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5 Effects of Infrared Sauna
Possible Health Benefits of Infrared Sauna Therapy
Medically Reviewed Infrared Sauna Potential Health Benefits.
1. Infrared saunas use waves
Infrared saunas use waves on the nonvisible light spectrum to heat you directly, as opposed to dry saunas, which heat the air in order to warm your body. The idea of using a sauna for relaxation is nothing new, but another category of sauna bathing is growing in popularity: infrared saunas. An infrared sauna is a type of therapy that uses light to heat your body, explains Kelly Simms, ND, a doctor of naturopathic medicine in Chicago. But this light is infrared, which exist on the nonvisible light spectrum, she says. And because an infrared sauna slowly builds heat, you can stay in it longer than a traditional sauna. The proposed health benefits come from the fact that infrared heatd your body directly, and the warmth penetrates more deeply compared to traditional saunas.
2. Is (Slightly) Similar to Exercise
As with exercise, when you heat up, your body needs to cool itself down. That process provokes thermoregulation (where your body deals with hot environments more efficiently by sweating sooner, for example). It may also make your heart work harder, triggering a response similar to a cardio workout, says Simms. But to be clear, it’s not as effective as traditional exercise — and one small study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine in March 2022, which compared an infrared sauna with a workout, backs that up. The sauna did not increase participants’ breathing rates like exercise did.
3. May Improve Recovery From Exercise
After a workout, a good place to go is an infrared sauna. “Athletes may note improved recovery after exercise or injury,” says Dr. Ring. A small study, published in July 2015 in SpringerPlus, of physically active men found that 30 minutes in a far-infrared sauna after a tough endurance workout improved neuromuscular recovery compared with a no-sauna control condition. People also described it as “a comfortable and relaxing experience.”
4. Helps Induce Your Relaxation Response
Think about the last time that you felt really warm and relaxed. People who use infrared saunas regularly are quite familiar with that soothing sensation. Sitting in a warm, quiet chamber is inherently relaxing for most people. “When we calm our nervous system by doing something relaxing, our body responds in a way that reduces stress hormones like cortisol and produces feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine,” says Simms. What’s more, the heat improves circulation, which can give you a sense of vigor and energy when you’re done.
5. Reduces Pain in Autoimmune Conditions
A few studies have found benefits of infrared sauna therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome in terms of decreasing pain, stiffness, fatigue, and anxiety and improving quality of life, according to a review published in April 2018 in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This may happen because the heat helps dilate blood vessels to boost circulation to injured areas and decrease markers of inflammation, says Simms.
