Video summary
Bryan Johnson details his extensive experiments with sauna protocols, concluding that traditional dry saunas offer the most evidence-based benefits for detoxification compared to infrared or wet alternatives. He specifies a regimen of twenty minutes daily at 200 degrees Fahrenheit in a standard dry sauna, noting that while infrared saunas fail to raise core body temperature sufficiently and wet saunas risk burning users, the right environment is crucial for efficacy. Johnson highlights his experience during the Los Angeles wildfires as a pivotal moment where he measured toxin levels before and after exposure; upon returning from LA with toxins at the 99th percentile due to inhaling chemicals like PVC solvents and Teflon compounds from burned structures, he found that consistent sauna use effectively annihilated these accumulated toxins. The protocol also yielded significant results regarding microplastic reduction in both blood and semen samples for the first time globally. Johnson explains that microplastics tend to accumulate in testicles where they negatively impact testosterone production and fertility, so removing them is essential even for men not actively trying to conceive due to negative feedback loops affecting overall health. By adhering strictly to the sauna routine without other interfering therapies during specific testing windows, he achieved over a 90% reduction in microplastics within his blood and semen. Additionally, the treatment led to dramatic improvements in vascular markers, specifically increasing VEGF levels by 400%, which aids capillary growth, while simultaneously causing a sharp drop in p-tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease. To mitigate heat stress on reproductive health during these intense sessions, Johnson employs ice packs placed directly against the testicles using cotton underwear and shorts to insulate them from direct contact with hot surfaces or skin. He notes that without this cooling measure, fertility markers such as sperm count, motility, and morphology can plummet by 50% within just two weeks of exposure. The specific setup involves purchasing BPA-free ice packs online, placing them between layers of cotton clothing to keep the area chilled while allowing sweat to escape naturally from other parts of the body. After exiting the sauna, he wipes off excess sweat with a towel before immediately showering to prevent toxins excreted through perspiration from drying on the skin and being reabsorbed or causing irritation. Timing is another critical component of Johnson's approach, as he discovered that starting this intense protocol in the morning initially destroyed his sleep quality during an adaptation period but eventually improved it once his body adjusted; conversely, attempting to use a sauna at night before bed wrecked his rest until after the initial adjustment phase was complete. He advises listeners to experiment with timing based on individual responses and emphasizes pairing the session with post-workout routines rather than exercising within four hours of bedtime to avoid disrupting sleep further. The entire process is designed as an integrated habit stack, where a one-hour workout flows directly into twenty minutes in the sauna followed by ten minutes for showering, creating a seamless daily ritual that reinforces behavior change and maximizes recovery benefits without requiring additional time commitments.
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Tell me about your sauna experiments.
Yeah,
>> I was watching those unfold with
intrigue.
>> So, we really we discovered quite a few
things that I didn't I shouldn't say
discover. Um, we found out a lot of
quite quite a few things. So, one is for
those who are new to sauna, um, dry
sauna has the most evidence because
you're trying to get your core body
temperature up and so infrared does not
get hot enough and wet sauna uh, will
basically burn you at the temperatures
you need. So dry sauna is the right
>> traditional dry sauna.
>> Yep.
>> Uh 20 minutes a day at 200° Fahrenheit.
Uh 83. Is that 83 Celsius? 93 Celsius.
Sorry. 200 Fahrenheit. Um so three
things we found. One is I was in LA
during the LA wild wildfires when like
20.
>> Yeah. That'll eat you up if you go
close.
>> Yeah. So I was measuring my toxins in my
body uh when before the fires happened
and then after the fires happened and I
was absolutely baked in toxins. So, I
was in like the 99th percentile, as I'm
sure other people in LA were too, of
toxins. You could like go down the list
be like, "This chemical is used in PVC
pipe for for housing. This this chemical
is like a a countertop. This chemical is
like you like literally see the burned
houses
>> breathing in teflon and whatever else.
>> You could like down the list you could
look at the industrial solvent.
>> There's a Sarrento. [laughter]
>> Yes, exactly. So my body was full of all
these houses and cars that were burnt
and the sauna annihilated the toxins. It
was remarkable. So that was cool.
>> Two is we have been trying to get my
microplastics uh down because
microplastics live in the body in the
brain. And we were measuring
microplastics in my blood and also my
semen. And so microplastics uh hang out
in the testicles and that has all sorts
of negative effects on testosterone, on
fertility. You just don't want them
hanging out there. So I had over a 90%
reduction in my blood and my semen
>> of microplastics and that was a first in
world demonstration of no one had ever
done that before.
>> So because the microplastics test is
actually kind of hard to do, right?
>> Exactly. The test is hard and no one had
done semen before. No one had repaired
blood and semen.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Uh, just hold this is
fascinating, but you know why um kitchen
detergents say 99 kills 99.999% of
bacteria?
>> Why?
>> It's not because they don't they're
unable to kill more bacteria. So the
testing tolerance only goes
>> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
>> Then this kind of feels like two
dissimilar.
>> So one is we we showed that uh sauna is
a really efficacious detox protocol.
Number two is we showed well if we we
think sauna was the reason why my
microplastics went down so dramatically.
>> Okay.
>> Um we relatively controlled across
everything else.
>> Exactly. We it it was very controlled
like we didn't do any therapies in that
time frame that were meaningful. Um and
then three is um I had really great
changes improvements in my vascular
markers. So it actually improved even
though I'm in really good health it
still had a measurable increase in my um
vascular markers. It increased my veg F.
This is uh like you want VEF in your
body because it helps produce more
capillaries and and blood vessels like
you want a higher level. It increased it
by 400% which was amazing. Um I had a
dramatic drop of pile which is a a a
protein in the brain that leads to
Alzheimer's. So if that drops
dramatically um we also I did a test on
looking at uh when you're in that kind
of environment, you want to put ice
packs on your testicles because
otherwise it'll annihilate your
fertility markers. they'll take down
your count, your morphology, all the
above. And even men who say like, "I
don't care. I'm not trying to have a
baby." There's really negative feedback
loops. So, if you have smashed fertility
markers, then it has negative effects on
your health overall. So, I did uh 3
weeks with ice and then I went 2 weeks
without ice. In that two week window, I
got smashed. So, my fertility markers
went down by 50%.
>> The prices that you pay to uncover this
stuff for the rest of me immortals.
>> Yeah. Oh, I went back on ice and I've
been back on ice for 6 weeks now and I
got these results on my drive here.
>> Okay, cool. Tell us.
>> Yeah. So, um I'm going to go by memory.
>> Yeah.
>> Um so, it's the highest sperm count I've
had ever,
>> right?
>> It's the highest motility count I've
ever had. It's the highest morphology
I've ever had. So, like they bounce. Not
only did they bounce back, it's the
highest I've ever been. And if you look
at these are like offthechart numbers,
>> like six to 10 times the level of like
normal fertility. So,
>> what do you think's going on there? Is
that just straight vascular changes?
>> We're not sure. I need
>> What do you think's going on? Come on.
Ballpark the mechanism for me.
[laughter]
Have a play around.
>> Yeah. I mean, um
I really need to deep dive into this
more. Yeah. I I don't know. It's It's a
really big jump. And
>> uh I've been doing hyperbaric oxygen
therapy. We've been doing the sauna. Um,
we haven't done really any other
meaningful therapy that could boost it.
>> Okay. So, let's go through the protocol
for the sauna. You said 200 degrees,
>> dry,
>> 20 minutes, dry, the traditional sauna,
>> ice pack on the balls.
>> Yeah.
>> Uh, does time of day matter?
>> Okay.
>> Um, does what did you go for as a
solution for ice pack on the balls?
>> Yeah. So, you can buy these from Amazon.
They're like eight bucks. BPA free. Uh,
no toxins, reusable. So, uh, yeah,
they're blue. Uh, you get a pack of like
four. And then you want them on the
balls in the sauna. So, put on cotton
underwear and then cotton shorts and
then slide them underneath the shorts
>> in between the two.
>> Exactly. Yeah. And then like so just
have two of them in there. But yeah, if
you keep them chilled, like I we wonder
whether the chilling actually has an
improve like we we can't
>> that [clears throat] could be so
interesting if it's got nothing to do
with the sauna. Should you put an ice
pack back on your balls for 20 minutes?
>> We know sauna destroys, but we wonder
like is is the icing cuz we saw
>> get out of the sauna, put the ice back
on.
>> Yeah, if you if you're working now, so
we actually were going to do another
experiment after this completed. I was
going to start icing the testicles
during the day like just when I work
like because we saw a like a 30% jump in
my fertility markers in the first 3
weeks of of doing ice and we were trying
to figure out like why did they did the
sauna increase it and then the ice just
protect the protected the increase or so
we're still trying to figure out what
the cause
>> collaboration of the two okay um what
else have I got to ask are you taking
any binders like a charcoal a
colostyamine
uh a NAC flush type scenario, something
to capture the heavy metals that are
coming out of you.
>> Right. No.
>> So, it was just two pairs of cotton
shorts, an ice pack.
>> Yep. And a sauna and like a cotton
towel, wipe yourself off, you know, as
you're sweating, jump in the shower.
>> Why wipe yourself off?
>> Oh, just if if the if the toxins are
being excreted via sweat, just snag it
when it's like hanging out your skin so
it doesn't dry. And
>> uh shower straight after.
>> Yep.
>> That's it.
>> It's the entirety of the protocol.
>> Yep.
>> Cool. Um, I'm gonna guess you were doing
that seven days.
>> Yeah, every day,
>> right?
>> And I do it after working out. So, I go
work out for an hour.
>> I immediately jump into the sauna and so
I'm already really warmed up.
>> So, as opposed to spending the first
seven minutes getting up to
>> Exactly.
>> temperature. Also, there seems to be
from Ronda Patrick, there seems to be
some pretty good evidence about well,
you kind of extending the sessions
benefits somewhat. So, you're stacking a
few things together. Exactly. Right. But
I do like the idea of um that we talking
about behavior change earlier on.
Stacking habits.
>> Yes.
>> Is very strong. Exactly. It's like look,
if I'm going to train and I know that
when I get home from training, my
training session is an hour, but I'm
actually going to book an hour and 40 in
and that gives me 10 minutes to get home
and then I'm going to get in the sauna
for 20 minutes or wherever. I'm going to
go to this maybe the sauna is the gym or
whatever. And then it's going to give me
10 minutes for my shower and then I'm
done. And I've done both of these things
and I've done them in the right order.
I've done
that for
anything else on sauna. Anything else?
>> I mean, initially I did sauna in the
morning. So, in the first like 2 weeks,
it absolutely wrecked my sleep
>> like destroyed it.
>> And I'm doing it in the morning.
>> Well, I think just doing it period like
it's it's a like 200° is a lot.
>> Like it's really really warm. I had
never done sauna before. So, I think it
was just the adaptation time period. I'm
fine now. But just like note that
there's initially an adaptation time
period and then two is I tried at night
initially it wrecked my sleep but then I
tried it after I had the adaptation
period and it boosted my sleep. So I
found that there is some virtue in doing
it before bed. So you just have to run
the experiment. You have to see for you
if it's going to improve sleep or not.
>> Yeah. That also means that you're going
to have to be training later in the day
which is not always necessarily
>> Yeah. Exactly. If you pair those two
things Exactly. Because you don't want
to exercise within four hours before
bedtime. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
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