“Infrared saunas work better than traditional saunas.”

The research found this

Researchers in Oregon compared a far-infrared cabin with a traditional sauna in the same 20 healthy young adults. A hot bath served as a third condition, and the sessions were at least a week apart.1Source 1 · Crossover trialComparison of thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and immune responses to different passive heat therapy modalitiesAtencio JK, Reed EL, Wiedenfeld Needham K, et al.. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2025.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ The traditional sauna ran three 10-minute rounds with the thermostat at 80°C, and the infrared session lasted 45 minutes. A calibrated probe found the air cooler than either thermostat: 66°C where the traditional one read 78°C, and 45°C where the infrared one read 57°C.

The traditional sauna put more strain on the body. Core temperature rose 0.4°C in the traditional sauna and did not move in the infrared cabin (P = 0.02), and skin warmed 8.3°C against 6.1°C.1Source 1 · Crossover trialComparison of thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and immune responses to different passive heat therapy modalitiesAtencio JK, Reed EL, Wiedenfeld Needham K, et al.. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2025.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ Gaps in cardiac output and heart rate pointed the same way without reaching statistical significance. Only the hot bath moved cytokines or immune cells.

Run hotter, an infrared cabin can load the body the way a traditional sauna does. Twelve adults spent 45 minutes in a commercial cabin that averaged 63.9°C, and their rectal temperature rose 1.4°C while heart rate went from 74 to 153 beats a minute.2Source 2 · Clinical trialFar‐infrared sauna exposure at 65°C elevates core temperatureJenkins EJ, Killick JA, Grimm SR, et al.. Experimental Physiology, 2026.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ Two of the 12 stopped early because of extreme discomfort. A separate 45-minute study in a commercial infrared cabin found no change in core temperature.3Source 3 · Clinical trialMuscle temperature increases during a single far infrared sauna session without changes in intestinal temperatureReed EL, Uzoekwe CC, Atencio JK, et al.. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2025.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The clinical case for infrared rests mainly on Japanese Waon therapy for heart failure, which means 15 minutes in a 60°C far-infrared sauna and then 30 minutes resting under a warm blanket. A 2009 evidence summary found those studies small and short and noted that one core research group ran all of them.4Source 4 · Systematic reviewFar-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: summary of published evidenceBeever R. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2009.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ The largest randomized trial enrolled 149 patients and missed its primary endpoint.5Source 5 · Randomized trialWaon Therapy for Managing Chronic Heart Failure – Results From a Multicenter Prospective Randomized WAON-CHF Study –Tei C, Imamura T, Kinugawa K, et al.. Circulation Journal, 2016.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The Finnish cohort data tying frequent sauna use to longer life come from traditional saunas at about 79°C.6Source 6 · Cohort studyAssociation Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality EventsLaukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, et al.. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ Nobody has tested infrared cabins against those long-term outcomes, and when a 2018 meta-analysis looked for sauna trials in heart failure, only infrared studies qualified.7Source 7 · Meta-analysisEffects of sauna bath on heart failure: A systematic review and meta‐analysisKällström M, Soveri I, Oldgren J, et al.. Clinical Cardiology, 2018.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗