What Is Infared Sauna?

What is an infared sauna? And how does it differ from traditional saunas?

While traditional saunas use steam or flame-stoked heat, infared saunas use infared lamps for warmth, allowing them to provide therapeutic benefits at a lower temperature, typically 110—154°F (compared to 150—195°F for traditional saunas).

Infared Sauna Benefits

Benefits of infared sauna include:

• Improved heart health
• Reduced blood pressure
• Improved circulation
• Quicker muscle recovery
• Decreased depression and anxiety
• Lower stress
• Improved sleep

Researchers who conducted a two-year study on sauna therapy for patients with chronic pain found that repeated sauna use may be a promising method of treatment for patients with chronic pain. Regular sauna use may also help athletes improve their performance.

There’s also evidence that regular sauna use can reduce the incidence of common colds. Saunas also reduce oxidative stress, which is linked with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and degenerative diseases (e.g., dementia).

More research is needed on whether sauna use provides a detoxification effect as you sweat out toxins.

How Do I Get Started With Infared Sauna?

Start at a low temperature, around 100°F, and keep sessions short (5—10 minutes) to begin, and then build from there. For experienced sauna users, keep sessions to 30 minutes and limit visits to 3—4 times per week to avoid overly stressing the body. If you feel dizzy or nauseated, get out of the sauna immediately.

Bring water or an electrolyte drink into the sauna with you and keep well hydrated. And a shower after your sauna session will wash off any toxins you sweated out before they are reabsorbed into the skin.

Sauna use is relatively safe, but may be contraindicated for:

• People with MS
• Pregnant women
• People trying to conceive (as heat is not good for sperm health)
• People who are sick or have pre-existing medical conditions