Infrared vs traditional sauna.
Infrared sauna vs traditional sauna: the differences, the evidence and the costs.
A traditional sauna heats the air to 70–100°C; an infrared sauna warms your body with panels while the air stays at 45–60°C. Infrared is gentler, cheaper to run and quicker to heat at home. Almost all the long-term health research, though, is on traditional saunas. We read the studies that compared the two and checked every number.
Updated · 10 min read
Infrared vs traditional sauna at a glance
A traditional sauna heats the air, and the hot air heats you. An infrared sauna heats you directly with glowing panels, and the air stays much cooler. That makes infrared easier to sit in and cheaper to run at home. It also means it works your body less hard at the temperatures most people use, and almost none of the long-term health research was done in one.
| Traditional (Finnish) sauna | Infrared sauna | |
|---|---|---|
| How it heats you | A stove heats stones and air; hot air heats your skin | Panels give off infrared light that warms your skin directly |
| Air temperature | 80–100°C in the research; 70–90°C is common | Usually 45–60°C; some cabins reach 65–70°C |
| Humidity | 10–20%, rising when water goes on the stones | Dry; no stones, so no water |
| Löyly (steam from the stones) | Yes | No |
| Effect on core temperature | Rises steadily | Rises less at 45–60°C; similar at 65°C for 45 minutes |
| Long-term research | Decades of Finnish cohort data on heart, stroke and dementia | Small trials, mostly in heart failure and pain |
| Home heater power | Electric heaters around 6–9 kW | Cabins around 1.3–2.4 kW |
| Warm-up time | About 45–60 minutes | About 10–30 minutes |
| Where you’ll find one | Seaside and community saunas, spas, homes | Gyms, spas, homes and apartments |
How each one heats you
In a traditional sauna, a wood or electric stove heats a pile of stones and the air around them, typically to around 85°C, and that air heats you, mostly by convection.1 The Finnish saunas used in research run at 80–100°C with 10–20% humidity, and sessions last 5–20 minutes.2
An infrared sauna has no stove. Panels in the walls give off infrared radiation, the same invisible heat you feel from the sun or a glowing fire, which warms your skin while the air stays at about 45–60°C.2 Far-infrared panels emit at a wavelength of around 10 micrometres.1 Sellers often say infrared heat “penetrates deeper” than hot air. That claim is repeated in research papers too, but we found no measurement behind it.1
Near, mid, far and full-spectrum infrared
Scientists divide infrared into three bands: IR-A (0.78–1.4 µm), IR-B (1.4–3 µm) and IR-C (3 µm–1 mm), also called far infrared.3 Near, mid and far infrared are the shop names for roughly the same bands. Most cabins use carbon or ceramic panels that give off mostly far infrared; “full-spectrum” cabins add near-infrared lamps. We found no study comparing full-spectrum with far-infrared cabins for health.
What you lose without stones: löyly
In a traditional sauna you can pour a ladle of water on the hot stones. The burst of humid heat, löyly in Finnish, is for many people the whole point. Heater makers warn it can scald, which shows how much heat it carries.4 Infrared cabins have no stones and run without water or extra humidity.2 If you love the hiss and wave of heat, only a stove sauna gives you that.
What each does to your body
The heat stress you get depends on how hot the room is and how long you stay. At the temperatures people usually choose, a traditional sauna works your body harder.
| Study | Session | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Atencio 2025, 20 adults5 | Traditional 80°C, 3 × 10 min; infrared 45–65°C, 45 min | Core temperature rose 0.4°C in the traditional sauna and not at all in the infrared one |
| Mero 2015, 10 men6 | 30 minutes after training | Heart rate 92 a minute after the traditional session, 71 after infrared; the authors called infrared “a very light loading for the body” |
| Jenkins 2026, 12 adults7 | Infrared at 65°C, 45 min | Core temperature up 1.4°C, heart rate 74 → 153, sweat 1.4 litres an hour |
| Ketelhut 2019, 19 adults8 | Traditional at 93°C, 25 min | Heart and blood pressure responses like cycling at 60–100 watts |
So infrared can be as demanding as a traditional sauna, if you run it hot and stay long. The Cardiff researchers concluded that the rise in core temperature “is governed by the thermal load imposed”: how hot and how long, not the type of heat.7 One caution about the Mero study: its “traditional” sauna was unusually cool and humid, at 35–50°C.6
Infrared sessions tend to be longer, often 30–45 minutes, because the air is comfortable. A traditional sauna is usually a few rounds of 10–15 minutes with cooling breaks in between.
Which has more health evidence?
Traditional sauna, by a long way. The famous Finnish studies, such as the one that followed 2,315 men for about 21 years and found 63% fewer sudden cardiac deaths in men who used a sauna 4–7 times a week, were all about traditional saunas.9 There’s no long-term study like it for infrared. Our guide to sauna health benefits covers that research in detail.
A 2018 systematic review found 40 studies of regular dry sauna with 3,855 people. 25 used infrared, 11 Finnish sauna and 4 other types. Only 13 were randomised trials, and most had fewer than 40 people.2 So there are more infrared studies, but they are small and short; the Finnish studies are fewer but follow thousands of people for decades.
Where infrared has evidence
- Heart failure. Japanese “Waon therapy” uses a dry, far-infrared sauna at 60°C for 15 minutes, then 30 minutes resting under a blanket. In the WAON-CHF trial of 149 patients, symptoms, walking distance and heart size improved, though the main blood marker of heart strain didn’t change significantly, with no serious side effects.10 A 2018 meta-analysis found that only infrared studies met its criteria, and rated the evidence “moderate to insufficient”.11
- Blood pressure. A 2009 review found “limited moderate evidence” that far-infrared sauna helps blood pressure.1
- Chronic pain. In a Japanese study, 77% of chronic pain patients given far-infrared sauna with their usual care were back at work two years later, against 50% with usual care alone.12 In a pilot study of people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, pain and stiffness eased during sessions, with no lasting change over four weeks and no side effects.13
- Cholesterol. The 2009 review found “consistent fair evidence to refute” claims that infrared lowers cholesterol.1
Muscle recovery
In the small Finnish trial, men jumped slightly higher after endurance training and an infrared sauna than with no sauna (0.34 m against 0.32 m). After strength training it made no difference.6 That isn’t enough to choose one over the other for recovery.
Infrared sauna myths: EMF, detox and calories
EMF and “low-EMF” cabins
Any electric heater produces a weak magnetic field. The international guideline for the public at mains frequency is 200 microtesla, and ICNIRP, the body that sets it, says research “has not shown to date that long-term low-level” exposure of this kind harms health.14 Cabins sold as “low-EMF” typically quote a few microtesla or less at the panel, far below that limit. We found no independent test of sauna cabins, so treat EMF claims, good or bad, as marketing.
Skin and eyes
Infrared panels can’t burn you at sauna temperatures in the time you sit there. At a skin temperature of 44°C it takes several hours before damage becomes permanent.3 Very long, repeated exposure to heat just below burning can cause a mottled brown rash called erythema ab igne, usually seen in people who use heat pads or hot water bottles for chronic pain.15 We found no case report from an infrared sauna, but don’t press against the panels or fall asleep in front of one. ICNIRP notes the eye is sensitive to heat damage from intense infrared, seen in glass and steel workers.3 Sauna panels are far weaker, but there’s no reason to stare into near-infrared lamps.
Detox
Infrared cabins are often sold for “detox”. A 2011 study of 20 people found some toxic metals in sweat,16 but a 2022 study found sweat carried higher levels of nickel, lead, copper and arsenic during exercise on a treadmill than while sitting in a sauna.17 Other researchers have questioned whether sweat can remove pollutants in amounts that matter at all.18 Your liver and kidneys do the clearing. Neither kind of sauna is a detox treatment.
“Burn 600 calories in 30 minutes”
This figure is everywhere on sellers’ sites, credited to an unnamed “JAMA study”. We couldn’t find any such study. Your heart rate rises in any hot room, so you burn a little more energy than sitting on the sofa, but nothing like a run. The weight you lose in a session is sweat, and it comes back when you drink.
Running costs and installing one at home
These figures come from manufacturers and retailers, so treat them as typical rather than tested.
| Infrared cabin | Electric traditional sauna | |
|---|---|---|
| Heater power | 1.9–2.4 kW19,20 | 6–9 kW for a small room4,21 |
| Warm-up | About 10–15 minutes19 | About 45–60 minutes22 |
| Electricity for a session | About 1–2 kWh for a 45-minute session including warm-up (our estimate from heater power) | About 7–9 kWh over two hours for a 6 kW heater23 |
| Power supply | Some plug into a 13 A socket; others need their own circuit19,20 | A dedicated circuit, usually fitted by an electrician21 |
At Irish household prices of about €0.39 per kWh, Eurostat’s average for the first half of 2026,24 a two-hour traditional session at 7–9 kWh costs roughly €2.70–€3.50 in electricity; an infrared session costs well under €1. In the UK, at the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh from 1 October to 31 December 2026,25 that is about £1.85–£2.35 against about 50p. Always follow the manual for the power supply; even infrared cabins differ.
Which should you choose?
- Choose a traditional sauna if you want the experience the research describes, love löyly and the sea or a cold plunge between rounds, or want to bathe with friends. Most public seaside and community saunas in Ireland and the UK are this kind.
- Choose infrared if you find very hot air hard to breathe, want a sauna at home that plugs in and warms up quickly, or prefer a long, gentle session alone.
- For heart failure or chronic pain, the trials used infrared or mild dry sauna at about 60°C. Talk to your doctor first rather than trying it alone.
If you’ve only tried infrared at a gym, a session at a wood-fired sauna by the sea is a different thing entirely. Find one near you.
Who should be careful
The same cautions apply to both. A 2018 review lists heart problems in people with unstable coronary artery disease and burns in dry saunas among the reported harms.2 Men trying for a baby may want to take a break: sperm counts fell with regular sauna use in a small study and recovered six months after stopping.26 Don’t drink alcohol before or during either kind.
How we wrote this page
We read the studies, reviews and official guidance linked below and checked every number on this page against its source. Where a figure we found only appeared in news coverage or on a seller’s site, we left it out or said so. Running costs are our arithmetic from manufacturers’ power figures and published electricity prices: Eurostat’s average Irish household price for the first half of 2026 and the UK price cap for October to December 2026. We last checked the sources on 21 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email us.
Olladay makes booking software for saunas, so we’d like more people to use them. That’s a reason to be careful with claims, not to oversell them.
References
- Beever R. Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: summary of published evidence. Canadian Family Physician. 2009;55(7):691–696. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2718593/
- Hussain J, Cohen M. Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: a systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2018;2018:1857413. 10.1155/2018/1857413
- International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Infrared radiation. www.icnirp.org/en/frequencies/infrared/index.html
- Harvia. Delta Combi sauna heater instructions for installation and use (manufacturer). www.manualslib.com/manual/1888967/Harvia-Delta-Combi.html
- Atencio JK, et al. Comparison of thermoregulatory, cardiovascular and immune responses to different passive heat therapy modalities. American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2025;329:R20–R35. 10.1152/ajpregu.00012.2025
- Mero A, Tornberg J, Mäntykoski M, Puurtinen R. Effects of far-infrared sauna bathing on recovery from strength and endurance training sessions in men. SpringerPlus. 2015;4:321. 10.1186/s40064-015-1093-5
- Jenkins EJ, et al. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses to far-infrared sauna bathing. Experimental Physiology. 2026. 10.1113/EP094028
- Ketelhut S, Ketelhut RG. The blood pressure and heart rate during sauna bath correspond to cardiac responses during submaximal dynamic exercise. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2019;44:218–222. 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.002
- Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(4):542–548. 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8187
- Tei C, Imamura T, Kinugawa K, et al. Waon therapy for managing chronic heart failure: results from a multicenter prospective randomized WAON-CHF study. Circulation Journal. 2016;80(4):827–834. 10.1253/circj.CJ-16-0051
- Källström M, Soveri I, Oldgren J, et al. Effects of sauna bath on heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Cardiology. 2018;41(11):1491–1501. 10.1002/clc.23077
- Masuda A, Koga Y, Hattanmaru M, Minagoe S, Tei C. The effects of repeated thermal therapy for patients with chronic pain. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 2005;74(5):288–294. 10.1159/000086319
- Oosterveld FGJ, Rasker JJ, Floors M, et al. Infrared sauna in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis: a pilot study showing good tolerance, short-term improvement of pain and stiffness, and a trend towards long-term beneficial effects. Clinical Rheumatology. 2009;28(1):29–34. 10.1007/s10067-008-0977-y
- ICNIRP. Fact sheet on the guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric and magnetic fields (1 Hz–100 kHz). 2010. www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/publications/ICNIRPFactSheetLF.pdf
- Harview CL, Krenitsky A. Erythema ab igne: a clinical review. Cutis. 2023;111(4):E33–E38. 10.12788/cutis.0771
- Genuis SJ, Birkholz D, Rodushkin I, Beesoon S. Blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study: monitoring and elimination of bioaccumulated toxic elements. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 2011;61(2):344–357. 10.1007/s00244-010-9611-5
- Kuan WH, Chen YL, Liu CL. Excretion of Ni, Pb, Cu, As, and Hg in sweat under two sweating conditions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(7):4323. 10.3390/ijerph19074323
- Imbeault P, Ravanelli N, Chevrier J. Can POPs be substantially popped out through sweat? Environment International. 2018;111:131–132. 10.1016/j.envint.2017.11.023
- Hekla Infrared 130 indoor sauna, product listing (retailer). www.outdoorlivinghottubs.co.uk/products/hekla-infrared-130-indoor-sauna
- Atlantic Saunas Infrared Snug, product listing (retailer). www.fitshop.co.uk/atlantic-saunas-infrared-snug-sauna-atlantic-glow-1.2-as-irsnug
- Harvia Vega BC60 electric sauna heater, product page (manufacturer). www.harvia.com/en/products/HCB600400S
- Harvia Wall heater manual supplement, Almost Heaven Saunas (manufacturer). cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0555/6355/0889/files/AHS_Wall_Heater_Manual.pdf
- Harvia. The cost of heating a sauna is less than you think (manufacturer). www.harvia.com/en/ideas-and-trends/sustainability-and-safety/the-cost-of-heating-a-sauna-is-less-than-you-think
- Eurostat. Electricity prices for household consumers, bi-annual data (nrg_pc_204), Ireland, 2,500–4,999 kWh a year, all taxes included. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nrg_pc_204/default/table
- Ofgem. Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026. www.ofgem.gov.uk/news/changes-energy-price-cap-between-1-october-and-31-december-2026
- Garolla A, Torino M, Sartini B, et al. Seminal and molecular evidence that sauna exposure affects human spermatogenesis. Human Reproduction. 2013;28(4):877–885. 10.1093/humrep/det020
Questions
Is infrared or traditional sauna better?
It depends on what you want. Nearly all the long-term health research, on heart disease, stroke and dementia, is on traditional Finnish saunas at 80–100°C. Infrared has small trials in heart failure and chronic pain. At the usual temperatures, infrared is gentler on the body, cheaper to run at home and warms up faster, but has no löyly.
What temperature is an infrared sauna?
Usually 45–60°C, with some cabins reaching 65–70°C. A traditional sauna is usually 70–100°C.
Do infrared saunas have the same benefits as traditional saunas?
Nobody knows yet. The long Finnish studies that linked frequent sauna with fewer deaths from heart disease used traditional saunas only. Infrared can raise core temperature as much if it is run hot for long enough, so some benefits may carry over, but this has not been studied over years.
Can you use an infrared sauna every day?
Trials of daily infrared sessions for up to four weeks reported no serious side effects, and daily traditional sauna is normal in Finland. Most healthy adults can, if they drink water and leave when they feel unwell. Ask a doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant.
How long should you sit in an infrared sauna?
Studies used 15–45 minutes. Start with 15–20 minutes at a moderate temperature and build up.
Do infrared saunas burn calories?
Only a little more than sitting still. The claim that an infrared sauna burns 600 calories in 30 minutes has no study behind it that we could find. Weight lost in a session is water.
Are infrared saunas safe? What about EMF?
For most healthy adults, yes. Cabin heaters produce weak magnetic fields far below international limits, and there is no evidence that this level harms health. Don’t press your skin against the panels or fall asleep in front of them.
Does an infrared sauna detox your body?
No good evidence says so. Sweat carries tiny amounts of metals and pollutants, and one study found more in sweat from exercise than from sitting in a sauna. Your liver and kidneys clear waste.
Is an infrared sauna cheaper to run?
Yes. A home cabin draws about 2 kW and warms up in 10–30 minutes, against 6–9 kW and up to an hour for an electric traditional sauna. That is roughly under €1 a session against €3–€3.50 at Irish electricity prices.