We all know stress feels dreadful. What is easy to forget is how much of it shows up in the body rather than the mind. Tight shoulders, shallow breathing, restless nights and that wired but exhausted feeling are all signs your nervous system is asking for a bit of help finding its way back to calm.
At Body Lab Studio in Myrtle Beach, we see this most days. Someone comes in looking a little frayed at the edges and leaves looking, and saying that they feel more like themselves again. Here is the gentle science behind why that happens and a few simple tools that may help along the way.
How Stress Shows Up in the Body
When life feels like too much, your body flips into what is often called fight or flight mode. This is your sympathetic nervous system doing exactly what it is designed to do, readying you to react quickly. Marvellous if you are facing an actual emergency, rather draining if it happens every time you check your inbox.
A Few Common Signs That Your Nervous System Might Be Stuck in That Mode Include:
- Tight shoulders, jaw or neck
- Struggling to switch off at bedtime
- Feeling wired yet tired at the same time
- Quick, shallow breathing
- Low energy despite getting enough sleep
The aim is to help your body find its way to the parasympathetic state, sometimes nicknamed rest and digest. This is where proper recovery, digestion and healing actually take place.
Heat Therapy and the Nervous System
Warmth has soothed tired bodies for centuries, and modern research is finally catching up with what always felt true.
Infrared heat, of the kind used in our wellness pods and VacuTherm sessions, gently raises your core temperature. That comfortable warmth seems to encourage the body to ease out of a stressed, sympathetic state and towards something calmer. A study following female athletes through six weeks of regular post exercise infrared sauna use found adaptive changes in cortisol and heart rate variability, both useful markers of how well the nervous system is coping with stress (Ahokas et al., 2025). Separate research has also linked regular infrared sauna sessions with reduced cortisol and improved wellbeing over time (Beever, 2010).
Here is roughly what tends to happen during a typical session:
|
Time Into Session |
What Often Happens |
|
First few minutes |
Gentle warmth is noticed, heart rate may rise slightly |
|
Middle of session |
Muscles start to loosen, breathing often slows |
|
Later in session |
A deeper sense of calm sets in, shoulders and jaw soften |
Many clients tell us they arrive feeling tightly wound and leave feeling as though something has genuinely lifted, quite literally from their shoulders.
Red Light Therapy and a Calmer Mind
Red and near infrared light, delivered through our POLY sessions, is best known for supporting skin health and easing surface discomfort. There is a quieter benefit too, one that is less about appearance and more about how you feel.
Photobiomodulation, the term for how red and near infrared light interacts with cells, has been studied for its potential role in mood, mental clarity and general wellbeing when used consistently over several weeks (Salehpour et al., 2018). Researchers looking at thermal and light based therapies more broadly have also noted links to increased beta endorphin levels following treatment, with effects lasting for some hours afterwards (Health Psychology literature reviewed in Peak Saunas, 2026). This sits alongside the reasoning behind why we recommend building a consistent red light therapy routine rather than treating it as a one off fix.
A POLY session is:
- Fifteen minutes long
- Gentle and hands free
- Entirely non invasive
- A lovely pause in your day, whether or not a mood lift is noticed straight away
Vibration, Movement and Physical Tension
Stress and physical tension tend to arrive together. When we are anxious, we often hold that tension in the body without ever noticing, leaving us feeling heavy, stiff or a little puffy.
Our wellness pods use gentle vibration alongside infrared heat, and research into vibration therapy suggests it may help shift the body away from sympathetic tension and towards parasympathetic activity, easing both physical and nervous tension (Xie et al., 2023).
Mechanical lymphatic support, such as our LPG Endermologie and Body Roller sessions, works in a similar spirit, encouraging fluid movement and easing that stuck, heavy feeling. Many clients find that once the physical tension eases, the mind tends to follow, which is part of why we often pair these sessions together when designing a recovery plan that actually fits someone’s week.
A gentle walk, some easy stretching or a few slow breaths after your session can help that sense of lightness carry through the rest of your day.
Building a Calmer Routine
None of this needs to be complicated, and it certainly should not feel like homework. Small, steady habits tend to work far better than the occasional big push.
A few gentle ideas to weave into your week:
- Book a regular infrared or red light session, even just once a week
- Pair your session with a short walk afterwards to help the calm settle in
- Try a few minutes of slow breathing before bed
- Keep a simple note of how you feel after each session, energy, mood, sleep
- Be patient with yourself, nervous systems respond far better to consistency than intensity
This is very much the thinking behind how our team pairs different modalities to support faster, more complete recovery, rather than relying on a single treatment to do all the work.
Final Words
Stress may be part of modern life, but feeling permanently frazzled does not have to be. Often the simplest tools, warmth, light and a little gentle movement, are exactly what a tired nervous system has been asking for.
Body Lab Studio is a wellness studio, not a medical provider, and our services are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition. Results vary from person to person. If you are managing a chronic health condition or feeling persistently overwhelmed, do please have a chat with your healthcare provider before starting anything new.
Ready to Give Your Body and Mind a Proper Reset?
Book a consultation with our friendly team, explore our RESET Membership for regular access to the therapies above, or pop in for your first infrared and red light session at Body Lab Studio, Myrtle Beach. You deserve a little calm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can heat and light therapy really help with stress?
Many clients report feeling calmer after sessions, and early research into heat and light based therapies is encouraging. Everyone responds a little differently, so it is best to see these as gentle support rather than a guaranteed fix.
How often should I have a session for stress relief?
There is no single right answer, though many clients find one to two sessions a week fits nicely into a busy life and helps them stay consistent.
Is this a replacement for therapy or medical treatment?
No, and we would never suggest otherwise. These are wellness support tools, not medical treatment. If you are managing anxiety, depression or any other health condition, please keep working with your doctor or therapist alongside anything you try with us.
Ahokas, E. K., Ihalainen, J. K., Hanstock, H. G., Savolainen, E. and Kyrolainen, H. (2025). Salivary cortisol response to post exercise infrared sauna declines over time. Followed forty female team sport athletes over a six week training period and found regular post exercise infrared sauna use was associated with adaptive changes in cortisol and heart rate variability. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2025.2493460
Beever, R. (2010). Far infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Canadian Family Physician. A review of fifteen patients using far infrared saunas three times weekly over three months, reporting improved quality of life scores and reduced stress and fatigue alongside a modest reduction in systolic blood pressure.
Salehpour, F. et al. (2018). Brain photobiomodulation therapy: a narrative review. A review of existing research discussing how red and near infrared light may support mood, cognitive function and general wellbeing with consistent use, while noting that further clinical research is needed to confirm long term effects.
Xie, J., Wang, J., Xu, G., Li, S., Wang, Y., Fu, M., Liu, G., Zhang, T. and Liu, S. (2023). Clinical efficacy of vibration stimulation therapy to relieve acute exercise fatigue. Found that vibration stimulation activated the autonomic nervous system and produced a measurable relaxation effect, reducing subjective fatigue in participants. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3233/THC-236020
Field, T., Diego, M. and Cullen, C. (2004). Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. This body of work, often cited in relation to touch and vibration based therapies, links gentle mechanical stimulation with reduced cortisol and increased levels of mood supporting neurotransmitters.
