September 30, 2021

From podcast: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/female-biohackers-top-tips-enhancing-dopamine-oxytocin-serotonin-endorphins/ 

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:01:12] Podcast Sponsors

[00:04:07] Guests Introduction

[00:07:30] History of the HigherDOSE name

[00:09:18] About the Infrared Sauna Blanket

[00:16:02] How the Sauna Blanket Avoids Kicking Out Dirty EMF

[00:19:38] The Most Common Uses of The Sauna Blanket

[00:25:42] The importance of magnesium in remaining hydrated with regular sauna use

[00:30:31] Podcast Sponsors.

[00:33:13] How crystals impact the efficacy of the HigherDOSE PEMF mat

[00:40:25] Benefits of The Light That Is Radiated by The Blanket and Mat

[00:48:08] The Benefits of Dry Skin Brushing While in The Sauna

[00:52:20] What to put on the body prior to a PEMF mat or sauna blanket

[00:55:10] Differences in The Biohacking Field for Women and Men

[01:07:07] Closing the Podcast

[01:10:00] End of Podcast

Ben:  On this episode of the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast:

Katie:  It seems like some of these practices that are very big trends in biohacking, I’ve actually found that they put me in a state of fight-or-flight.

Lauren:  The idea is to take a product that you traditionally see on a health food store shelf but infuse it with a luxury spa experience. We have to honor that. And, that there's different things out there, like technologies and supplements and ways of living, that support our hormonal cycle that we need to honor.

Ben:  Health, performance, nutrition, longevity, ancestral living, biohacking, and much more. My name is Ben Greenfield. Welcome to the show.

Alright, today's podcast is a goodie. It's with my friends from HigherDOSE. These gals, who are just amazing biohackers in their own right, female biohackers, biohackesses. I don't know how you say it. But, man, they are smart. They've got some cool, cool new stuff I want to talk about.

And so, you're really going to enjoy today's conversation, which is brought to you, by the way, by the brand-new Kion pre-ground dark roast. That's right. We took our usual dark roast, that caramelized, dark chocolate, toasted hazelnut, floral flavor. Those are some of the words people are using to describe the Kion Dark Roast Coffee. But, it's still organic, still specialty grade, still mold and mycotoxin-free.

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Alright, folks. I don't get to talk too often on this show to, I guess, what you might call female biohackers. And, it's funny because, actually, the last time I was talking to my guests today, they asked me if there was a good word for a female biohacker. And, I have no clue, because biohacking, hack, hack, hack does sound like an edgy masculine male type of term. And, it seems as though the industry is also just a little bit supercharged with a whole lot of — What would it be, is it yin or yang? A whole lot of yang.

Lauren:  Yang.

Katie:  Yang.

Ben:  A whole lot of yang. Yang, and not enough yin. But, anyways, my guess on today's show, they are, well, a couple of female entrepreneurs, as you may have guessed, by their voices that chimed in there just a second ago. But, actually, they're really, really steeped in this whole industry of brain and body optimization. And, they actually originated in the spa industry. I’ll let them tell you their story. But, they have been just blowing my mind with all of these cool revolutionary infrared light technologies that they've started to delve into with their own company, pulsed electromagnetic field technologies, cool, basically, what I would consider, probably, at first glance, to be beauty products, but stuff that goes way beyond that, like ion-charged dry brushing bristles and red light face masks and these special PEMF mats that are portable for on-the-go and sauna blankets that you can wrap around you, just all sorts of cool stuffs.

So, their names are Lauren and Katie. And, I just had to get them on my show today. And, it's because they've just blown my mind every time I’ve talked to them about all the cool ideas that they have that are pretty cutting-edge in this whole industry. So, like I mentioned, Lauren and Katie are female entrepreneurs. They came together to change the spa industry, starting off with infrared light technology. Lauren is a nutritionist. She's a health coach. She hosts the series, the “Woman vs. Workout,” which is a video series you can watch I'll link to in the shownotes. And, Katie is one of Lauren's friend. She's a former investment banker at Merrill Lynch and was International Employee of the Year at Tough Mudder. So, she knows her way around obstacle courses, too. And, anyway, she, in the past, has been a consultant for a bunch of different health and wellness companies, but then came on board with Lauren. And, Lauren's hack for infrared light technology. And, between the two of them, they have launched this company called HigherDOSE, which is based out of Brooklyn, which is just absolutely transforming the wellness and beauty industry with this whole concept of technology and biohacking. So, you may have seen them in “The New York Times” and “Forbes” and NBC News and “Entrepreneur.” A whole bunch of other major publications are picking up what Lauren and Katie are doing.

So, everything that we talk about, I will put in the shownotes if you go to BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast. That's BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast. 

Lauren and Katie, you probably get this sometimes, but when you first started working with me and sending me some of your stuff to try and we started chatting on the phone, I actually thought you were a cannabis brand with the name, HigherDOSE. Do you get that sometimes?

Lauren:  We actually do. And, it definitely bothers us. And, our tagline is “Get high naturally.” So, that doesn't also help us.

Ben:  Yeah, you may have painted yourself into that corner, unfortunately.

Katie:  It's so true. But, you know what? We feel like we're one of the very few health and wellness companies that are a little bit more edgy, the way we communicate health and wellness. “DOSE” stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, which are your four main happy chemicals.

Ben:  Wait, wait, what does it stand for again? Because I don't think you ever told me this before. What does DOSE stand for again?

Katie:  So, DOSE stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, which are your four main happy chemicals. And, we're all about getting high naturally by doing things that release those happy chemicals that ultimately make you feel good.

Ben:  Really?

Lauren:  So, we're definitely more on the edgy side when it comes to wellness brands, let's just say. And, by the way, we came up with that name way before the CBD boom six years ago.

Ben:  Claim it. Yeah, before the whole, I don't know. It was the CBD–I think the three biggest booms have probably been CBD, keto, and I’d probably say plant medicine seems like it's in there now, even though it's probably categorized in the same category with CBD. But, it's funny how we see all these wellness trends, like the marathoning of the '80s and the bodybuilding of the '90s and the biohacking of the 2000s and the CBD keto carnivore plant medicine whatever of the 2020s, — 

Lauren:  Exactly, we've dabbled in all of those.

Ben:  I was going to say, COVID.

Lauren:  Exactly, yeah.

Ben:  So, I actually first discovered you when you sent me one of your sauna blankets to try. A, I thought it was going to be something I wouldn't use because electrical blankets are notorious for kicking off shit-tons of EMF. And so, I just ditched all my electrical-heating blankets when I found that out and just had never gone near anything that was a blanket that heats your body since then. I did a video on my website about how I took one of those BioMat devices and wrapped myself in the silver Mylar blankets that you would use for camping or survival or, sometimes, even after one of those Tough Mudders. They'll wrap people in those things to warm them back up. But, I have a video still on YouTube about how you can do your own DIY sauna by turning on something like a BioMat just wrapping yourself in all these Mylar blankets. And, when you sent me your infrared blanket, it reminded me a little bit of that. But, it actually worked, and it actually got surprisingly hot in there. I was able to get a super deep sweat.

And then, you told me it was low EMF, which actually got me excited. And then, I gave one to my mom who absolutely banished all of her hip pain. She would just climb into it every night. She had really bad hip pain. And, it just disappeared after she'd been using it for a week. I have a client right now who I’m training for a movie role in Thailand who doesn't have access because he's having to travel from set to set as he goes. But, he's really trying to slim up for the role/detox. And so, he's wrapping himself in that blanket every single day and also walking around in Thailand, which is a sauna in and of itself.

And then, what I’ve done, and I especially like this when I get sick. It's the old-school take a shot of whiskey and wrap yourself in a bunch of blankets and sweat it out type of remedy. But, what I’ll do, sometimes, find a detox or I also like it for just a nap in the cold winter months, is I’ll wrap myself in this sauna blanket just and climb inside. So, that was how I first found you guys. But, was that your first product, the infrared sauna blanket?

Lauren:  Yeah, it was our first direct-to-consumer product. We originally started out with 11 infrared sauna spas in New York City.

Ben:  What's an infrared sauna spa?

Lauren:  Pretty much that cool infrared sauna that you have in your basement. We did somewhat of a tanning salon model, but without tanning beds and rather infrared saunas. And, we had partnerships with high-end hotels and gym brands, like Equinox, where we had locations within these facilities. And, our clients would come, do the infrared sauna, do a cold-water shower afterwards. And, that was it. That was the whole experience.

And so, in a way, that infrared sauna was definitely our first product. But, the issue was, really, not everyone can afford a big sauna. That's really hard to take care of. So, we really wanted to create the infrared sauna blanket which gives you the same benefits with the same technology. But, obviously, it's a much portable, much more affordable version.

But, really, it came from the idea where we were asked to do pop-ups with different brands and we really couldn't lug around a 600-pound sauna. So, we were like, “What are we going to do here? We want to bring these amazing benefits and let people experience it, but this sauna is a pain in the ass to bring everywhere.”

Ben:  And, these clinics that you were running in New York, were those actual sauna blankets or were these full-on saunas?

Lauren:  Just saunas.

Ben:  And, people would just come there and sit in the sauna?

Lauren:  Yeah. We definitely made it a really cool experience by thinking about red lighting in the room and cool music when you come in, burning essential oils. And, there's complementary products in there. And, it was in a luxury hotel, so you get your own hotel room. And then, you have access to do a cold-water shower right afterwards. So, it wasn't just an infrared sauna. We really nailed that whole customer experience and really thought about, how do we get our clients high throughout the whole experience, high naturally?

Ben:  Which is actually true. And, I’m sure we'll probably get into that. But, the endorphin release that has been made quite popular by scientists like, say, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, is something that is such a rush and that you feel so much whether using an infrared blanket or infrared sauna, that people actually get addicted to the sauna, especially, people who struggle with depression or feeling good or are struggling with seasonal affective disorder in the winter months.

And, that happens to me. I will, on days I don't do the sauna, especially during the winter in Washington state, I will actually feel in my mood.

Lauren:  Well, yeah. So, endorphins. But, then also, serotonin, which is probably the most powerful happy chemical that you get from light therapy, especially infrared therapy. You release a shit ton of endorphins through your skin and through your eyes. And, that's really the happy chemical that combat seasonal affective disorder. But then, we just thought through the whole experience, too. And, it's like, well, how do we release dopamine? We play really cool music and create a vibe with red lights. And then, we have really big saunas. So, we promoted bring a friend with you. So, this was a healthy thing that you could do with a friend instead of going out and drinking, which is what you do in New York City. So, to provide a healthy experience that you could do with a friend, a significant other, a colleague. We also took phone calls all the time in there. So, we used it as our office. And, that releases oxytocin by spending intimate time in a small box, naked with a friend, sweating, and getting high off all these happy chemicals. So, it was really a transformative experience when you came to a HigherDOSE locations because we were so thoughtful of the experience.

Katie:  Yeah. And, you actually nailed one of our taglines was addicted to dose, Ben. So, people definitely got addicted to it, just like you were saying you did.

Ben:  And, when it comes to the actual blankets themselves, this was a thing–I guess it was a little bit of a barrier for me, not only the EMF piece, but also the piece about me being concerned that it wouldn't get hot enough. And, it does get hot enough. As a matter of fact, we can get into this later on. And, correct me if I’m wrong, you guys have one of the actual mats now similar to that BioMat device that's probably one of the more popular ones in the industry. But, it's that same deep penetrating infrared heat, combined with pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, right, the electromagnetic waves?

Katie:  Correct. And, we also have 25 pounds of crystals in there. Crystal therapy can be extremely powerful, especially when heated.

Ben:  I want to ask you about that shortly, but sorry to interrupt. But, before we get into that, what I was going to ask you was I resisted the blanket for a while for the EMF reasons I talked about. I only use a low-EMF sauna at home. And, even the PEMF mats out there produce a lot of so-called dirty EMF. I would love for you, just right off the bat, because this was my biggest concern. So, it might be other people's biggest concern. What is the actual way in which you are making it so that this thing doesn't kick off as much EMF as, say, a normal heating blanket might?

Katie:  At a high level, we were very aware of the issues with some devices like this creating high EMF. And, going into product development, we wanted to make sure our model was as low EMF as possible. So, we actually tapped one of our advisors, Raleigh Duncan, who's the CEO and founder of Clearlight, who's been in the infrared industry for over 20 years. And, he was very experienced in creating low-EMF devices. So, he actually came up with the design in partnership with us and our manufacturer to make a low-EMF model. I don't know if you want to go into any more detail on that, Lauren. 

Lauren:  I’m sure how important especially Clearlight feels about having low EMF and low ELF in their devices. But, we took it a step further when thinking about these products and just thinking about the materials, too, that they come with and making sure that they pass VOC standards of California, which is a very high standard. Because, again, if you're going to choose a technology where you want to make sure it has clean energy, you also want to make sure that the materials that it's made with are not off-gassing all these chemicals, which is also a very important part of the process. So, in terms of technology and design, this is something we were very serious about. And, we didn't want to just come out with any version just to have a product out there. We wanted to come up with a product that we wanted to use and wanted to share it with our families, too, as well. So, on top of making sure that it was low-EMF and low-ELF, all the materials are non-toxic. 

And then, of course, we've added all these balancing layers to an otherwise hot product, which can be quite intense for people. So, it was just about layering in other technologies that really complemented the infrared. That's what was our thought process in how we got it done.

Ben:  So, this blanket, I think I have two of them now. I might even have three. I don't know. When people come over, I just have them in closets, have them plugged into the wall. And, everybody loves to climb on them, wrap themselves in them, lay themselves on them, read. Last night, my sons and I were watching a new nature documentary that we really like right now. It's this new nature documentary called “The Riot and the Dance.” It's really cool. It's produced by a friend of mine. It was close to my house. And so, my sons and I–My wife was gone last night. So, we decided to have nature documentary night. So, we made ourselves some steak, and we went downstairs. And, we lay all of our infrared blankets and infrared wraps down on the floor. And, our dogs love it. The dogs come down and just curl up on these blankets. And, that's our downstairs living room. We don't watch TV that much. Maybe, twice a month, we might slip downstairs and do something like that. But, we literally have the whole living room floor just plastered in all these HigherDOSE infrared sauna blankets, and then your PEMF mats. And, it's literally just like this. It's just cozying up to a cuddly teddy bear or something like that.

But, the idea behind these blankets, what I’m curious about is, aside from just gathering up as a family with our hairy dogs and sitting on the living room floor, watching TV on these blankets, how do people actually use these? What are the common uses for someone that has never used a sauna blanket before? Do you just climb inside it and sweat, like you would with a sauna? Or, how do people actually wind up getting the most out of these things?

Katie:  I would say 80% of people basically climb in and use this as a sweat, like a deep sweat session that they would expect to be getting out of a sauna session. So, I would say, often, people use it on their off days for recovery. Or, some people like the idea of a workout without working out because you can get a passive calorie burn just from laying in there. And, I think a lot of the people who are most grateful and excited about the product are ones who use it for traveling and need to be on top of their game and have great energy and were always grasping to find an infrared sauna wherever they were going, but if there wasn't one nearby, they were screwed. So, the blanket's a great solution for them. And then, during lockdowns, when people couldn't come out to the spas, this was a godsend in a way for those folks, too.

I think it's more so than using it in creative ways, like you mentioned with your family, you're giving me all kinds of ideas for kids' forts we can build and stuff, I think it's just that traditional sweat session people are looking for, but just in an at-home or a travel format.

Ben:  And so, when you say that you burn extra calories inside it, is that actually true? The reason I ask is I know it increases your heart rate when you're hot just because you're having to push more blood through the body. And, sometimes, I think some people will correlate an increased heart rate with the idea that, therefore, I must be exercising and burning calories. Is there actually–And, I haven't looked into this too intensively of late, but is there an appreciable increase in calorie burn when you're hot inside one of these things?

Katie:  We definitely have clients that use wearables that tell us and confirm, I burnt 350, 400 calories in my hour-session. So, we do have that data from clients.

Ben:  I doubt it, though. I doubt it, because–And, sorry to push back on this. But, I think those wearables are correlating calorie burn based on an increase in heart rate, not an actual increase. They're not measuring via what would be called indirect calorimetry the actual amount of carbon dioxide you're producing that would indicate, say, burning more carbons or burning more carbohydrates or increasing fat oxidation or something like that. And, I think that the long-term effects of regular sweating and sauna exposure and heat does result in better cellular efficiency, which could indirectly increase metabolism. I’m not convinced you're burning a ton of calories in these things, though.

Katie:  Another, I guess, data point is we have a group of affiliates called the Keto Twins. And, they documented their weight loss journey using the sauna blanket over, I think it was 10 to 14 days. You can find their documentation of this on YouTube. But, they had a very significant drop in weight over that period of time. And, to your point, it could have been the fact that your body's just working more efficiently when you're increasing blood flow and circulation. And, some of these other benefits of infrared are contributing to weight loss. I think it's probably a combination of variables that people see themselves getting more fit using the product.

Ben:  Yeah. Now, the blankets, if you wrap yourself inside them and you get into this deep sweat, which I’ve done multiple times, you sweat just as much as you do inside a sauna, what's the deal as far as upkeep and cleaning on them? Because I usually just open mine up and wipe it down with just one of the natural cleaning supplies that I have here at the house. But, I actually haven't asked you guys much about how funky they can get and how you guys actually take care of them as people sweat regularly inside these blankets.

Lauren:  First thing is definitely choosing really amazing material. Like I said, it passes VOC standards, but it's also melt-proof, fireproof, and waterproof, which is actually a really hard combination to get without adding all these chemicals in it. And, people always–That's the first question they have is, “How do you clean it? It sounds so gross.” But, because it is a waterproof material, it doesn't absorb the sweat. Mind you, just like anything, just like a yoga mat and whatnot, as soon as you're done, we do advise that you do clean it. We've always just said mix some essential oils or something that's not harsh on the sauna blanket and just spray it down and wipe it down, and then let it air dry. And, also cool down, too, before you pack it away. But, we are launching essential oil cleaner that has probiotics in it, too, that is very gentle. You can actually clean your whole entire house with it because there was such a demand and curiosity around how do I clean this thing.

And then, we also really listen to our clients because you are supposed to wear clothes while you go into the sauna blanket to absorb a lot of the sweat. We decided to create something called a sauna blanket insert, which is really just two towels sewed together that is the same size as the sauna blanket. And, what we've done is we made it out of organic cotton and bamboo, one, to absorb all that sweat while you're in there and you don't have to wear clothes so you can go in naked; but, two, to also have something that doesn't have chemicals in it, because if you're going to go through that process of detoxing, which mainly, when people go into an infrared sauna or infrared sauna blanket, detox is top of mind. You don't want to be putting any chemicals back into the body. So, really, the sauna blanket insert, mixed with the cleaner that we have, really makes it so easy to clean. And, both the products, the sauna blanket cleaner is called high maintenance because it's the total opposite. It's so low-maintenance on how you care for your sauna blanket.

Ben:  Got it. Now, you mentioned the idea of the electrolyte loss and replenishment of magnesium, particularly, that you think is important to go hand in hand with this type of deep sweat. Now, do you guys actually have ways that you're particularly optimizing magnesium or electrolytes in general?

Lauren:  It's funny that you ask. That was always one thing that people would ask, what are the contraindications with using the sauna blanket? And, of course, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding or have a pacemaker or any extreme condition, you should definitely consult with your doctor before. But, the number one thing is being dehydrated, which is such an epidemic I feel like here in North America. People are not getting enough water. They're not drinking the right kind of water that it's really mineral dense. And then, we drink alcohol and coffee and sweat a lot. And, we don't get that water back into the body and, definitely, don't have the essential minerals in there to keep your body hydrated.

So, we were just really inspired by magnesium in general. Katie and I are both huge fans of magnesium. And, we feel like, as a baseline, everyone needs to be taking a magnesium supplement, mainly because it's responsible for over 300 functions within the body, which is insane. And, it's mainly, one, it's an electrolyte. So, it helps you stay hydrated. But, it also helps you stay calm and relaxed. It helps with detoxification, recovery, mood, all the main reasons why people were coming to us in the first place.

So, we just thought like we were just so impressed with magnesium in general and, again, feel like everyone should be taking it. So, our next line of body care products and ingestibles is inspired by magnesium and has all different types of forms of magnesium. As you know, we need to be taking all different types of forms of magnesium in order to get the inadequate amount, and, plus, different forms are responsible for different functions. So, we just felt like this was such a hero ingredient for us and that we were going to use this ingredient across our ingestible and topical line that we're going to be coming out with, hopefully, in the new year, and the idea around the topicals and adjustables is really just how to complement the devices and enhance the benefits and the reasons why people are using our products in the first place.

Ben:  Got it. And so, would you say that, based off what you've seen, magnesium appears to be the most important thing to focus on replenishing if you're doing a lot of heavy sweating in this type of devices, or you're looking at a range of other electrolytes or minerals?

Lauren:  So, we do have a specific hydration powder that has a range of minerals and electrolytes and different salts that are important for hydration. And, that one specifically is a hydration product. But, we actually are using it, also, for example, in our detox bath, which is magnesium Zechstein, which is a very different type of magnesium, and Epsom salts. And, we also added things like kelp and different types of algaes in there. We added a clay, and then apple cider vinegar. These ingredients are all really good for detoxifying the body. And, it's also just a very different way to get magnesium in the body.

So, it's not just hydration that we're thinking about. We're really thinking about how to use magnesium to really enhance all those functions that I mentioned earlier, which is more mood, detoxification, recovery. And, these, again, are the top reasons why someone's coming to us and using our saunas and our sauna blankets. We have all sorts of topicals and ingestibles that has magnesium.

Ben:  Now, when you talk about these bath products, are you saying this is stuff where you'd go from the sauna straight into the bath, add this stuff to the bath, and take a bath after your sauna? Are you just making sure that you get a bath in these products a few times a week to replenish everything transdermally through the skin? Or, do you have a certain protocol that you use that combines the bath products with the sauna? How does that actually look?

Lauren:  Yeah. We're definitely building out rituals around it. And, we're building out rituals that are focused on detoxification. One that's focused on recovery, one that's focused on more skin, and then another one that's focused on energy. And then, also, these products are standalone, as you say. If you wanted to just buy the detox bath, you're still going to get amazing benefits from it. You don't need to have the sauna blanket. But, as us biohackers love, we love to hack things and stack things. You know how we said we really focus on the customer experience and journey when we had this buzz? Now, we're really thinking about how do we curate the customer experience and journey while at home. And, you do that through products that you do pre, post, and during to really enhance the experience and the reason why they're using the sauna blanket or the mat in the first place.

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So, you've got the sauna blanket, but then we've mentioned a few times this mat. Now, mat, since you're not wrapped inside of it, you're not getting as hot as the blanket. But, it's what I was sitting on last night when I was watching the nature documentary. And, you get–You're pretty warm, but I think, Katie, you mentioned there's 20 or 25 pounds or something like that of crystals inside the mat, which immediately makes everybody's woo-woo radar go off anytime you say crystal. But, tell me about why you would actually–I guess the whole mat probably weighs 30 pounds. I drag it out of the closet and lay it out in the living room floor. It's a hefty thing to haul around. But, these crystals, I think, are what's making it way a little bit more. Can you describe why you put crystals into the mat, and how that works when you combine it with the heat and the PEMF? Explain to me what's going on with this infrared PEMF mat.

Katie:  Yeah, definitely. So, we added the crystals to appeal to the LA crowd, kidding not kidding.

Ben:  That's right. Everybody, everyone wants their crystals.

Katie:  This is something that we haven't really talked about yet, Ben. But, part of our brand ethos and how we've shifted our philosophy from just around dose and get high naturally, to now we're looking at ways that nature inspires health and longevity–And, Lauren and I started doing some research on what actually promotes longevity. And, we found that there are common threads with people living in Blue Zones, where they tend to live longer. And, what we found is they have a lot of exposure to the sun, which is infrared. They have a lot of time in nature, which is similar to our grounding technology, and all sorts of other things that they experience in nature. For instance, mineralized water, which is part of our magnesium line. And, we felt like this Infrared PEMF Mat was really a step in the direction of bringing the healing power of nature indoors through this PEMF technology, which is similar to grounding.

And then, I guess, the crystals are an extension of that, where crystals are known to emit negative ions, especially, when they're combined with heat, and negative ions or, again, something found in nature that help balance the positive charge that we have around us that comes from things like technology and electronics and just is more of a charge that's not as healthy for the body. So, the negative ions help neutralize your charge and make you feel grounded and reduce inflammation. So, I guess that's a long-winded way of saying that these crystals basically promote negative ions, especially, when combined with the heat. The mat really just gives you this magical feeling of feeling rested, feeling relaxed, feeling in your body. We sometimes say that getting on that gives you the sense of meditating without the effort because you're immediately able to drop out of your head into your body and just feel like you're in nature and relaxed.

Ben:  Negative ions, it really is interesting, because you find them all over the place. They float around in the air or the atmosphere. And, they're literally just electrically charged ions. You'll find them in UV rays from the sun or, a lot of times, discharge of electricity in that fresh smell you get after a thunder and lightning storm. You'll find them a lot of times where water is colliding with things, a waterfall or an ocean shore, which is another reason you feel so great when you walk barefoot along the beach. You're breathing in all these negative ions. You'll find them in many plants, like that NASA Clean Air Study. A lot of those plants will clean the air, scrub the air. But, they also produce negative ions. I have a whole house negative ion generator made by a company called AllerAir in the central air ducts in my home. I buy these little negative ion generators. And, I plugged into every room of the house. In my home, I’ve got things like the Air Doctor air filter that produces negative ions. I’m constantly just bombarding my body with negative ions.

And, it's really interesting, the research on the endorphins from a sauna reducing the symptoms of depression. They can help with cognitive performance. I’m not just pulling this out my ass. There's actual research on this, if you'll look it up on negative ions. They have antimicrobial activity. It really is cool to, like you would do with, say, natural light or infrared light or frequency of exposure to heat or to cold or movement of the body to circulate lymph fluid and blood and strengthen mitochondria and muscles. These negative ions, or anions, as they're also called, they actually are pretty interesting.

Now, a lot of people know about how good you feel when you're just constantly bombarding yourself with negative ions. And, as you noted, I think, Katie, there's a little bit of an effect, too, in terms of mitigating some of the constant exposure to EMF, like Wi-Fi and smart home appliances and things like that, that dictate it's a good idea to introduce these things into your atmosphere.

Lauren:  I actually have a question. Most of these devices that you use to emit negative ions, are they using gemstones, crystals, minerals? Or, how's the technology there?

Ben:  The technology varies. Some of them are crystal-based, like the PEMF mat that you talked about. And, some of them are just earth-based, being outside, getting exposed to waterfalls, beaches, etc. The actual negative ion generators, I believe they're just generating them via a conductor that's inside the device, the central home generator, not via a crystal, per se, because there's a variety of different ways to actually–All you're doing is you're ionizing. You're electrically charging air molecules. And so, I’m not quite sure if a lot of the commercial negative ion generators are using crystals, per se, as much as they're probably using some form of a metal plate that ionizes the atmosphere and then passes those negatively charged ions into the air, if that makes sense.

Lauren:  Totally, that does make sense. And, I’m sure even some of them use crystals and the generator too on top of that. But, yeah, it's just pretty profound. We have a setting that you can leave the mat for 12 hours, which I always do at my house. And, like you said, everyone is just constantly wanting to hop on. My kids, my husband falls asleep on it every night. Forget it. If you have an animal, you cannot get your animal off of our Infrared PEMF Mat. It's so funny. And, it's really just laying on a hot stone out in nature and that feeling that you get from that. So, that's really what we were trying to replicate.

And, the thing is that we're so inspired by bringing nature indoors because Katie and I lived in New York City for 10 years. Both of us are actually in Miami currently for obvious reasons, because of the sun, the ocean, fresh air, walking barefoot. It's just like you can't deny the amazing health benefits of it. But, we really are inspired to bring these technologies to people that don't have access to the outdoors and nature, which we did for so long. And, we really saw such huge benefits from us living in concrete jungles.

Ben:  So, this red light-producing mat, you actually can't see the light that comes off of that one, nor can you see the light that comes off of the sauna blanket. Can you explain to people why that is?

Lauren:  Yeah. So, we actually use infrared, not red light. So, red light is visible to the eye; whereas, infrared is invisible to the eye. It's funny because when you're in our saunas, you don't see the light. But, if you start to film it with your phone, you can see the wavelengths. So, infrared is very similar to the to the sun. You don't actually see the light shining off of the sun.

So, it is an invisible light spectrum. And, some people are confused with red light, which we're very fascinated about. And, we actually are launching a red light infrared face mask, where you do see the red light. But, like I said, the Infrared PEMF Mat and our sauna blanket just uses infrared light, which is invisible to the eye.

Ben:  Exactly. Now, you mentioned the red light face mask. I remember you told me about that in one of the phone calls that we were having where you're filling me in on all these different products that you're rolling out. And, this is interesting, because a lot of times, I’ll do the Alitura clay mask, because it's a detox and rejuvenation protocol for the face. I typically do it on a weekly basis. But, I always try to go out in the sunlight afterwards while I have the clay on, or I’ll go down to my office and flip on my infrared light panels and make sure I’m shining those on my face for 20 minutes until I go in and wash the clay off of my face. And, you told me about this red light face mask. And, it reminded me of those type of red light-producing hats that you see in the back pages of an airplane magazine for growing hair. But, is it literally some kind of a device that you pull around your face? Or, how does it actually work?

Katie:  We're really excited about our red light infrared face mask. Like you said, traditionally, people have come to us for beauty enhancements. And, just as female biohackers, women are always thinking about how to hack your anti-aging treatments. And, we discovered red light therapy a couple of years ago. And, we're just fascinated by the amazing benefits of red-light therapy, blown away. It's so comparable to infrared when you actually look into the research and data on what it can do.

And, one of the main things that it can do is it pretty much feeds the cells within your skin and builds collagen, downs inflammation and redness in your skin, increases blood flow and circulation, evens texture and skin tone. And, it does this all-in-one session. And, paired with infrared, it's an amazing technology to pair with infrared, because red light is more of a topical light but infrared light, especially, near-infrared light, penetrates the tissues at least 1.5 centimeters which is much deeper than the red-light therapy. And, the infrared actually does a lot of the same things that red light does, but on a much deeper level.

So, when you pair these two technologies together, it's the most amazing anti-aging beauty hack that there possibly is. And, you're already starting to see this when you go to high-end facialists and estheticians or just skin experts. They're charging an arm and a leg to lay in an infrared or a red-light bed or to put a red light face mask on. And, that's because you literally see such amazing benefits within just one session of it.

So, on top of all of these great anti-aging and skin benefits, there's also mood-enhancing benefits that you get from red light and infrared. It's a really great tool to balance female hormones and boost testosterone in men. It's crazy because the more and more you look into these technologies, the more you realize it's just crazy. It produces stem cells. It creates ATP because pretty much the light feeds the cells within your skin. And, it just really helps the skin operate at a much higher level. And, it allows the skin to do what it needs to do in order to heal and regenerate and help you stay useful and younger longer.

And, the reason why we put this into a red light face mask is it's really great add-on to do while you're laying in our sauna blanket or laying on our mat because both of those two technologies you don't really get any of the benefits directly on the face. So, that's why we developed our infrared red light face mask as a great add-on to the sauna blanket and that.

Ben:  So, this face mask, if people want to see what it looked like, dude, I haven't used it before nor have I seen it. And, I’m keeping all the shownotes at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast, where I’ll be sure and include some discounts for people to be able to get some of this stuff. But, does it actually pull over your whole face? Does it cover your eyes and everything? Or, what does it actually look like?

Katie:  Lauren's probably not going to like that I say this, but it looks like a Jason mask, except it's light blue and [00:45:31]_____.

Ben:  What's a Jason mask?

Katie:  Like the horror movie, Jason, the guy who wore a mask.

Ben:  It's such a dumb question. I don't even know what the horror mask is.

Katie:  Oh, my gosh. So, pretty much, it is a mask that covers your whole face, minus your eyes.

Ben:  I’m going to grab my phone while you're talking, Google Jason mask. Keep going.

Katie:  It doesn't cover your eyes, and it has this nose piece so that you can breathe through it, too, as well. And then, it has a hole for your mouth, so that you can breathe really easy.

Ben:  Oh, I see. I’m looking at it now. I used to wear a mask like this when I play hockey sometimes. Interesting.

Katie:  In a weird way, it does look like that. But, where the innovation, again, lies for us is we did not create red light therapy, we did not create infrared therapy. But, what we did do is create a way that you can easily use this technology three to four times a day without it being a pain in the ass, pretty much. So, with the eye holes, you can see through. So, you can continue to do whatever you're doing, whether that's working, watching TV, or just being present with friends or family.

Then, it's also cordless. And, it has a chargeable battery, so that you don't have to be plugged into the wall, and you can't move. So, you can walk around your house and continue to do whatever you want to do. And then, it also has three straps which secures it very nicely to your face, so that you can do a workout, do Kundalini. Again, it's all about [00:47:01]_____.

Ben:  I’m not going to be working out with this thing on. Well, I don't know. I say that, but I’ve worked out with the training mask on.

You know what? It's cool. You got to send me one. I want to try that. I want to try this with my clay mask and get the inside of it all clayey. But, I would totally use this. Once it's ready, you guys got to send me. I’m sure I’ll do some crazy creepy Halloween-esque Instagram video wearing this thing. But, actually, it looks pretty cool. Alright, I'm in. I’ll try anything.

Katie:  That's for sure. And, we'll definitely send you one. So, I’m not sure when this podcast is launching, but we are launching our red light face mask on Monday. So, I’m sure that by the time the podcast goes out, that you'll be able to go to our website and check out how cool this mask is.

Ben:  Cool.

Katie:  [00:47:45]_____ scary. But, just to say, my kids find it the funniest thing. I have two-year-old twins. And, they just think it's hilarious when I walk around the house, like cleaning my house with it on. It's such a funny little tool.

Ben:  I got more questions for you because you guys have all these cool products that, honestly, most of the male biohackers don't think of, but the female ones apparently do.

So, when I go in my sauna, people laugh at me because I’m so woo. And, I do dry skin brushing. And, a lot of times, companies will send me stuff that they say enhance the effects of red-light therapy on the skin or draw more sweat to the surface or allow for more transdermal absorption of electrolytes when I’m in the sauna, etc., etc.

So, a two-part question for you. A, dry skin brushing. I know you guys–I think it was the last time we talked on the phone. You told me about this whole idea of an upgraded dry skin brush. So, I want to ask you about dry skin brushing. And then, I also want to ask you about things that you could rub onto your body when you're in the sauna to enhance the effects. So, which one do you want to tackle first?

Lauren:  I would say dry brushing because it's such a powerful practice to do that I really do believe everyone should be doing and can benefit from.

Ben:  Alright. So, the dry skin brushing. Obviously, that's something that's very useful for lymph circulation, for moving blood up to the heart. And, it's one of those things that you feel really good after you do. I always start at the base of my feet and brush up towards my heart. And then, I’ll go from my head and my neck and my hands and my wrists, again, up towards the proximal part of the appendages up towards the heart. But, for you guys, when you're looking at it at a dry screen brush, tell me about this whole idea of upgrading the dry skin brushing experience, what you've done.

Lauren:  So, having infrared sauna spas, we really know the importance of detoxification and draining the lymphatic system. Actually, if you go to one of our HigherDOSE locations in Brooklyn, we actually pair the infrared sauna with magnesium oil. It's like a magnesium wrap. And then, you go straight into a lymphatic drainage massage, which is the most epic combination, in our opinion.

So, again, we really wanted to launch a product that we truly believe is just as powerful as our lymphatic drainage massage. Because pairing these two technologies together, you just see such great results, especially, like you said, when it comes to draining lymphatic system, detoxification, increasing blood flow and circulation, exfoliating skin. And, it just has this charging feeling, where you feel energized afterwards. And, it's an ayurvedic technique, actually, that's existed for thousands of years. And, it's extremely powerful.

But, like you, we always want to find ways to just make it more enjoyable and add things on a traditional dry brush that just makes it the best bank for your buck, in a way. And, we were really looking into copper and copper bristles. So, when you add extra fine ion-charged copper bristles, it encourages more negative ions, which we've just talked about the importance of it. And, it allows it to be absorbed into the skin at a faster rate, which speeds up the detoxification process, which is so important because that's the reason why you're doing it in the first place. It's extremely energizing. And, well, I don't know if everyone knows, but Ben, we really look up to you. And, we've always had talks with Ben and ran by our product lineup and what we should be thinking about adding into our products. And, copper really came up as such an important element. And, really, we're inspired by just copper in general and the benefits of using it topically, versus ingesting it, which, again, is why we put it into our copper dry brush. And, it just makes it–People think it sounds, maybe, rough. It's actually extremely soft and really easy to use. And, it makes the dry brush just look really beautiful, too. And, it lasts forever. 

Ben:  I want to try it. So, you're basically getting ions that are being released, along with the exfoliation because the copper bristles are actually ion-charged. So, it's almost like a techie biohacking version of dry skin brushing that you do inside the sauna?

Lauren:  Correct.

Ben:  Cool.  And then, the oils or the topicals, what are you putting on your body before you get into your sauna wrap or your PEMF mat or your sauna? What are the best oils that you guys have actually found or that you're developing as things you would put onto the body before you get in?

Lauren:  So, again, we're really inspired by one of your podcasts that you did with Dr. Pollack. And, you guys were talking about a magnesium oil that you put on the skin because magnesium and salt holds current, which is very interesting. So, we definitely added magnesium into our body oils. And, again, we use it before you go into the sauna, because it also, on top of holding current and energy, also speeds up the detoxification process, loosens up the muscles, and really starts to help you sweat a ton. I don't know if you've ever used a magnesium oil, Ben, before you go into the sauna. But, it's pretty epic. You've sweat like you've never sweat before.

And, traditionally, with dry brushing, in ayurvedic, you always use an oil after you dry-brush. And, this really nourishes the skin and calms the skin down afterwards. And, it's a perfect solution. It calms down your nervous system, actually. So, we put in ayurvedic essential oils, too, as well, and we used more traditional oils in the body oil, like jojoba and sesame, which is more traditionally used in Ayurveda. And then, putting the magnesium in there to hold the current of the mat or sauna blanket that you're using in the first place.

And then, again, we're really fascinated by just earth elements. So, we added a clay in there. We added algae oils. Again, have natural sources of magnesium in it. So, this is an amazing oil that you can use before you go into your sauna blanket, if you want to do dry-brushing body oil sauna blanket, or if you just want to use it every day, like traditionally how people use ayurvedic dry-brushing techniques. It's where you dry-brush. You put the oil on. And then, you go into the shower.

And, it's actually a really great hack if you do cold water showers. It actually just helps you adjust to the cold much easier. It's really awesome.

Ben:  I do. A lot of times, I’ve done things like drink black pepper tea. I’ve done the Rapé intranasal, the Amazonian plant medicine spray. Those are actually two of the top things I’ll do before I get in the sauna. And then, my topicals vary just because I have so many crazy stuff to sprinkle and rub on my skin that people send to me. But, I would totally try this stuff out. Does it smell pretty good as well?

Katie:  Yeah. So, the idea is to take a product that you traditionally see on a health food store shelf but infuse it with a luxury spa experience.

Ben:  I like it. I like it.

So, a bigger-picture question for you guys. And, I’ll link to all this stuff if you go to the shownotes at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast. I realized we've talked about a lot of products, like the sauna blanket, the PEMF mat, the infrared light for your face, these topicals you can put on your body when you're in the sauna or after, the dry skin brush, the magnesium bath products. I feel like I could just go shopping your guys' website after this and upgrade my entire personal home morning care therapy protocol. And, I think I'd turn into more of a princess every day. I’m almost bypassing my wife. The only thing I don't do now is I don't wax my vagina, but if I had one I probably would be doing that. 

And, this is a big picture question. I’m just curious to hear your take on it. When we first started talking, I mentioned how prolific male biohackers are and how common it is to see biohacking being a thing that a lot of dudes are doing, but there's not a lot of big female voices in the industry. What do you think when it comes to women and biohacking would be any noticeable or appreciable differences or just thoughts you have in general on the field of biohacking for women's wellness, in particular?

Katie:  So, I think it's interesting because if you look at the medical research, most studies are done on men, I think 75%. And, even when animals are in studies, it's six times more likely that they'll use a male animal versus females.

Ben:  Sexism in science, it's very common.

Katie:  Right. And, you definitely see that in terms of there's not as many women who are basically taking part in some of these biohacking activities and reporting their experience, and that's something that Lauren and I definitely wanted to lean into in terms of making ourselves human guinea pigs, to test out, for instance, keto and nootropics and see how our body responds and just, in general, how a female body would respond versus a man.

So, we're excited to lean into that role. And, I think, in terms of a high-level difference that I feel very strongly about, it's just that it seems like some of these practices that are very big trends in biohacking, like keto diet, intermittent fasting, intense nootropics, like nicotine or Modafinil, I’ve actually found that they put me in a state of fight-or-flight where I feel like my cortisol is higher versus, as a woman, I find that I function more optimally with more low-cortisol relaxing activities, for instance, the infrared sauna.

And, I think it makes sense if you look at it from an ancestral point of view. Typically, men were the ones who were the hunters, who were going to go out and fight wars. And, women usually stayed back with the tribe and nurtured children. So, if you look at our roles from an ancestral perspective, it makes sense that women would be more suited towards things that lower cortisol, and men could handle activities that raise cortisol. So, I think that's one key difference that I found interesting. And, I know Lauren's had a lot of experience with raising children, giving birth, and how her hormones differed from that of a man. I don't know if you want to talk about that, Lauren.

Lauren:  Yeah. So, I feel like women are the original biohackers because we've had to be. We go through many more hormonal cycles than men do. And, first of all, we have two hormonal cycles. One's a 24-hour cycle, which is what men have. And then, we have our 28-day cycle, which, for all those guys out there, you all know that your female partner can be totally different in certain phases of their 28-day cycle.

And, just we have to honor that, and that there's different things out there, like technologies and supplements and ways of living, that support our hormonal cycle that we need to honor. I’ve spoken to a lot of women that are in the biohacking space. And, we all agree that some of these different philosophies that we've tried out that are backed in science and research, and as Katie said, shining light on the fact that most of the research is done on men. Actually, there's a fact that women weren't even required to be in any studies since 1993. I think that's when they changed it. 1993 is when actually required females to be in studies, which is mind-boggling.

So, we've had to really tap into our intuition, which we've always done since day one, and figure out what really does work for us. And, just because science or researcher friends says that it's supposed to be amazing for you, it's not always. And, I experienced that, when I got really heavily into ketogenic diet and bulletproof coffee, the next thing you know, I was not even getting my period anymore and my skin was breaking out and, on top of that, my energy was just so aggressive that I could have bitten off anyone's head at any point.

That's not a female goal. We don't actually necessarily always want to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, or do the best at things. Actually, most of the time, we want to balance our energy and just feel balanced and good and calm. And, maybe, that's because we have different roles in life. On top of being entrepreneurs or biohackers, we're also mothers, wives, more of that calm or nurturing energy is much more effective in that way. And, just myself personally and a lot of women out there that have children, oh, my gosh, just the hormonal craziness that you go through, first of all, in stages of life, and then before you get pregnant, and then while you're pregnant, and then after you're pregnant. It's like a whole different body that you're dealing with.

And, different things work at different times. So, again, it's been really something that I’ve had to lean more into my intuition and have a better relationship with just myself and checking in to say, “Hey, how do I feel? Is this working for me? Is this achieving the goals that I have, that I want?” And, most of the time, a lot of these technologies that are out there that are supposed to be optimizing and really improve your health, actually did quite the opposite for me at different phases of my life.

It's just something to note for all women out there. And, Katie and I are very passionate about it. Actually, we're doing a show called “Biohack Her.” And, it's going to be on YouTube.

Ben:  “Biohack Her,” there you go. You just came up with a new name for female biohacker, Biohack Her.

Lauren:  Yeah, because, really, biohacking has a negative stigma amongst women. When we talk to our women community and talk about biohacking, they're like, “Wuh? Ugh.” And, like you said, “hack,” that's not even a word we think about.

Ben:  It's very hard word.

Lauren:  It's a hard word, and there's a lot of intense technologies out there. And, we really want to show everyone that there's such amazing things within this industry that can really help you and take you to the next level. And, we just want to shine more light on it because we love playing in the biohacking world and testing things out and using ourselves as guinea pigs, and then reporting back to women, letting them know that there is some really great stuff here.

Ben:  It's interesting because, a while ago, I had published an article on my website about nootropics and smart drugs. And, as part of that article–And, I’ll link to it in the shownotes. It was about this biohacking company called Nootopia. But, I published a nervous system optimization cheat sheet on there. And, it listed all the things that would be considered more parasympathetically activating and more of the things that would be more sympathetically activating.

So, for example, the parasympathetically activating supplements would be reishi and L-theanine and CBD and lavender oil, ashwagandha, magnesium. Exercises would be tai chi and yoga. Biohacks, rather than a lot of cryo and cold therapy, would be more like meditation, float tanks, heat, sleep. Music would be more classical soundtracks and flow music versus metal and rock and rap and things of that nature. And, even the emotions, more of emotions of joy and peace and serenity and happiness and gratitude, versus drive and willingness and boldness and courageousness and pain. Even brainwave, things that enhance brain waves. You'd want to focus from a parasympathetic standpoint more in alpha, theta, delta, less on beta, less on gamma. And, it's almost like a yin-yang list.

And, again, painting with a broad brush. And, I often get accused of being sexist when, in fact, I actually simply acknowledge the amazing magical differences between the sexes. And, I think that's wonderful. And, I think it's a travesty how much our culture has, in a very embarrassing fashion, straight away, from acknowledging the unique differences between men and women and taking pride in the yin versus the yang and the providing and provision and procreation-driven aspects of men versus the caring and the fostering and the matriarchal aspects of women. And, I acknowledge and value all of that.

But, it sounds to me, like what you've struck upon, is the idea that, to really have a full experience to, say, a female biohacker, as a female trying to optimize the body and the brain, it seems that a lot more of those parasympathetically activating activities seem to agree more with the female persona in physiology. Am I on the right track there?

Katie:  Exactly.

Lauren:  Yeah, exactly.

Katie:  Exactly.

Lauren:  We need that cheat sheet.

Katie:  Yeah, we need that cheat sheet.

Ben:  I’ll link to it in the shownotes. The article where I have it is over there. We could add–I guess what do we not have on there? We don't have the infrared face masks or magnesium baths. But, it's almost like we could add to that cheat sheet some of the things we've talked about today.

Lauren:  Yeah, if you could post that in the shownotes, that would be amazing. I know Katie and I would love to see that, for sure. But, just on that note, men thrive much better with higher cortisol levels than women do. And, that's ultimately what it sums up to, which is huge, because a lot of these things–And, cortisol is healthy in small doses, too, as well. But, from a female's perspective, we're more about balancing than we are, if anything, boosting in a lot of cases.

So, we're really excited about this YouTube series, too. So, for all you women listening, if you want to deep dive more into female biohacking and learn more about what female biohackers are looking to do and what their goals are, I think you'll really love this show. We deep-dive into all sorts of subjects, like anti-aging, mental health, sex and intimacy. Even sex and intimacy is going to be totally different needs than a man might have. Maybe, I shouldn't say totally different. I’m sure there's a lot of technologies that would work for men that they do for women. And, I know you've covered this a lot, Ben, with frequency and sound waves and stem cell injections and whatnot. But, just the way that the female brain interprets sex and intimacy is very different than men. We want to feel more safe in a lot of ways. And, it's just a totally different way of thinking of it. So, if you guys check out the show, we're really excited about it.

Ben:  Well, if you guys send me a link to the show, I’ll totally put it in the shownotes. And then, also, what I’ll do is, everything we talked about, like your products, I think you guys have somewhere I have tucked away discount codes on all of your HigherDOSE stuff. And, I’ll hunt those back down and put them in the shownotes for people, because I think you've got some pretty good discounts you can pass on to folks. And, I’ll just find all that, along with all the other things we talked about. And, I’ll put it at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast, where the shownotes will reside.

And, I love what you're doing, and I love the products. And, I now have a wish list of stuff I got to add to my repertoire, like that copper brush and the topical oils and the face mask. So, if people see me on Instagram with all this crazy stuff, you can blame Lauren and Katie for turning me into yet even more of a personal care and beauty princess. So, anyways, any last things you want to throw in there, Lauren and Katie, that you have on your minds before we part ways for the day?

Lauren:  I don't know. I feel like we've covered a ton. Katie, do you have anything you want to add?

Katie:  No. Just thank you for inspiring us. We really look up to you as a leader in the space. And, it's meant the world to us to have your advice and be on this podcast today. So, thanks.

Ben:  Awesome.

Katie:  Thanks for shining more light on female biohacking as we really do encourage women out there to get involved and focus more on increasing vitality and your energy levels, because honestly, I feel like there's nothing more important than being healthy nowadays.

Ben:  Awesome. Well, I appreciate everything you guys are doing at HigherDOSE. I’m a little jealous you're in Miami right now. But, you know what? You aren't going to get a chance to bow-hunt elk, like I am out here in Washington state in the next few days. So, I’ve at least got that going for me. Although, you admittedly probably have way more negative ions than I do. So, I’ll just have to come down and visit sometime. We can all lay in a sauna blanket in Miami, which seems redundant. But, we'll do something.

Anyways, though. So, again, for all you listening in, shownotes are at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/HigherDOSEPodcast. Lauren and Katie, thank you so much for coming on the show today. It's just been awesome to get to know you. And, I love what you're doing. And, I love that I can support it.

Katie:  Thank you, Ben.

Lauren:  Thanks, Ben.

Ben:  Alright, folks. Well, I'm Ben Greenfield, along with Lauren Berlingeri. Did I even pronounce your last name right, Lauren?

Lauren:  No.

Ben:  Is it Berlingeri?

Lauren:  It's like Ben and Jerry's, the ice cream, but not it's. It's Berlin, the city in Germany, and then Jerry.

Ben:  Berlin Jerry? You should change it to —

Lauren:  So, with an Italian accent, if you can do that.

Ben:  Berlingeri. Berlingeri with an Italian accent?

Lauren:  Berlingeri.

Ben:  Easy, Berlingeri. And, Katie Kaps. Kaps is easy, Katie Kaps. With the “k,” Kaps with the “k.” Alright, folks. Thanks for listening in. Have an amazing week.

Well, thanks for listening to today's show. You can grab all the shownotes, the resources, pretty much, everything that I mentioned over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com, along with plenty of other goodies from me, including the highly helpful, “Ben Recommends” page, which is a list of pretty much everything that I’ve ever recommended for hormones, sleep, digestion, fat loss, performance, and plenty more.

Please, also, know that all the links, all the promo codes that I mentioned during this and every episode helped to make this podcast happen and to generate income that enables me to keep bringing you this content every single week. So, when you listen in, be sure to use the links in the shownotes, to use the promo codes that I generate, because that helps to float this thing and keep it coming to you each and every week.

My guests on today's podcast—Lauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps—are two female entrepreneurs who came together to change the spa industry with revolutionary infrared light technology. Their company HigherDOSE is a new kind of spa that uses the power of light therapy to improve your health and mood. HigherDOSE goes a step beyond traditional self-care with offerings designed to transform your body, mind, and inner alchemy. By merging the beauty and wellness industry with powerful biohacking technologies, they have broken through to supercharge at-home wellness. Their products (which include an Infrared Sauna Blanket and PEMF Mat) are designed to naturally stoke a healthy DOSE of your brain’s feel-good chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins).

Lauren Berlingeri began as a renowned nutritionist, health coach, and host of the popular viral series Woman vs. Workout when she discovered the power of infrared saunas to help boost mood and recover from her intense exercise challenges.

Katie Kaps met Lauren while at a detox center in NYC. Katie is a former investment banker at Merrill Lynch and International Employee of the Year at Tough Mudder. She had just started pursuing her passion for consulting for health and wellness companies when she met Lauren. When she heard about Lauren's plan to bring a natural high to people through infrared sauna technology, she was hooked.

Founded in 2015, Brooklyn-based HigherDOSE is a rapidly growing, premium wellness/beauty brand offering differentiated spa experiences in and out of the home. Combining the benefits of infrared and healing light therapy, their signature Sauna Blankets and Infrared PEMF Mats leave customers feeling euphoric and rejuvenated—truly glowing from the inside out. HigherDOSE has both people and the press addicted to their benefits, with more than 1,000 mentions across media, including features in The New York Times, Forbes, NBC News, Entrepreneur, and other major publications.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-History of the HigherDOSE name…07:30

• HigherDOSE (use code BEN to save $75)
• DOSE = Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins (happy chemicals)
• Getting high “naturally”

-About the infrared sauna blanket…09:15

• Began as infrared sauna “spas” in NYC
• The blanket gives the same benefits and tech but at a lower price
• Dr. Rhonda Patrick
  • Everything You Need To Know About How To Use Heat Exposure To Enhance Performance, Burn Fat, Gain Muscle And Think Better, with Dr. Rhonda Patrick
• People can become more or less addicted to sauna
• Serotonin is the most potent happy chemical one can get from infrared light therapy (good for seasonal affective disorder)
• BioMat infrared sleep mat
• Ben's Youtube video on turning a BioMat into a sauna
• HigherDOSE Infrared Mat
• PEMF therapy in the blanket
• 25 lbs of crystals in the blanket

-How the sauna blanket avoids kicking out dirty EMF…16:25

• Clearlight Saunas
• It's a product that the founders created first and foremost for their own use
• The Riot and the Dance documentary

-The most common uses of the sauna blanket…19:50

 

 

• 80% use it for a deep sweat session
• Use for recovery, burning calories
• It's very portable for when you can't access a sauna
• Wearables that show an increase in calorie burn while the body is hot may not be accurate
• Keto Twins documented weight loss using sauna blanket (YouTube)

-The best way to maintain and clean the blankets…23:30

• Waterproof material, so it doesn't absorb the sweat
• Clean with water and essential oils after using
• To be launched soon: a sauna blanket cleaner
• Sauna blanket insert

-The importance of magnesium in remaining hydrated with regular sauna use…25:55

• Magnesium supplements; responsible for 300+ functions in the body
• Magnesium is a big part of the topical and ingestible line coming out soon
• Epsom salts
• Apple cider vinegar

-How crystals impact the efficacy of the Higher Dose PEMF mat…33:10

• People in Blue Zones have lots of exposure to the sun, time in nature
• Healing power of nature brought indoors
• Crystals are known to emit negative ions when combined with heat
• A sense of meditation without the effort
• NASA Clean Air Study
• AllerAir air filter
• Air Doctor air filter
• Replicating lying on a hot stone in nature

-Benefits of the light that is radiated by the blanket and mat…40:25

• Infrared light is invisible to the eye
• Can see the wavelengths recording it from the phone
• Launching a red light infrared face mask soon
• Alitura clay mask (use code GREENFIELD to save 20%)
• Benefits of red light:
  • Feeds cells within the skin
  • Builds collagen
  • Increases blood flow and circulation
  • Great to be paired with infrared
  • Mood enhancement
  • Boost testosterone and regulate hormones

-The benefits of dry skin brushing while in the sauna…48:10

• HigherDOSE copper dry brush

-What to put on the body prior to a PEMF mat or sauna blanket…52:20

• BGF podcast with Dr. Pollack
  • Is All Water The Same?
• Magnesium oil
• Oil after dry brushing calms down the nervous system
• The oil helps to adjust to cold water easier
• Zen nasal spray (use code BEN to save 5%)
• Black pepper tea

-Differences in the biohacking field for women and men…55:10

• Most studies are done on men
• Lauren says that many of the popular biohacks put her in flight or flight mode
• Women are more suited to a home life from an ancestral perspective
• Women were not required to be included in scientific studies until 1993
• The hormonal changes are far more dramatic in women than men
• Biohack Her show soon to be on YouTube
• The Ultimate Guide To Nootropics: How To Safely Use Better Living Through Science To Get The Most Firepower Out Of Your Brain – Part 1
• Nootopia

-And much more…

Resources from this episode:

– Lauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps:

• HigherDOSE (Use code BEN to save $75)
  • Infrared PEMF Mat
  • Infrared Sauna Blanket
  • Sauna Blanket Insert
  • Infrared Go Mat
  • Full Spectrum Sauna
• Coming Soon HigherDOSE Products:
  • Red Light Face Mask
  • Copper Body Brush
  • Body Oils
    • Endorphins
    • E-Sensual Body Oils
  • The Body Line
  • Tech Accessories
    • Mat Covers
    • Blanket Bags
    • Sauna Blanket Cleaner
• Woman vs. Workout YouTube Channel

– Podcasts And Articles:

• Everything You Need To Know About How To Use Heat Exposure To Enhance Performance, Burn Fat, Gain Muscle And Think Better, with Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
• Is All Water The Same?, with Dr. Pollack
• The Ultimate Guide To Nootropics: How To Safely Use Better Living Through Science To Get The Most Firepower Out Of Your Brain – Part 1
• 12 Basic, Natural & Easy Habits To Enhance Longevity.

– Gear:

• BioMat Infrared Sleep Mat
• Clearlight Saunas
• AllerAir Air Filter
• Air Doctor Air Filter

– Other Resources:

• Dr. Rhonda Patrick
• Ben's Youtube Video On Using A Biomat As A Sauna
• Nootopia
• Magnesium Supplement
• Magnesium Bath Flakes
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Alitura Clay Mask (use code GREENFIELD to save 20%)
• Zen Nasal Spray (use code BEN to save 5%)
• Black Pepper Tea
• The Riot and the Dance Documentary
• NASA Clean Air Study

Upcoming Events:

• Join me and my wife Jessa at Runga for The Gathering. Click here to grab one of the very limited spots we have open to the public for The Gathering at Runga (October 7-9, 2021).
• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar

Episode sponsors:

–Kion Coffee: Elevate your daily grind with pure, delicious Kion Coffee. Available in Whole Bean or Ground, our coffee meets the highest standards for health and taste.

–Organifi Gold: A new take on an ancient secret: Pain-soothing herbs, incredible antioxidants, and phytonutrients all in one delicious, soothing “Golden Milk” nighttime tea! Receive a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code BENG20.

–Butcher Box: Delivers healthy 100% grass-fed and finished beef, free-range organic chicken, and heritage breed pork directly to your door on a monthly basis. All their products are humanely raised and NEVER given antibiotics or hormones. 

–FUM: Fum is a no smoke, no vape, and no nicotine inhaler made in Canada. All-natural, sustainable, and it works! Use code BEN for a 10% discount.