but rather the key to belly fat removal may actually be in relaxation. Find out why humans tend to store fat around the abdomen, and what this indicates regarding underlying health concerns. Furthermore, discover what lifestyle changes can be made to lower stubborn, lingering abdominal fat.

It may be possible to reduce abdominal fat by lowering chronic toxic stress in your life, produce more heat shock proteins to lessen oxidative stress, and yes, sleep more to lose excess fat around the abdomen! Among several strategies that you can use to accomplish the above mentioned trifecta is regular sauna use. Find out how saunas interact with your physiology to directly and correlatively reduce your waist line, and thereby help reduce other underlying health concerns.

Why is Belly Fat So Stubborn, and Does it Indicate More Serious Health Concerns?

So many of us are programmed to believe that the more we exercise and restrict our diet the more fat we can lose. This may be true up to a point; however interactions with stress hormones may be the underlying cause of stubborn belly fat.

Science Direct writes the following in their peer reviewed journal entitled: ‘Chronic stress increases vulnerability to diet-related abdominal fat, oxidative stress, and metabolic risk’.

“Traditionally, the maintenance of body weight is thought to be determined by the balance of food intake and expenditure.” (1)

This same study is based on a human model that studied the impact of high stress living on abdominal fat. The researchers followed two groups of women who were divided according to their reported levels of stress. Those who lived longer with chronic stress in their lives carried an increased proportionate amount of weight around their waist. (1)

Dr.Michael Paltiel, MD, who operates an adult and pediatric clinic in New York City writes the following regarding belly fat and stress.

“Stress causes the release of hormones that cause your body to store up more fat, possibly because of our built-in survival mode. When we feel stressed, our body switches from burning energy to storing it up so we can use it later. In fact, stress is such a common cause of belly fat build-up, that it’s earned a nickname: stress belly.” (2)

Sedentary lifestyle and overeating are often blamed for a fat tummy. The truth is that when individuals are in states of high stress the hormone cortisol is released. The adrenal glands sit just above the kidneys on the left and the right side of the lower back. When individuals are faced with stressful circumstances, either life events, exposure to pollutants, or simply heavy traffic, cortisol is released. This is an excellent adaptive response for certain occasions, but when the stress is chronic, meaning every week, or even daily, this stress becomes toxic.

An excess of cortisol can lead to stored belly fat that sits around the organs, actually there to protect the body in case food sources run out. While all of this is a positive adaptation from evolution, it does not serve most people now if their stress is daily and not necessarily life threatening.

Cortisol release disrupts metabolic processes and causes the body to store fat around the belly. (3)

Dr. Mohit Sharma Senior Consultant, at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad says the following in a statement regarding cortisol levels and abdominal fat.

“Cortisol belly, also referred to as visceral fat accumulation due to prolonged exposure to cortisol, the stress hormone, presents health risks extending beyond mere appearance.” (3)

Long lasting levels of stress goes beyond the physical appearance of a larger belly. It can lead to more serious health conditions. So in finding a way to release belly fat you may also lead yourself home to a much healthier overall body.

How Can Regular Sauna Use Help Reduce Belly Fat and Related Health Conditions?

Induce States of Relaxation
Improve Sleep
Detoxify the Body
Reduce Oxidative Stress With Heat Shock Protein Production

Saunas May Induce States of Relaxation

Relaxation is no longer a question of luxury, it is in fact a necessity if you want to live in a healthy body. Despite pressure to do more, be more productive, and to climb the ladder of success, the reality is that this mind set can put the act of relaxation as the very last thing on your mind. A lack of commitment to finding ways to relax the body can lead to sleep deprivation, excessive cortisol levels, heart conditions, lowered insulin sensitivity, and yes, even belly fat. (5)

The body’s nervous system oscillates between two distincts states of being: Parasympathetic Dominance, and Sympathetic Dominance. For those who remain in high states of stress and activity, their nervous system is constantly being pulled into sympathetic dominance (fight, flight, freeze, fawn), and here cortisol is released as adrenaline gets pumped through the body. (6)

We have already learned that high levels of cortisol can lead to stored belly fat, so you can imagine that someone living in sympathetic dominance much of the time will likely have a larger belly. This stands in stark contrast to the ‘couch potato’ lore. If you have lingering belly fat you may be everything but lazy!

Saunas, as well as other forms of heat therapy are known for their ability to draw individuals into states of relaxation, and therefore lower levels of cortisol. If you have ever taken a sauna then you know the sleepy feeling that befalls you midway through the sauna or just afterwards. Sauna use can impact the nervous system drastically and to invite individuals back into states of relaxation. This means that anyone living a high stress lifestyle and struggling to lose belly fat should consider using a sauna at the end of each and every day.

Improve Sleep With End of Day Sauna Use

Sleep deprivation can actually cause weight gain, so if you are looking to lose belly fat make sure you are sleeping well as often as possible. (5)

If you end your busy day with a sauna session, not only will you be coaxing the nervous system back into states of relaxation, but you will be helping your body to set up for an excellent night’s sleep.

There are many components to proper sleep hygiene to induce a deep sleep that includes all of the necessary sleep cycles. Among these components is controlling your internal and external temperature. The colloquial term of ‘falling’ asleep is indeed the dropping of temperature as your body slips into states of sleep. Keeping the room where you sleep cool and dark is very important, but even more important is the drop in internal body temperature during the falling asleep phase. So, if you can take a sauna at the end of your day and raise your internal temperature, then you allow for more degrees to drop as you drift into a comfortable sleep. (7)

By improving your sleep, saunas inadvertently help you to lose unwanted and sometimes dangerous belly fat.

Detoxify the Body With Regular Sauna Use

Among lifestyle stresses, another reason for chronic stress is exposure to airborne toxins as well as toxins in foods, and beverages. Whether it is mold, heavy metals, or microplastics, it is very difficult for most humans to avoid a build up of toxins within the body. Unfortunately, toxins can cause stress on the body and the release of stress hormones, so an overload of toxins can actually be linked to stubborn belly fat.

The body can detoxify itself via the liver, urine, other bodily releases, as well as through sweat. Saunas harness the human capacity to sweat to activate the thermoregulatory system. In doing so, many positive biochemical changes occur, among these is profuse perspiration. The act of sweating can be one way to assist the body in detoxification, and therefore reduce ongoing toxic stress. When stress is reduced abdominal fat will begin to lessen. (8)

Reduce Oxidative Stress With Heat Shock Protein Production

Oxidative stress exists when there is an imbalance between free radicals in the intracellular milieu and antioxidants. Oxidative stress, if left unchecked, can cause cell damage and mutation. Ongoing stressful lifestyles can lead to oxidative stress in the body, as well as belly fat.

How can saunas help to mitigate oxidative stress? One of the key reasons that saunas are so helpful is because they increase heat shock protein (HSP) production. Heat shock proteins are not really proteins, but rather they are responsible for ensuring that the intracellular milieu remains clean and efficient. HSPs are numerous in their different types of roles and responsibilities. Some HSPs are responsible for ‘folding’ and ‘packing’ proteins as they move from different parts of the body, while other HSPs operate to clear out unwanted substances within the intracellular parts of the body including free radicals. (4)

Certain HSPs can be considered as protein chaperones, while others may be more like a bouncer at a local bar. If there is something disrupting the health of the intracellular space, specific HSPs will ‘escort’ free radicals out of the space to be flushed out by primary systems responsible for detoxification.

During stressful times in your life it is important to have plenty of HSPs at your disposal.

According to the National Library of Medicine’s article: ‘Role of Heat Shock Proteins in Protection from and Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases’ the authors write.

“Reversing polypeptide unfolding and preventing protein aggregation are major functions of HSPs, especially under stress.” (4)

Exposure to high heats for 20 minutes a day for 4-7 days a week will help to increase HSPs in your body. This means that during times of high stress, either from lifestyle, or external pathogens entering the body, HSPs can help your body with immunity, reducing oxidative stress, and cleaning your intracellular atmosphere. Over time more HSPs at your disposal will help to reduce stress induced belly fat.

Regular and Frequent Sauna Use May Help You Lose Your Belly Fat

It is time to finally debunk the myth that those with a larger belly are couch potatoes and just need more exercise and less food. In fact, the research suggests that just the opposite may be true. If you are a high stressed individual who also has stored abdominal fat, chances are you need more TLC and relaxation.

Sometimes belly fat occurs due to overconsumption of certain foods and lack of exercise, but very often it is due to an excess of stress hormones interrupting metabolic functions and eventually storing fat around your belly.

Saunas are not the only way to wind down after a stressful day; however, saunas may be the all in one special. Saunas can help regulate your nervous system, improve sleep, detoxify the body and increase heat shock protein production to reduce oxidative stress. This cocktail of results produced from exposure to saunas or steam rooms may be the most effective means to rid the body of belly fat caused by excessive toxic stress in your life.

If you do live with stubborn abdominal fat consult a medical practitioner to find out if it is indicative of an underlying condition and if sauna use could be helpful as one protocol to eliminate belly fat.

If you decide to begin a regular sauna program please make sure that you stay well hydrated with clean water, electrolytes, and plenty of mineral rich nourishing beverages.

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