Infrared sauna: the benefits and downsides, honestly laid out
In short
Infrared warmth feels milder than a Finnish sauna. Pleasant, but it is no miracle cure and not for everyone.
- Mild warmth you can keep up for longer
- No steam, no pouring water, no ritual
- Fluid loss on the scales is not fat loss
- With warmth and health complaints, see your doctor first
Search for the benefits of an infrared sauna and you mostly get enthusiastic lists, full of promises that are rarely backed up. Dig into the downsides and you find the opposite: stories from people who regret buying an expensive cabin that now serves as a clothes rack. The truth lies somewhere in between, and it is a lot more down to earth than either camp makes it sound.
In this guide we put the benefits and the downsides side by side in equal detail. We cover how it differs from a Finnish sauna, why the temperature is set lower and still feels warm, how often per week makes sense, what is and is not true about the weight loss story, and who infrared warmth is less suitable for. Luxyor sells infrared blankets and lamps, not cabins. That does not make us neutral, but it does mean we have nothing to defend on the cabin side.
What infrared warmth does, in plain language
Infrared is radiation you cannot see, but you can feel. It is the same principle that lets you feel warmth from a wall that has been in the sun all day, while the air around it is cool. The radiation does not heat the air in the room first, but the surface it hits. In an infrared sauna, that surface is your skin.
That is the whole idea, and it is less spectacular than the marketing around it suggests. Nothing magical happens. There is warmth, which your skin absorbs and your body then spreads through your bloodstream. You get warm, you start to sweat, your heart rate goes up a little. Much like what happens when you take a warm bath or sit in the sun.
Far infrared and near infrared
Infrared is not one single thing but a range in the light spectrum. Far infrared, often shortened to FIR, is the form you mainly experience as warmth. That is what the panels in an infrared sauna and the heating layers in an infrared sauna blanket give off. Near infrared sits closer to visible red light and is mainly used in red light panels and lamps, where the point is light, not warmth.
For this article far infrared matters most, because that is the warmth an infrared sauna is all about. The difference between those two ranges also explains why a red light panel does something completely different from a sauna blanket, even though both have infrared on the box.
Infrared sauna benefits: what users tend to mention
Below are the benefits mentioned most often in practice. Note the wording: this is what people experience and appreciate, not a list of effects anyone can guarantee you.
- It feels milder than a classic sauna. The air stays cooler, so breathing is easier. People who find a Finnish sauna too hot or too stuffy end up with infrared for exactly this reason.
- You can keep it up for longer. Because you are not sitting in hot air, a twenty minute session is doable for most people. In a Finnish sauna that is too long for many.
- Warmth on stiff spots feels soothing. After a day of sitting or after exercise, warmth on the neck, shoulders and lower back is experienced as pleasant. That is a feeling people describe, not a result anyone can promise.
- It gives you a fixed moment of rest. Twenty minutes in which you cannot tidy up, cook or scroll. For many people that is the real benefit, not the warmth itself.
- No travel time and no membership. At home the barrier to going is a lot lower than at a spa you first have to drive to.
- Shorter warm up time than a Finnish sauna. An infrared cabin does not need to bring stones and a whole room to well above eighty degrees. A blanket is even faster, because it warms up while you are already lying in it.
- Privacy. No shared benches, no debates about towels, no strangers.
What you deliberately will not read here are promises about detoxing, losing weight or making complaints go away. You come across those claims a lot online, but they cannot be backed up and we do not join in. What is true: warmth feels good, and a fixed moment of rest does something for your day.
Infrared sauna downsides: the honest flip side
Now the part that is usually missing from sales copy. These points are no reason not to do it, but they are things you should know beforehand, because they cause the most disappointment afterwards.
- You miss the classic sauna ritual. No steam, no pouring water on the stones, no scent of wood and birch twigs. If that is exactly what you are after, infrared will let you down.
- A cabin takes up a permanent spot in your home. You will not get that space back. Assembly takes an afternoon or a technician, and many models need their own circuit in the fuse box.
- Preheating means planning. A spontaneous session does not really exist with a cabin. This is the most common reason cabins get used less than expected at the time of purchase.
- It is warmth, nothing more. It is pleasant and can be relaxing, but it does not replace medical care, exercise or sleep.
- Not everyone enjoys warmth. Some people get restless or feel short of breath instead of relaxed. That is not something you simply get used to.
- Power consumption. Making heat takes energy, and a cabin that has to warm a whole room uses more than a blanket or a lamp.
- Maintenance and cleaning. You sweat in it. That means wiping it down, letting it dry and airing it out, every single time.
- With a blanket, your head stays outside. You do not get the feeling of sitting in a warm room, and reading or using your phone is only possible to a limited extent.
Below, the main benefits and downsides are set side by side per topic, so you do not read them in isolation.
| Topic | Benefit | Downside or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| How the warmth feels | Milder than a Finnish sauna, you breathe more easily | Less intense, and the sauna ritual with steam is missing |
| Session length | Twenty minutes is easy to manage for most people | You do have to stay still, lying or sitting, for that time |
| Space | A blanket needs no fixed spot and folds away into a cupboard | A cabin takes up a corner of your home that you lose for good |
| Starting up | Reaches temperature faster than a traditional sauna | With a cabin, preheating is always something to plan |
| Use with more people | A cabin can be used by two | A blanket is for one person per session |
| Running costs | No travel time, no membership, no entrance fee | Power consumption and, with a cabin, possibly an electrician beforehand |
| Expectations | A fixed, pleasant moment of rest that you plan yourself | No solution for complaints and no replacement for care |
Infrared sauna or Finnish sauna: the difference
This is the difference that causes the most confusion, and it explains almost all of the benefits and downsides above. A Finnish sauna heats the air. A stove with stones brings the room to a high temperature, you sit in that hot air and your body warms up from the outside. That is why it feels stuffy the moment you step in, and why pouring water on the stones makes the feeling even more intense.
An infrared sauna does it the other way round. The room stays noticeably cooler, but the panels radiate warmth straight onto your body. The result: you breathe more easily and you can stay in longer. What you do not get is the ritual. That is not a detail, because it is the most common disappointment among people who buy an infrared cabin without thinking it through because they miss the sauna at their favourite spa.
| What | Infrared sauna | Finnish sauna |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature in the room | Low to moderate, often around forty to sixty degrees | High, usually eighty degrees or more |
| What gets heated | Your skin, directly by radiation | The air, and then you |
| Warm up time | A few minutes to half an hour, depending on the model | Longer, because the stones and the room have to heat up too |
| Experience | Calm, dry warmth, you breathe easily | Intense and stuffy, with steam when water is poured on the stones |
| Session length | Twenty to thirty minutes is usual | Shorter, with breaks and cooling down in between |
| Space and installation | Cabin or blanket, a blanket needs no fixed spot | Fixed cabin with stove, ventilation and heavy duty wiring |
| Ritual | No steam and no pouring water | Pouring water, scents, cooling down, repeat |
The full story with all the differences is in the article on infrared versus a traditional Finnish sauna. There are also cabins that combine both techniques in the same room, and what a combination sauna with Finnish and infrared offers in practice is a trade off of its own. Still torn between a cabin, a blanket and a lamp for home? The guide to an infrared sauna for home will help you along.
Infrared sauna temperature: why lower still feels warm
New users are often taken aback by the temperature. Fifty degrees sounds like nothing when you are used to ninety in the sauna. Yet you still sweat. That is because the temperature on the display measures something different from what you feel.
The thermostat measures the air temperature or, with a blanket, the temperature of the heating surface. But what you feel is determined by the radiation falling on your skin. That radiation is there even when the air stays cool. That is why an infrared sauna at fifty degrees feels warmer than an ordinary room at fifty degrees ever would, and why a lower number here is no sign that the device is too weak.
In practice this means you are better off starting low than high. You can always go up, but a session that is too hot from the first minute is hard to rescue. If you want to know exactly which setting suits which goal and which season, you will find it in the complete temperature guide for your sauna blanket.
Never compare temperatures between two brands as if they were the same number. The sensor sits in a different place on every device, so fifty degrees on one model feels different from fifty on another. Go by how it feels, not by the display.
Infrared sauna: how often per week makes sense
There is no number that is right for everyone, and anyone who says otherwise is selling you something. What does apply: regularity matters more than intensity. Two sessions a week that you keep up for a year are worth more than six a week that you drop after a month.
| Situation | Length per session | Frequency | Point of attention |
|---|---|---|---|
| First weeks, getting used to it | 15 to 20 minutes | 1 to 2 times a week | Start on a moderate setting and see how you respond |
| Regular routine | 20 to 30 minutes | 2 to 4 times a week | Pick the same moment each time, that helps you keep it up |
| After exercise | 15 to 20 minutes | On your rest days or well after training | Not directly on a fresh injury or swelling |
| In winter | 20 to 30 minutes | More often is fine, as long as it stays pleasant | Pay extra attention to drinking, even if you are not thirsty |
| On hot summer days | 10 to 15 minutes | Less often, or skip it for a while | Choose the coolest hours of the day |
Every day is fine too, as long as you feel good and drink enough. But more is not better here. If you feel tired, headachy or restless after a session, that is a signal to scale back the length or frequency, not to push on.
- Infrared warmth without losing a corner of your home
- Adjustable setting and timer, so you can build up gently
- 60 days to change your mind and 2 year warranty
Infrared sauna and weight loss: what really happens
This topic deserves its own heading, because a lot of nonsense is told about it. The reasoning you come across online goes like this: you sweat in an infrared sauna, afterwards the scales show less, so you have lost weight. The first part is true, the second part is true, and the conclusion is not.
What you lose during a session is fluid. As soon as you drink again, that weight is back. Fluid loss is not fat loss, however convincing the scales may look. If you think you are getting results based on those numbers, you are really measuring how much you still need to drink.
It is also claimed that you burn calories in a sauna because your heart rate goes up. Your body does indeed work to stay cool. But that is not the same as a workout, and the numbers quoted with it are rarely based on anything. That is why we do not mention them.
Does that mean an infrared sauna has nothing to do with a healthy lifestyle? No. For some people it is the moment they wind down, and rest and a steady rhythm are part of how you look after yourself. But if weight loss is your goal, this is not the device to buy for it. The full story is in the article on an infrared sauna blanket and weight loss.
Is an infrared sauna healthy?
The honest answer is that an infrared sauna is not a health product, but a comfort product. You are buying warmth and a moment of rest. That can be part of a pleasant routine, and many people find it soothing, but it is not a treatment and it does not address any causes.
Look at sellers who claim otherwise with healthy suspicion. As soon as promises about detoxing, weight loss, your immune system or complaints disappearing come up, you know enough. Nobody can deliver that, and it is only there to win you over.
What can honestly be said: many people find warmth pleasant, relaxing is valuable, and planning a fixed moment for yourself does something for how your day goes. That is reason enough to want a device like this. You do not need a medical story to go with it. You can read more about this in the article on whether an infrared sauna blanket is healthy and safe.
An infrared sauna is not a health device but a comfort device. Buy it as that, and you will rarely be disappointed.
Who an infrared sauna is less suitable for
Warmth is not for everyone and not sensible in every situation. These are the situations in which you are better off checking first, waiting or simply choosing something else.
- You are pregnant or think you might be.
- You take medication that affects your temperature regulation, or medication that makes you drowsy.
- You have heart or circulation problems, or blood pressure that is not stable.
- You have a fever, an infection or feel like you are coming down with flu.
- You have a fresh injury, inflammation or swelling. Warmth is usually not the first choice then.
- You have reduced feeling in your skin, for example due to nerve damage. You then notice too late that it is too hot.
- You fall asleep easily and use a device without automatic switch off.
- Warmth makes you restless rather than relaxed. That happens, and it is not a matter of pushing through.
Children should not use an infrared sauna or lie under a blanket on their own. Their temperature regulation works differently and they are less reliable at telling you when it gets too much.
How a first session goes
A first session does not have to be a project. Five steps and you will know straight away whether this is for you. If you want the whole process laid out, the explanation of how to use an infrared sauna, from warming up to cooling down calmly walks through every part.
- Get everything ready before you startA towel, a bottle of water and your phone on silent. Getting up halfway to fetch something breaks the moment.
- Start lower than you thinkChoose a moderate setting the first time. You can always go up, but starting too hot spoils the session.
- Keep it shortFifteen to twenty minutes is plenty for the first time. See how your body responds before you go longer.
- Drink before, during and afterYou sweat, so top up. Keep that bottle within reach instead of only thinking of it afterwards.
- Wind down calmlyDo not jump straight up and rush on. Five minutes of cooling down makes the difference between relaxed and dizzy.
If you feel dizzy, nauseous or restless during the session, stop. That is not a sign that you should push on, and it is not a sign that you are doing something wrong either. It just means it was too hot or too long.
Place a thin sheet or an inner liner between you and the heating surface. It feels nicer on your skin, keeps the device clean and saves you cleaning every time.
What to watch out for: pitfalls and misconceptions
Quite a few stubborn stories surround infrared saunas. These are the ones you come across most often.
- "It detoxes you." Your liver and kidneys do that job. Sweating is temperature regulation, not a clean up operation.
- "The scales say I have lost weight." That is fluid. After a few glasses of water it is back.
- "The hotter, the better." No. Too hot mainly means you do not finish the session and do not feel like it next time.
- "Longer is better." Not that either. Beyond half an hour, most people find it heavy rather than pleasant.
- "A low temperature means a weak device." The display measures the air or the surface, not what the radiation does to your skin.
- "A sauna blanket is the same as an electric blanket." No. An electric blanket heats the fabric, infrared radiates warmth onto your body. That is a different principle.
- "It replaces exercise." Your heart rate goes up because your body wants to stay cool. That is not a workout.
- "More watts is always better." Power tells you something about how fast something warms up, not about how pleasant a session is.
One more pitfall that has little to do with technology: the purchase itself. Measure the space in real life rather than on paper, ask how a cabin is delivered and whether it fits up your stairwell, and look at the return period and the warranty so you can go back if it disappoints.
Cabin, blanket or lamp: what it costs in space and hassle
If you still want infrared warmth at home after reading the downsides, the next question is in what form. There are three, and they mainly differ in what they ask of your home and your patience. We do not mention amounts here, because they change too quickly and differ per household. What can be compared is space, time and hassle.
Space, time and hassle per form
A cabin needs a fixed spot that you lose for good, assembly, often its own circuit in the fuse box and preheating every time. On the other hand, you really sit inside it, with warmth all around, and two of you can use it.
A blanket you roll out on the sofa or the bed, plug into an ordinary socket and put back in the cupboard after the session. Your head stays outside, and it is one person per session. For rented homes, flats and anyone who is not sure they will keep it up, this is the smallest step. How blankets differ from one another is covered in the guide to buying an infrared blanket.
A lamp warms one zone, for example your lower back or your shoulder, and nothing else. No session, no getting changed, just switch it on while you sit and read. If you are mainly looking for warmth on stiff spots and no sauna feeling at all, that is the simplest route.
One more thing about power: for the same length of use, a cabin uses the most, because it has to heat a whole room and keep it at temperature. Then comes the blanket, and a lamp uses the least because it only warms one zone. Concrete amounts depend too much on your tariff and your use to give sensibly here.
- The smallest step to try out infrared warmth
- Foldable, so after the session your room is just your room again
- 60 days to change your mind and 2 year warranty
All the studies behind these benefits and downsides, with design, numbers and a link to the publication, are on what the research says about infrared.
In conclusion
The benefits of an infrared sauna are real, but they are more modest than the advertising would have you believe: mild warmth that is easier to keep up than a Finnish sauna, a fixed moment of rest and no travel time. The downsides are just as real: the ritual is missing, a cabin costs space and planning, warmth is not pleasant for everyone, and none of it solves a complaint. Buy it as comfort and you will almost always be satisfied. Buy it as a solution and you almost never will be.
Know which way you are leaning? Then take a further look at the infrared sauna blanket collection. Want to understand the technology behind infrared warmth before you choose? You will find the background in the knowledge base on infrared sauna blankets.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main benefits of an infrared sauna?
People mainly mention the milder warmth, which makes it easier to breathe and lets you keep up a session for longer than in a Finnish sauna. Then there is the convenience of home: no travel time, no membership and privacy. For many users the biggest benefit is simply that it gives them a regular moment of rest.
What are the downsides of an infrared sauna?
You miss the classic sauna ritual with steam and pouring water on the stones. A cabin takes up a fixed place in your home, needs assembling and sometimes its own circuit in the fuse box, and has to preheat every time. Beyond that, it remains warmth: pleasant, but not a solution for complaints. And not everyone finds warmth relaxing.
Is an infrared sauna healthy?
An infrared sauna is a comfort product, not a health product. Many people experience warmth as soothing and value the moment of rest, but it is not a treatment and does not address causes. If you come across sellers who promise that you will detox or get rid of complaints, be critical.
What temperature does an infrared sauna reach?
Clearly lower than a Finnish sauna, often somewhere between 40 and 60 °C in the cabin. That sounds low, but the radiation falls directly on your skin and you certainly feel that. Start lower than you think and build up, because starting too hot spoils the session.
Why does a lower temperature still feel warm?
The thermostat measures the air or the heating surface, while what you feel is determined by the radiation falling on your skin. That radiation is there even when the air stays cool. So a low number on the display does not mean the device is weak.
How often per week can you use an infrared sauna?
There is no number that is right for everyone. Two to four times a week is a common rhythm for people who are used to it, and once or twice a week is a gentle start. More important than the frequency is that you keep it up and feel good about it.
Do you lose weight from an infrared sauna?
No. What you lose during a session is fluid, and that comes back as soon as you drink again. Fluid loss is not fat loss, however convincing the scales may seem. If weight loss is your goal, this is not the device to buy for it.
What is the difference between an infrared sauna and a Finnish sauna?
A Finnish sauna heats the air in the room, so it immediately feels hot and stuffy. An infrared sauna radiates warmth directly onto your body and keeps the air cooler. That makes breathing easier, but you get no steam and no ritual of pouring water on the stones.
How long does a session in an infrared sauna last?
Twenty to thirty minutes is usual for most people. For a first time, fifteen to twenty minutes is plenty. Longer is not better: beyond half an hour, many people find it becomes heavy rather than pleasant.
Who is an infrared sauna less suitable for?
Caution is needed with pregnancy, fever, heart and circulation problems, a fresh injury with swelling, reduced feeling in the skin or medication that affects temperature regulation. In those cases, check with your doctor first. Children should not use it on their own.
Does an infrared sauna use a lot of electricity?
That depends on the power, the duration and how often you use it. For the same length of use, a cabin uses the most, because it has to heat a whole room and keep it at temperature. Next comes a blanket, and a lamp uses the least because it only warms one zone.
Is an infrared blanket a good alternative to a cabin?
For the warmth and the moment of rest a blanket comes close, and it does not need a fixed place in your home. You do not get the feeling of sitting in a warm room, because your head stays outside, and it is one person per session. For small homes and people who are unsure, it is the smallest step.
