Starring Kayla O’Nan. Photo by @jasonmyersphoto

THE SWEAT HOUSE: WHERE SWEATING IS MEDICINE AND YOU CAN WORK OUT LIKE AN ASTRONAUT

NASHVILLE SINCE 2013

The concept for Kayla O’Nan’s The Sweat House almost feels too good to be true. Her four existing and three soon-to-open locations offer an alternative medicine, holistic health approach to detox through an infrared sauna studio. Sweating has a ton of health benefits, and Kayla’s company unlocks them – and a whole lot more.

“NASA is actually where this came about,” she says of the infrared technology. “When astronauts go into space they are in such great shape, but when they’re actually up there they can’t get their heart rate up so they were basically coming back like they’d been sitting on a couch for months.”

A scientist came up with the idea to employ infrared heat, which raises your heart rate from the inside out. “It’s like you were working out but you’re literally laying there,” she says. “Fat Amy talks about horizontal running; it does exist.” In 30 minutes in the sauna pod, you burn anywhere from 300 to 600 calories. “Your heart works like you ran three to six miles,” she says.

For Kayla, who came to Nashville from Colorado to work for her parents’ solar energy company, the impact of sweat sessions was immense. Kayla used to suffer from frequent and intense migraines; with regular sweat sessions, they dissipated greatly. She decided to dedicate her work to the technology, which can aid things like weight loss, relaxation, pain management, and skin purification.

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“I’m not going to tell you it’s going to do something it’s not...I want it to be able to help and reach more people that struggle. In this world, prescriptions are the first answer for everything. I was raised in Boulder, Colorado, which was hippieville, and I think that resonates and was true to me a little bit as far as alternative medicine.”

She was nervous that no one would show up when they launched the first The Sweat House location in Green Hills in 2014. Leading up to launch, however, she had been hosting sweat sessions at her house with friends. Those friends told friends, and on their first official day open they had 40 out of 45 slots booked. They’ve now expanded to franchise in four locations, and are opening a second Nashville location and locations in Austin and Chicago this year.

Though it’s taken off tremendously, it’s the personal impact that has the biggest effect on Kayla. “I hear customers’ stories about how infrared has actually impacted their day to day lives,” she says. “For lot of people that struggle from auto immune diseases, there aren’t many solutions besides medicine. We have a client that comes in literally every day that we’re open and sweats for 40 minutes and it changes her complete day,” she continues. “Knowing that it’s actually benefitting people is probably what I like the most.”

Learn more and book your appointment on their website.

Follow them @thesweathouse