Red light beds, compression suits and NAD+ drips: I tried 5 celebrity-approved longevity treatments to see if they’re worth the hype (and cost)

Kim Kardashian relaxes in a red light therapy bed. Chris Hemsworth can’t stop cold plunging. And Gwyneth Paltrow loves sweating it out in an infrared sauna.

While these activities may not be prescribed by a doctor, they’re all part of the growing wave of longevity treatments — aka wellness rituals aimed at boosting energy, reducing inflammation and optimizing long-term health. And as biohackers like Bryan Johnson and longevity experts like Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Mark Hyman share the science behind them with the masses, these treatments are slowly becoming less fringe and more mainstream.

The catch? Wellness comes with a price. And with more than half of Americans saying they struggle to pay for health care, a trip to the cryotherapy chamber or sauna is an inaccessible luxury for most. Celebrities may have sparked interest in these treatments, but for a lot of us, they’re another example of how the other half lives.

But as a writer who lives in Los Angeles — a hub for experimental wellness rituals — I wanted to see what it was like to do health the celebrity way. Would I emerge from a red light therapy bed with skin that glowed like a Kardashian? Pop out of a cryotherapy chamber with Thor-like strength abilities?

Spoiler: None of that happened. But I did feel relaxed and restored. Here’s how it went down.

Where: NextHealth and Remedy Place

The cost: $50 at each wellness club

What it’s supposed to do: Reduce inflammation, improve energy, speed up recovery, sharpen cognition

What it’s like: I am a girl who loathes being cold, so trying a cryotherapy chamber (twice!) was as much a mental challenge as it was a physical one.

At both NextHealth and Remedy Place, I found myself standing inside what felt like a high-tech walk-in freezer set to a bone-chilling -150 degrees Fahrenheit. For three-and-a-half minutes, I wore only gloves, socks with sandals, a hat and a sports bra with bike shorts. I tried my best to remember that it would all end … eventually. I shivered uncontrollably and thought a lot about the ending of Titanic.

Not only did I survive to tell the tale (thanks to tracks by Charli XCX, which I asked the operators of the chamber to play to hype me up), but I also left the chamber both times feeling oddly rejuvenated. I don’t know if I came away with decreased inflammation, but I certainly had more pep in my step the rest of the day.

What an expert says: Internal medicine physician Matthew Badgett of Cleveland Clinic says there is evidence that “cryotherapy helps with mood,” and cited studies that show it may alleviate depression symptoms. He adds that while cryotherapy can ease pain and inflammation, he hasn’t seen enough evidence to show that it improves muscle performance or endurance long term.

Plus, he notes that after he works out, he “wants” some inflammation, as that’s what leads to enhanced muscle strength. If you’re doing a cryotherapy session immediately upon working out, you could be doing your gains a disservice. “You need inflammation to help muscle repair and regrow — that’s part of the process,” Badgett says. “And I question whether, if we make things too cold and cut down on blood flow, we might actually prevent the body from healing optimally in the long run.”

Where: Remedy Place

The cost: $150 for 60 minutes

What it’s supposed to do: Flush toxins, reduce inflammation, remove stagnant lymph fluid out of the body, reduce bloating

What it’s like: Call me Katy Perry, because I felt just like an astronaut stepping into Remedy Place’s lymphatic compression suit, which is snug up to your neck. I then lay down in a very tranquil private room as the suit got to work, squeezing me from feet to shoulders in a continuous loop. While many people use their 60 minutes in the suit to meditate or even nap, I hopped on Slack to update my co-workers about my boa constrictor experience.

After about 30 minutes, I chilled out and closed my eyes. I eventually began to appreciate the squeeze, rather than be slightly unsettled by how vulnerable my body was within the suit. When I finally stepped out of it, I felt relaxed, which could be due to a midday nap. Had I de-puffed? I didn’t notice, but I did feel like I had just gotten a nice massage.

What an expert says: Badgett has referred patients for lymphatic drainage treatments, but only when they experience lymphedema, a buildup of lymphatic fluid that sometimes occurs after cancer treatments or lymph node removal.

“I definitely think there’s room for doing these drainage suits, but I’m hard-pressed to believe that someone without significant lymphedema is going to benefit much from it,” he says. “The argument is that by pumping the lymph [nodes] and squeezing it back, it’s supposed to help with inflammation — but I couldn’t find any research to support that, and I’m not really sure why it would help.”

Where: NextHealth

The cost: $150 for 30 minutes

What it’s supposed to do: Stimulate collagen production, reduce inflammation, improve wound healing, aid in hair growth, help release endorphins

What it’s like: NextHealth set me up with a 30-minute session in one of their private red light therapy beds, which look a bit like a tanning bed, but with 13,000 high-intensity red, blue and infrared LEDs. But unlike a tanning bed, red light therapy uses low levels of heat, so you won’t get burned (and, frankly, as someone who is always chilly, I wished it were warmer). I closed my eyes behind the provided goggles and took a brief nap, grateful that I’m not claustrophobic.

Overall, I didn’t expect to come away feeling much different from this red light therapy bed; this is the kind of treatment that you need to do consistently to see results. But that nap was nice!

What an expert says: Dermatologist Dr. Hannah Kopelman tells Yahoo Life that there are some benefits to red light therapy for the skin, which is used to treat acne, reduce inflammation and support wound healing. That said, she notes that the degree of effectiveness depends heavily on the wavelength, power density and duration of treatment. “Most at-home or spa-grade beds don’t reach the levels of energy delivery used in clinical settings, so results may be modest or take longer to appear,” she explains. And she adds that red light therapy can’t really replace tools like retinoids or procedures like lasers when it comes to “meaningful anti-aging results.”

Where: Remedy Place

The cost: $90 for 60 minutes for one session; $135 for two

What it’s supposed to do: Detox the body, soothe sore muscles, accelerate metabolism

What it’s like: Bury me in an infrared sauna. Remedy Place’s sauna set-up is ideal for maximum relaxation. Instead of walking right into the sauna, you get your own private changing area with a shower and amenities so you can pop in and out of the sauna at your leisure, sans clothes. It’s the perfect experience for someone who loves the heat. While infrared saunas reach roughly around 120 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature — far lower than a Finnish sauna’s 176 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit — it took me only a few minutes to start sweating profusely.

Should I have brought my phone into the sauna? Probably not — it wasn’t good for my phone, and scrolling on TikTok is likely not the meditative experience Remedy Place has in mind. But honestly? I was having the best day ever, and I left the sauna feeling totally chilled out.

What an expert says: Badgett is a fan of infrared saunas, thanks to evidence that they can improve muscle strength, mood and even cardiovascular health. However, he still prefers the hotter Finnish saunas, thanks to the stress they put on the body. He notes that some infrared saunas don’t necessarily get hot enough to push the body to the optimal benefits.

When exposed to the heat in a Finnish sauna, he says, “your body will learn to resist dehydration better, sweat more efficiently and strengthen blood vessels. It may also produce more heat shock proteins to help it handle heat better — essentially, all the things you’re trying to push your body to do.” While an infrared sauna might feel relaxing to sit in, “if you’re not getting hot enough, all these benefits may not happen,” he says.

“Our bodies are inherently efficient, so if we’re not stressing them enough, they won’t get stronger,” Badgett says.

Where: NextHealth

The cost: $625 for 300 mg and $1,250 for 750 mg; $125 if you add on to another IV treatment

What it’s supposed to do: Boost cellular energy production, reduce age-related symptoms

What it’s like: I’m not squeamish about needles, so when I was offered a chance to try an IV drip with NAD+ — aka nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme that aids in cellular function — I decided to add it to my list of treatments. A nurse set me up with the IV, and I pulled out my laptop and did some work as the vitamins fueled my veins.

I felt slightly lightheaded and a little bit nauseated, which the nurse explained was normal. If the side effects became uncomfortable (which they didn’t), I could adjust the speed at which the medication entered my body in order to lessen side effects — the slower the pace, the less dramatic the effects. All in all, it took me about 45 minutes to finish the bag.

One weird sensation I experienced? The moment the NAD+ entered my body, I got the strangest taste in my mouth, like I had just licked a multivitamin. NAD+ is made from niacin, a form of vitamin B3, but I wasn’t able to figure out why this taste popped into my mouth so strongly and immediately.

When I was done with the IV drip, I expected to feel far more energized. But overall, I didn’t feel much different from when I sat down. Apparently, one IV drip isn’t enough to reap all the benefits from NAD+. Consistency is key here, but regularly going in for a drip isn’t exactly in my budget.

What an expert says: Badgett says that while some short-term studies into NAD+ show that taking this supplement could improve some biomarkers, there aren’t many long-term studies to determine whether that also improves one’s overall health. Plus, he says, there’s also no evidence to suggest an IV drip of NAD+ is any better than popping the supplement orally. Badgett adds that any improvements found in these studies could suggest that the population is vitamin B3-deficient, which is why people may feel better after NAD+ drips.

If you want to boost your B3 without an IV drip or even supplement, it’s found in common foods like eggs, saltwater fish, avocado and whole grains.

Note: NextHealth and Remedy Place provided these wellness treatments at no cost.

Source