Is an infrared sauna better than a normal one?
Neither type has been shown to be better. An infrared sauna runs much cooler. In one lab test, 45 minutes in one didn’t raise healthy young adults’ inner (core) body temperature at all.
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Is an infrared sauna better than a traditional sauna?
No one has shown that it is. A review of 40 sauna studies looked at both types. It found not yet enough evidence to tell their health effects apart.
The big difference is heat. A traditional Finnish sauna is much hotter than an infrared one.
| Traditional Finnish | Infrared | |
|---|---|---|
| How hot | 80°C to 100°C | 45°C to 60°C |
| How it heats | Hot stove and rocks. Water thrown on the rocks adds bursts of steam. | Infrared heaters. No water and no added steam. |
| Usual session | 5 to 20 minutes | 15 to 30 minutes at 60°C in most studies |
| Where you’ll find it | Gyms, spas, shared saunas | Often built and sold for one person to use |
Source: Hussain and Cohen 2018
So choose the one you enjoy and can use safely. The best-known heart findings come from traditional saunas in Finnish men, not infrared ones.
How does an infrared sauna work?
It uses panels that give off infrared heat, with no water or added humidity. The air stays much cooler than in a Finnish sauna.
A US study put the two side by side. Twenty healthy adults, average age 24, tried each one on separate days.
| What was measured | Traditional: 3 × 10 minutes at 80°C | Infrared: 45 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Rise in core body temperature | 0.4°C | 0.0°C |
| Extra blood the heart pumped each minute | 2.3 litres | 1.6 litres. The gap was too small to be sure of. |
| Air temperature inside | Set at 80°C | Measured at 45°C on average. The sauna’s own dial read 57°C. |
Sources: Atencio 2025; Atencio 2025, full text
That’s the catch with a cooler sauna. It may not heat you through. The researchers think heaters close to the skin and a steady 60°C may be needed for a big rise.
This was one small study of one cabin. Still, don’t trust the dial alone. A cheap room thermometer shows you the real air temperature.
What are the benefits of an infrared sauna?
They’re possible, but not proven. Makers claim many benefits, and a review of 9 studies found limited evidence to back them.
| Claim | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| Lower blood pressure | Limited, moderate evidence. |
| Help with heart failure | Limited, moderate evidence. |
| Ease long-term pain | Fair evidence, from one study. |
| Help with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) | Weak evidence, from one study. |
| Help with obesity | Weak evidence, from one study. |
| Lower cholesterol | Fair evidence that it doesn’t. |
Source: Beever 2009
Heart failure is when your heart cannot pump blood properly. Most heart studies of saunas (16 of 19) come from one Japanese research group.
They used a far infrared sauna, mostly with patients in hospital. In one trial of 149 people with heart failure, those given the sauna for 2 weeks could walk further in 6 minutes.
That was a supervised hospital programme, not a home cabin. If you want lower blood pressure or cholesterol, start by checking what a normal blood pressure is and what your cholesterol result means.
Is a full spectrum infrared sauna better than far infrared?
There’s no evidence it is. “Far” and “full spectrum” describe the kind of infrared heat the panels give off.
Of 25 infrared studies in the review, 24 used far infrared. Only one used full spectrum.
That one was a detox programme for police officers, with no group left out for comparison. So it can’t tell you whether full spectrum helped. Don’t pay extra for it on health grounds.
Is an infrared sauna safe?
For most people in the studies, yes. Side effects were mild or moderate: feeling too hot, light-headed, shut in or a sore airway. None were serious.
Cooler still isn’t always comfortable. One study was in women with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a long-lasting illness that causes severe tiredness. Most found 60°C too hot, so it was cut to 45°C.
Sauna deaths are rare. Half or more involve alcohol, and being alone in the sauna was a common risk.
That matters for a one-person cabin at home. Check the weekly alcohol guidance too.
Using an infrared sauna safely
- Skip alcohol before and during a session.
- Tell someone at home when you go in, and when you come out.
- Drink water during each session, and after.
- Get out if you feel dizzy, tired or sick, or get a headache or cramps.
- Have a heart condition? Ask your GP or heart team before you start.
- Pregnant? Ask your midwife before using any sauna.
Sources: Hussain and Cohen 2018; Podstawski 2014; NHS
Why the heart check? Saunas have been linked to the heart muscle running short of blood, especially in people with unstable coronary heart disease.
In one small study of 10 men, hot Finnish saunas lowered sperm count. It was back to normal 6 months after they stopped.
No one yet knows if cooler infrared ones do this. Trying for a baby? Ask your GP whether to pause saunas.
When to speak to a GP
If you feel unwell after a session, move somewhere cool and drink fluids. Heat exhaustion usually needs no emergency help if you cool down within 30 minutes.
- You have a heart condition and want to start using a sauna. Ask your GP or heart team first.
- You have signs of heat exhaustion that you’re struggling to treat, or you need advice. Get help from NHS 111.
- Call 999 if someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, being cooled and drinking fluids.
- Call 999 for other signs of heatstroke: a very high temperature, or hot skin that’s not sweating and might look red. This can be harder to see on brown or black skin.
- Also call 999 for a fast heartbeat, fast breathing or shortness of breath, confusion and poor coordination, a seizure or fit, or passing out.