The Benefits of Infrared Sauna

In case you missed it, Omega’s newest piece of recovery equipment has arrived! We are excited to offer another resource to promote health and wellness, recovery and performance to our local community with the addition of our infrared sauna.

What is an Infrared Sauna?

An infrared sauna is a type of sauna that uses infrared radiant energy to directly penetrate the body’s tissue. It differs from a traditional steam sauna in that it is able to heat your body without having to heat the air around you first. This allows you to have the same benefit from the sauna at a lower, more comfortable temperature.

A traditional sauna would typically need to hit a temperature of 180-190 deg F in order to be effective, while an infrared sauna only needs to reach up to about 120-130 deg F to have the same effect. This lower temperature makes it more comfortable and tolerable for people and also makes it easier to breathe. With the infrared sauna, there is a deep heating effect on both the muscles and internal organs without putting such a burden on the heart.

What are the Benefits of Infrared Sauna?

There are many benefits to the use of infrared saunas, ranging from general health benefits such as improving sleep and reducing stress/fatigue, to cosmetic benefits, such as clearing skin and improving skin tone, to performance benefits such as improving VO2 max.

Below, you will see additional health and performance benefits.

Is the Infrared Sauna Safe for Everyone?

The infrared sauna is generally very safe for most healthy individuals. It utilizes the same types of radiant waves as the sun without the UV waves that can cause skin damage. However, as with most therapies, there are certain situations where the use of the infrared sauna is contraindicated or where further clearance from an MD is warranted. See below for a list of these situations:

Seek MD clearance:

• Cardiac conditions
• Adults over the age of 65 (consult MD)
• Chronic conditions (diabetes, etc) that affect ability to sweat
• Taking medications
• Other Implanted medical device

Contraindicated:

• Pregnancy
• Hemophilia
• Fever
• Active infection
• Insensitivity to Heat
• Under the age of 12
• Alcohol use/abuse (impaired judgement)
• Pacemaker

How often Should you Use the Sauna to See Benefit:

For the general health benefits, using the sauna about 3-4 times per week for about 30 minutes is often recommended, with the first treatments being shorter (about 10-15 minutes) to ensure tolerance. Once tolerance is confirmed, you can increase duration or frequency. Please discuss prescription of sauna use with your PT or MD if you have questions.

The studies done on endurance athletes, often are based upon post-exercise sauna treatments of about 30 minutes, at a frequency of 3-4x/week for 3 weeks. The benefit of utilizing the sauna for more than 3 weeks still needs to be further evaluated and studied.

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