Infrared vs Traditional Sauna: What’s The Difference?

You want to feel healthy and energized, but you’re dealing with inflammation, pain, and health issues from environmental toxin overload. Here’s some good news: getting into a sauna regularly can help detoxify and improve your health.

Both infrared and traditional saunas have benefits, so which one should you use? It’s a great question. Heat and sauna therapy has been used across cultures for thousands of years. The Romans enjoyed their baths. The Japanese love hot soaking tubs. Indigenous Americans are known for their sweat lodges. And the Finnish and other Northern Europeans made saunas their daily routine.

Up until recently, traditional saunas were your only option. But recently, infrared saunas have entered the picture. While traditional saunas heat the air first and then your body, infrared saunas can penetrate your skin and heat up your body directly without affecting the air. The two share similarities but there are also some key differences. We invite you to learn more about infrared vs. traditional saunas and why we recommend infrared saunas for their numerous health benefits.

How Infrared Saunas Work

Both traditional and infrared saunas use heat therapy to promote relaxation, improve circulation, and support detoxification through sweating. They work by using infrared light to heat the body directly rather than heating the air around you. Unlike traditional saunas that rely on high temperatures to warm the air, which in turn heats your body, infrared saunas emit infrared wavelengths of light, which penetrate the skin and raise your body temperature from within.

Infrared Light and Heat Penetration

Infrared saunas use light in the infrared spectrum. This light is invisible to the human eye but is felt as heat. Infrared radiation safely penetrates the skin to warm the body’s tissues directly. This heat gets absorbed through the surface of your skin, heating up your body, enhancing detoxification, and benefiting your health.

Lower Operating Temperatures

Thanks to the infrared technology, these saunas operate at lower temperatures compared to traditional saunas. Traditional saunas operate between 150 F and 195 F (65.55 C and 90.55 C) while infrared saunas operate between 110 F and 135 F (43.33 C and 57.22 C). This is because infrared saunas bring heat to your skin directly instead of indirectly.

Infrared heaters use Far Infrared Technology (FIR), a noninvasive light therapy that can penetrate your skin 1.5 inches deep. Unlike traditional saunas, which heat the room, infrared saunas can heat your muscle tissues and internal organs without heating the surrounding air.

This process may improve detoxification and the elimination of toxins through sweating even more than traditional saunas. The infrared wavelengths may also help to support your immune system, metabolism, metabolic pathways, liver detoxification, kidney filtration, and overall health. They may help to reduce inflammation, improve lymphatic health, and support circulation (1, 2, 3).

How Traditional Saunas Work

Traditional saunas work by using high temperatures to heat the air around you, which then warms your body. The heat is typically generated by a stove or heater that warms rocks inside the sauna, and water can be poured over these rocks to create steam, increasing the humidity and intensifying the heat.

Convection and Radiant Heat

When you think about a traditional sauna, you can imagine a stove that heats up rocks to heat up the sauna room. Some traditional saunas are wood-burning. Others are electric. In both cases, the rocks are heated enough to transfer the heat to the air in the sauna which can then heat up your body. 

In traditional saunas, you can create steam by pouring water over the hot rocks. This will create steam and humidity and increase the sensation of warmth.

Higher Operating Temperatures

As we mentioned earlier, traditional saunas function at a higher temperature than infrared saunas and other heat therapy devices. You can expect temperatures ranging between 150 F and 195 F. This is necessary because traditional saunas can’t directly heat your body—they must heat the air first. In a dry sauna, temperatures are even higher than in saunas where water is poured over the rocks or steam rooms, to make up for the lower humidity and still enhance deep sweating. 

Traditional saunas can promote detoxification and relaxation. Sometimes they may be used as part of spiritual or cultural practices. However, because infrared saunas penetrate your skin, they may be more effective. In the next section, you will learn more about the benefits of traditional and infrared saunas so you can decide which is best for you.

Health Benefits of Infrared Saunas

Traditional and infrared sauna sessions both have health benefits. To understand which will work best for your needs, we want to discuss the benefits of both. Let’s start with the health benefits of infrared saunas.

Detoxification and Skin Health

One of the main benefits of infrared saunas is detoxifying your body and improving your skin health. We don’t really think of our skin as an organ, yet, it is our largest detoxifying organ. Through perspiration and sweating, your skin can eliminate loads of toxins.

With just 15 minutes of infrared light exposure, you can sweat up to a lfiter. But it’s not just water leaving your body. Through your sweat, your body can eliminate environmental toxins and heavy metals, including mercury and arsenic (4). This is why many firefighters and police officers use infrared sauna sessions to get rid of toxins they encounter through their work and reduce the risk of toxin-related diseases (5, 6). 

Cleansing your body from environmental toxin build-up can reduce your risk of various chronic diseases (9). Since infrared technology can penetrate your skin, it may be more effective for sweating and detoxification than regular saunas. 

All the sweating in an infrared sauna may help to clear your pores and leave you with glowing skin. Infrared technology may also help to improve elastin and collagen levels and reduce the aging of the skin (10).

Muscle Recovery and Pain Relief

Infrared saunas may also help to improve muscle recovery, reduce inflammation, and offer pain relief. Research has shown that it may be beneficial for musculoskeletal pain and chronic pain, including back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and myofascial pain syndrome (11, 12). Since the heat from infrared saunas can penetrate your skin and tissues, it can target your muscles and joints more effectively than traditional saunas. The heat can increase blood circulation and help oxygen and nutrients to reach your muscles and tissues quicker, speeding up your recovery process from workouts, injuries, and athletic competitions. 

The improved circulation and sweating can also help to remove lactic acid and other waste products which may help to reduce muscle soreness. Infrared saunas may also decrease inflammation and oxidative stress. They may increase muscle relaxation, decrease muscle tension, lower pain sensitivity, and improve flexibility.

Health Benefits of Traditional Saunas

Traditional saunas are also a great option for wellness, especially if you don’t have access to an infrared sauna or you want to enjoy the benefits of both infrared and traditional saunas.

Improved Cardiovascular Health

One of the major benefits of traditional saunas is cardiovascular improvements. Since traditional saunas rely on high heat, they can dilate your blood vessels and increase your heart rate. This can be similar to what your body would experience during moderate exercise. It can improve circulation and heart function. 

Consistent traditional sauna use may help to reduce your blood pressure, improve blood flow, and enhance oxygen delivery to your tissues. It can help to maintain or improve overall heart health and reduce your risk of cardiovascular issues (13, 14, 15, 16).

Stress Reduction and Relaxation

Using a traditional sauna also offers important mental health benefits. Traditional saunas may increase the release of endorphins, which can help to improve deep relaxation. Regular sauna use can offer stress relief, lower tension, and decrease anxiety (17, 18, 19). 

Releasing toxins can also help you leave with a more relaxed body and clearer mind. This may help to improve your sleep, lower fatigue, improve your mood, and increase your overall quality of life.

Infrared Saunas: The Preferred Choice

So which one should you use? Our preferred choice and recommendation is the infrared sauna, and here’s why.

More Accessible and Comfortable Experience

One of the reasons we love and recommend infrared saunas over traditional saunas is that they operate at a much lower temperature. This provides a much more comfortable experience. If you find the high heat of traditional saunas uncomfortable or overwhelming, infrared saunas are for you. They create a more tolerable heat that is much more gentle on your body yet still promotes sweating, detoxification, relaxation, and overall health. 

Infrared saunas are also more accessible. There are so many ways to experience it. You can go to a health clinic, spa, or wellness center that offers infrared sauna services. However, there are also infrared sauna devices you can purchase and use in your own home.

Infrared Sauna Services

We encourage you to explore infrared sauna services for personalized wellness benefits. At Progressive Medical Center, we offer far infrared sauna therapy services. You can tailor your session lengths and temperature settings to your personal needs and comfort. If you are uncertain about what you need, we can help you. Whether you are looking for detoxification, physical recovery, or relaxation, the low-intensity approach of infrared sauna can benefit your well-being. We welcome you to set up an appointment.

Should You Use a Traditional or Infrared Sauna?

In the debate of infrared sauna vs traditional sauna, we declare infrared saunas a winner. While traditional saunas are a great option for cardiovascular health and stress relief, infrared saunas may be better if you are looking for detoxification, lower inflammation, decreased pain levels, muscle recovery, and skin health. 

We invite you to try it yourself. Set up an appointment and try our far infrared sauna therapy services. Your body will thank you for it.