The Benefits of Infrared Saunas

John Horton:

Hey there, and welcome to another Health Essentials Podcast. I'm John Horton, your host.

When it comes to infrared saunas, they're definitely cooler than old-school sweat boxes. That's because infrared saunas operate at much lower temperatures than traditional saunas. There's no steam or flame-stoked heat inside. Instead, they rely on infrared lamps to generate that soothing warmth.

But does this modern approach to heat therapy work as well as the old way? We asked functional medicine specialist Melissa Young to help us see the light. Dr. Young is one of the many experts at Cleveland Clinic who pop into our weekly podcast to chat about wellness trends and ways to live healthier. So with that, let's see whether you should flip a switch and bring infrared saunas into your wellness routine.

Great to see you again, Dr. Young. I always know we're in for a fun chat when you're in the guest chair.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Well, thank you for having me back. I love spending time with you and talking about these interesting topics.

John Horton:

Well, you always have an open invitation here, so that's always on the table. And you're with us today to talk about infrared saunas, which are kind of a modern twist on those classic fire and steam-based heat therapy rooms. So can you kind of walk us through what exactly an infrared sauna is and how it works?

Dr. Melissa Young:

Definitely. Just to start really quick, the traditional saunas that we think of in gyms or even in Europe, in Finland, they use really high heat. They use stones in air convection from wood gas or electric stoves to warm the air in the sauna cabin. Where infrared saunas are using more radiant panels from carbon or ceramic heaters. It creates heat which is penetrating our tissues through the skin to heat the body. So it produces more radiant heat without, 1) being too hot or necessarily, say, visible light or most of the time bright bulbs.

John Horton:

Yeah. I know because it's called “red light,” and that's how I always think of them. You look up pictures and you see that. It always reminds me of when you see that food at the fast-food joint that's being warmed up, it's kind of baking underneath that red light. Is it kind of a similar principle that's going on there? It's just kind of warming everything that's kind of in its glow?

Dr. Melissa Young:

To some extent. In terms of that red light, far infrared sauna — and there's different wavelengths even within the infrared spectrum — most of the saunas are far infrared, but some combine sort of far infrared and near infrared. So far infrared, you're really not going to see that red light. Again, it's more sending those wavelengths into the tissues through the skin of the body to heat up the body. You'll get heating of the cabin, but it's different.

More and more saunas now also include these red-light therapy panels, which might be a different discussion. You'll definitely see the red light. And some of the ones of the saunas who have a combination of, say, near infrared and far infrared may also have that red glow. So not all of them do, and there'd be different things, whether it's the red-light panel or the mixed red light therapy wavelengths, that you would see it.

John Horton:

So sometimes, you'll sit in it, and it might be that bright red color that we all kind of associate with it. Sometimes, it might just be ... it's just lit up and that's it. You don't get that fun color.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Exactly. And it is interesting, some of the home saunas now also have chromotherapy, where they cycle through different light colors. And so you'll see that, too, but that doesn't necessarily have therapeutic value, but it is interesting.

John Horton:

There's a little fun in some light therapy with different colors going.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Indeed, indeed. It's true.

John Horton:

Now, we had mentioned temperature, and I want to kind of get into that a little bit. One of the key selling points of the infrared saunas is that they're kind of operating at a lower temperature than what those traditional saunas do. It looks like the number there, it's 110 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, which is kind of 43 to 57 Celsius. That still seems pretty warm to get the job done.

Dr. Melissa Young:

So yeah, I think they can even go a little bit higher for some people who do like higher heat. But yes, it tends to be at a lower heat starting at about 110. Though some people who are sitting in the sauna, instead of going in after the sauna has heated up, they'll sit in as it heats up and may stop at a lower temperature.

But despite it seeming like super-hot temperatures, it's actually so much more comfortable than your traditional saunas. And that allows many people to actually have a longer sauna session, be more comfortable. And so I think that's also one of the benefits, along with, again, the benefits of perhaps this infrared wavelength of light.

John Horton:

Yeah. And to throw that out there because I wrote the numbers down — my memory's not that good — but the traditional saunas, from what I could gather, they run … a lot of times, you're starting at 150 degrees, and they can go up to where they're knocking on 200.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Super-hot.

John Horton:

Yeah, 66 to 91 Celsius, too, if you're on that scale. I mean, you can see where that is a really high heat. And you can see where, when it gets that hot, some people just, you can't stay in there as long or it might really kind of bother you or make saunas off limits.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I think, all of those things. You rarely can stay in as long as you might in an infrared sauna, and I wouldn't recommend it obviously at that heat. You might start to sweat more quickly, or I guess, would frequently start to sweat more frequently, since it's so hot and you don't need as long in there. But staying in too long would be, I think, much more of a health risk.

But it is interesting, we're not talking about this today, but these traditional saunas that have been used in Europe for centuries have a lot of health benefits. It's just this new technology, I think, is so interesting, in that some of the wavelengths may penetrate into the body a little deeper. We can stay in longer and be more comfortable, but there's definitely benefits to both.

John Horton:

Yeah. When you talk about length of time you can stay in, how does it vary? And I know every person's going to be a little bit different, but an infrared sauna session would last about how long compared to a traditional sauna session?

Dr. Melissa Young:

I would say that typically 20 to 30 minutes for a lot of people. We can talk later about how to start if you're new to sauna, but probably about 15 to 30 minutes. Everyone's heat tolerance is a little bit different. A typical temperature people might use is about 130 degrees, but you'll still get benefits, say at about 110 degrees. Some people do like it hotter and have a more intense sweat. Some people are less heat-sensitive and can have really longer sessions. So it's very individual, but as a guide, probably let's say 30 minutes is probably average.

John Horton:

Yeah. And then, with a traditional sauna, I take it, it's much less than that, especially if you have it cranked up to that near 200-degree mark.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Typically, though, I know some people who are hardy and have stayed in a lot longer, done well, stayed hydrated. But yes, usually it's much shorter. You're going to have a good intense sweat and you don't need to be in there too long.

John Horton:

Yeah. And while we're talking about infrared saunas as being cooler, I feel like it's worth pointing out that at that top level in there, that is still roughly equal to the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth. So it's not like you're going to sit there and shiver, you're not going to need a blanket. It's going to be pretty toasty.

Dr. Melissa Young:

You will not, though, it is interesting. So I've had an infrared sauna for probably almost two decades now, and even at that higher temperature, the actual physical feeling isn't the same, as I lived in Arizona for my integrative medicine training many years ago. It still doesn't quite feel the same as if you are, say, in the desert and it's 110 degrees. It's kind of interesting. But certainly it's hot, that's in the higher temperatures, that's not for everyone. And the nice thing is you will still get benefit at, say, around 110 degrees.

John Horton:

Yeah. And that's where it's kind of nice because you can see where it becomes much more available for people.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yes.

John Horton:

Like I said, if you can't handle high heat or just don't want to, because that really puts a strain on the body if you're sitting in 200 degrees, it seems like this is a nice way to get those same benefits as the traditional sauna without maybe subjecting your body to that sort of stress.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I agree. I think it's a wonderful alternative, a wonderful additional option for people.

John Horton:

Well, let's get into what some of those benefits are because we're not just doing it so we want to sit in a hot box for a little bit. And I've got a whole list of things I want to run through with you, with the potential benefits. And the one that I really liked was this whole notion that a sauna session can kind of help your heart. How does that work?

Dr. Melissa Young:

Well, we think about heating up the body, it's very similar as if you're exercising. And so you're going to increase circulation, your heart rate. You're going to bring more oxygen to your tissues. And you're also not only bringing the oxygen nutrients to your tissues, it's going to be helpful as well, as helping waste come out of your cells.

I had read, I love this phrase, kind of think of it like passive cardio, where you're getting some of those same physiological responses that may have benefit. And it's interesting, we always want more definitive studies. But there have been studies, both finished studies, and I was looking at one Japanese study that really shows infrared sauna can be safe and effective at improving cardiac function. Really, one study showed it had benefit in chronic heart failure patients, may reduce blood pressure. So I think that it's exciting that that may have some of those benefits.

John Horton:

It seems like there is a strong association there, but I think we also want to emphasize that it's not going to be a substitute for going out for a run or something like that. It's not a one-to-one thing with exercise. It's a trick in your system that, Hey, we're in exercise mode.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yeah, absolutely. And then, I think it has just all those wonderful benefits for cellular health. So definitely, I think, fairly strong evidence in this area, but we're always looking for more.

John Horton:

Yeah. Well, and that seems to go right into this whole notion that one of these sessions can help soothe sore muscles after a workout, something like that. You kind of go sit in there, get warm and it just helps your body recover. How does that process happen?

Dr. Melissa Young:

It's the sort of same process. One, you're heating up the body, so you're going to have muscle relaxation. You're getting more blood flow to the muscles, so you get that combination of bringing more oxygen and nutrients into the area. And then, as you cool, you'll also have more removal of some of the waste and perhaps some of that buildup of lactic acid when we're working out. So it's interesting. I think it's been shown to be helpful in recovery in muscle soreness, and it may actually be helpful in athletes in improving performance; though, I don't know all of the mechanisms there, but some of the science has been interesting.

John Horton:

Yeah, it makes sense because so much is tied to circulation.

Dr. Melissa Young:

It is.

John Horton:

And you see that with muscle recovery and everything. The more you get that blood flowing through your body, it's just, like I said, it's bringing oxygen to your muscles. It's just helping everything speed up that process and just, like you said, get the recovery you want.

Dr. Melissa Young:

It is. And we live now in so much of a sedentary society. And myself, I'm at a desk all day long, so we want to continue to make sure we get movement in our life. But sauna has so many potential benefits. This is one of them for sure.

John Horton:

Yeah. And this seems to go right into the next point, which is pain relief. I know a lot of people struggle. You might have arthritis or things like that, and you're always living with it. It seems like a sauna session can maybe help tamp that down a little.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Some of the same mechanisms, increasing circulation, nutrients to the muscles and the tissues, oh my goodness, bringing more oxygen.

John Horton:

Yeah, it's a tough one to say.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yea, it really is. And then, just heating up the muscles helps them relax. We always, during our sessions, talk about the relaxation response. And so the combination of, say, getting away from everything for 30 minutes, sitting down, I always encourage people to think about some meditation in the sauna. But I think that combination with the heat relaxation and then those cellular processes can be very helpful for pain.

John Horton:

Yeah. And you mentioned relaxation. And I got to be honest, whenever I think of you, I always think of relaxation. You have almost put me to sleep on this podcast with some of the exercises that we've done and the breathing exercises and things like that. It seems like working an infrared sauna session into your regular routine can really help you get that relaxation that so many folks need in today's stressful times.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I agree. It's one of those things where you are setting aside time for yourself, which I think is so important. You're away from everything. Again, being in a warm environment is very relaxing, I think mentally and physically. And then, if you can take some time, whether you're maybe reading or listening to music or meditating, that adds to that relaxation. But knowing that that relaxation response is mental and physical, it's physiologic, and so there's benefits in so many realms there.

John Horton:

Yeah. I always think of it, if you just go lay out in the sun for a little bit, I mean, you warm the body, you warm the soul. You feel better when you're kind of basking in that warmth, and it seems like this is the same general theory.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I agree with you. Absolutely.

John Horton:

And also then, if you're more relaxed, it seems like you might sleep a little better. I know we've talked about sleep a lot on this podcast. We have Dr. Foldvary-Schaffer come in all the time and talk about how people struggle with it. If you use these sessions, can they be kind of worked into your bedtime routine or something like that to help you nod off?

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yeah. So we've always known if you take a hot bath before bed, and I always advocate for Epsom salts there because that's relaxing to the muscles, but as you … then your body cools down, it actually promotes better sleep. So for those people who might have sleep issues, trying to fit this in before bedtime and then see that may be helpful with improving sleep, yes.

John Horton:

Yeah. It kind of gets that circadian rhythm set the way you want it so you can get that good, peaceful slumber at night.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yes, we all need more of that.

John Horton:

Without a doubt. Trust me. Last night, my dog was up once or twice, so I could have used a little better circadian rhythm, or he could have, I guess. Might've been the thing.

Dr. Melissa Young:

That's why I always advocate for cats. I'm a feline person. They don't keep you up at night or get you up to walk them.

John Horton:

Well, Charlie's just getting a little old, so it's-

Dr. Melissa Young:

…but he's adorable.

John Horton:

He's worth it.

One of the other things that I saw in reading up on infrared saunas is that they may be able to help you fight off illness. How is that? Is this just, it's making your body feel that much more relaxed and good that the germs don't affect you as much?

Dr. Melissa Young:

Well, I mean, that could be part of it for sure. But you think about a fever heating up the body and that helps, 1) activate the immune system. It helps the immune system fight off these invaders more easily. So there have been some studies showing that it may support recruitment of some of the immune cells that help fight off infection. So that may be an added benefit here as well.

John Horton:

Yeah. And it sounds like even, we talked about relaxation, and that always translates over to oxidative stress, which I know we've talked about on here before. It sounds like the more you get your body in a state of just peace and comfort and all that stuff, you're better able to fight off infections and all those little bugs that are around us.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yes. I mean, literature's clear on stress and how that impacts the immune system. And I think we've talked about this so much, but we're all walking around too often in that fight-or-flight mode, and that can just be rushing and deadlines and all sorts of commuting, everyday life. And so the more we can find even small periods of time to help the body calm, go into the opposite parasympathetic nervous system, it helps our immune system, it helps our nervous system. It has so many benefits.

We know too much, in terms of production of stress hormones, turns on inflammation in the body, impacts sleep and metabolic health. So every opportunity we have to take some time for ourselves, I think, has physiological benefits.

John Horton:

Yeah. All right. Well, that's obviously a whole lot of good. And these are things that, it sounds like it's a benefit for infrared saunas. These same benefits are with the traditional saunas, too, but it's just a little bit of a different method, how it's coming over, and just the delivery is just slightly different.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yeah. And I think it's interesting with the infrared saunas now, there's a big industry. It's easier to have an infrared sauna at home if that's something that fits in with your lifestyle. Some of them, you can plug into a regular plug at home or have it altered just minorly to be able to have that at home. They're still not inexpensive, but there's a wide range of options from ones with the cabin to more of a tent where your head's out. So there's lots of options now.

John Horton:

Yeah, I've seen them at some of the stores you're at, and they just have it sitting there. Pick one up, and have it delivered and put it in. So they are kind of accessible, like you said, not cheap, but also not like you need a second mortgage to get it.

All right, so we went over all the good, but I've been doing these podcasts long enough to know that there's always a few things that aren't great, and I guess that's a rule of life. Nothing's all good, except maybe my grandkids. They're pretty close. So let's go over any risks that are associated with spending a bunch of time in an infrared sauna.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Sure. So for one, those who are not used to heat, don't do well with heat, you can start to feel dizzy, overheated. And so it's one of those things, if you are starting to not feel well, you want to get out immediately. You want to stay hydrated, because if you're sweating a lot, obviously, you're raising your body temperature. You want to take water with you, stay very well hydrated.

For people who have multiple sclerosis, they don't usually do well in heat, and I don't recommend that. I don't recommend it in pregnancy. Also, if you're trying to conceive, for both men and women, I don't think sauna is a great idea, but it's about also ... I'm jumping a little bit, but you really want to go start at a low temperature. You want to do five or 10 minutes if you're new to this and build up.

John Horton:

Yeah. But I think that's important. You mentioned, if you're pregnant, I know I read some studies that said heat can really be harmful to your baby, so you really want to avoid that at all costs.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Absolutely.

John Horton:

We had mentioned that infrared saunas can maybe help your immune system be a little stronger so you can fight off infections, but I take it you also don't want to look at an infrared sauna as a detox unit. You're going to get sick, go in there, and just sweat the flu out.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Yes. I think if you're just, say, feeling minorly bad, like a minor cold coming on, I think that's fine. But if you have a fever, you have any more serious chills or sweats or things like that, you don't want to be using your sauna at that time for sure.

John Horton:

Yeah. A little congestion, it sounds like you can go in there. It might help move things along, clear the gunk out a little bit, but once you cross a certain line, just rest and that's enough.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Exactly.

John Horton:

All right. Now, if you look online, you'll see there's questions that come up with whether infrared saunas can somehow cause cancer. Is there anything to that or is that just a worry people have from sitting in a box and having these lights right on you?

Dr. Melissa Young:

So there's no evidence at this time that there's a worry for that. In addition, we have been using these infrared saunas for many years now. So I always try to keep my eye on the literature. And sometimes, we don't know what the future would bring, but there's no evidence of that at this time.

John Horton:

All right. Well, that's good news for folks. And I think overall, we kind of went over some of the things, like staying hydrated, certain, like you said, multiple sclerosis, you should maybe be a little more careful in it, especially if you find that your symptoms flare up when you're in heat, pregnancy, trying to conceive, all of that.

I assume if you have any sort of medical condition where you're regularly seeing a doctor, it's probably a good idea to talk with them ahead of time before starting an infrared sauna routine just to make sure that it's not going to interfere with your treatment.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Always. I mean, I think if you have a more serious medical condition, you're being treated for something, especially with medications, checking with your doctor is important because it's not for everyone. And even though we're seeing, so we talked about potential benefits with patients who have heart issues, it's a wide range of heart conditions and you want to make sure for you that's going to be safe by talking with your provider.

John Horton:

Yeah. All right. So after hearing all of this, if someone wants to give infrared saunas a try, how should they start that? What are they going to do? We're looking for tips, and it sounds like you've been using this for a while.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I have.

John Horton:

So I think we have the perfect person.

Dr. Melissa Young:

Since most people aren't going to have this yet at home, look for a local clinic or gym that offers infrared sauna. And they're pretty reasonably priced so you can try them out for the first couple times. Start low and slow. Start at a lower temperature, maybe about 110. Go in, think about maybe if you're healthy, you could start with 15 minutes. If you have any health issues, start with five to 10, see how you feel.

If at any time in the sauna, whether it's five minutes or longer, you're not feeling well, then you want to get out, just rest, drink some water, know that you might need an even lower temperature or a shorter period of time.

And then, just say you do great with five or 10 minutes, then you can build up to about 30 minutes, maybe two to four times a week, potentially even one time a week, if that's all the time you had or you can afford is going to have benefit, but a lot of people will do it two to four times a week.

You want to stay hydrated, bring your water in with you. If you're a good sweater, if you sweat a lot, think about electrolytes unless … you always want to check for people who might have kidney issues or high blood pressure. You have to be careful. Some electrolytes have really high levels of sodium and that wouldn't be appropriate, so your provider could guide you there.

You want to ideally wipe the sweat off, take a good towel in with you. You want to try to shower right afterward. There is some elimination through the skin of heavy metals that, unfortunately, we're all exposed to. And so the more you just wipe that sweat off, take a good shower afterward, you're not going to reabsorb anything.

John Horton:

Yeah, it's probably good if you're going to go mingle with people, too. Most of the time, cleaning up is always a good idea.

Dr. Melissa Young:

For sure. I agree.

John Horton:

All right. So bottom line, Dr. Young, would you recommend that folks give infrared saunas a try if they're healthy and able to handle the heat?

Dr. Melissa Young:

Personally, I'm a big fan. I've been doing this for a long time. I've personally found benefit. I have so many patients now, whether we've talked about it or not, who come in and they're using it, and certainly symptomatically and perhaps medically are seeing some benefit. So I think if you're interested in exploring something like this for any of the conditions we talked about or just for general health, I think it can be worth trying.

John Horton:

Yeah. It sounds like it's one of those great complementary treatment things you can try just to boost your overall health and get your body in a better spot.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I agree. And so many people are looking at, what can we do to improve health? What can we do for prevention or trying to help with health prevention? And this could be a good modality for that.

John Horton:

Well, Dr. Young, you always give us great tips. I think we can call this one an actual hot tip for improving our health. And like I said, I really appreciate you making time and coming in, and I look forward to our next conversation.

Dr. Melissa Young:

I do as well. Thank you for having me.

John Horton:

Infrared saunas might not run as hot as traditional saunas, but they deliver enough warmth to bring real health benefits. This approach to heat therapy might even feel a bit more comfortable and even a little chill.

If you liked what you heard today, please hit the subscribe button and leave a comment to share your thoughts. Until next time, be well.