Infrared sauna benefits: what's real and what's marketing

Infrared sauna studios promise a lot: faster recovery, glowing skin, weight loss, detox, better sleep. Some of that is backed by research. Some of it is borrowed from studies of a different kind of sauna, and some is plain sales talk.

Why infrared is studied less

The famous sauna research comes from Finland, where researchers followed thousands of people for around 20 years and linked frequent sauna use to fewer heart attacks, strokes and cases of dementia. Those people used traditional saunas at around 80 °C. You can read about that work in sauna benefits: what the research actually says.

Infrared saunas work differently. They heat your body directly with infrared light while the air stays at about 45–60 °C (our guide to what an infrared sauna is explains how). Your body still heats up and your heart still speeds up, so some of the same effects are likely. But nobody has followed thousands of infrared users for decades, so the evidence is mostly small trials lasting weeks or months.

Relaxation and mood

This is the most consistent finding, and the main reason people keep going back. The milder air makes infrared easier to sit in for 30 minutes than a Finnish sauna, and many studios add dim light, music or a screen. People in studies regularly report feeling calmer and less tired afterwards.

There's also early research on heat and low mood, including a few small trials where whole-body heating seemed to lift symptoms of depression for a while. It's interesting, but too early to call it a treatment.

Muscle recovery

A 2015 study at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland tested a far-infrared sauna after hard exercise in ten active men. After an endurance workout, their muscles seemed to bounce back better with a 30-minute infrared session than without one. After a strength workout, it made no measurable difference. The researchers described the session as very light on the body and comfortable, which is part of its appeal for people who find a hot Finnish sauna too much after training.

Ten people is a very small study, so take it as a hint rather than a rule. For more on timing your sauna around exercise, see sauna before or after a workout.

Heart and blood vessels

Doctors in Japan have used a gentle infrared sauna treatment called Waon therapy since the 1990s, mostly for people with heart failure. Patients sit in a far-infrared sauna at about 60 °C for 15 minutes, then rest wrapped in blankets. Small trials have reported better blood vessel function and fewer symptoms.

These were supervised medical programmes for patients, so they don't tell us much about a healthy person booking a cabin after work. If you have a heart condition, this is a reason to ask your doctor about it, not a reason to start on your own.

Aches and stiffness

Many people with stiff joints or back pain say infrared heat helps, much as a hot water bottle does. A handful of small studies, including some in people with arthritis, found less pain and stiffness during the weeks of treatment. The effect seems real but modest, and it tends to fade if you stop.

Skin

You'll probably leave looking flushed and feeling soft, thanks to the extra blood flow and sweat. That lasts a few hours. Claims about collagen, wrinkles or clearing acne mostly come from red-light therapy research, which uses different devices and doses. There's little good evidence that an infrared sauna session changes your skin long term.

Claims that do not hold up

• "Burn 600 calories in a session." Your heart works a little harder, so you burn a bit more than sitting on the sofa, but nowhere near a workout. The weight you lose is water. More in does a sauna help you lose weight?
• "Sweat out toxins." Sweat is almost all water and salt. Your liver and kidneys clear waste. Sweating adds very little.
• "Infrared heats you from the inside." Far infrared is absorbed in the top few millimetres of skin. Your core warms up the same way it does in any hot room: from your skin inwards.
• "Boosts your immune system." There's no solid evidence that infrared saunas prevent illness.

Getting the most out of it

• Start with 15–20 minutes and build up to 30–40 if you feel good.
• Drink water before and after. You can sweat more than you notice.
• Go regularly. Most of the studies used sessions several times a week.
• Skip it if you've been drinking, are unwell or feel faint.
• If you're pregnant, have a heart condition or take blood pressure medicine, ask your doctor first.

Thinking about one at home instead? Read are sauna blankets worth it? before you buy.

This guide is general information, not medical advice.

Where to try an infrared sauna

Find My Sauna lists 629 places with an infrared sauna. These cities have the most:

Alive and Well

Austin · Infrared cabins

Modrn Sanctuary

Philadelphia · Infrared studio

SWTHZ South Park

Charlotte · Private infrared rooms

Frequently asked questions