How Often Should You Use an Infrared Sauna for Optimal Health Benefits?

Sauna sessions are like exercise, brushing your teeth or getting a good night's sleep. The benefits are there when you do it regularly.

People come to use our Infrared Sauna for a range of reasons, and the recommended frequency of sessions may differ, depending on your desired outcome.

Infrared sauna is completely safe to do every day, but please read on for our recommendations on what might work best for you.

Consult with your sauna host about your specific needs and expectations and they will help to guide you towards the best treatment plan.

Pain relief and inflammation: This we would need to split into 2 categories, chronic and acute pain. Those who suffer from chronic pain conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia would benefit from 2 sessions a week, to help manage pain levels and to reduce inflammation. For an acute injury like a knee sprain or a back strain, we would recommend waiting 24-48 hours for the injury to settle a little and then you could try 2-3 sessions a week to help boost your recovery. Sauna helps with pain levels by decreasing inflammatory markers and boosting oxygen and blood circulation. 

Muscle recovery: Pre and post event sauna sessions can help to boost your training and improve your recovery. In the lead up to your event, regular sauna sessions can help to repair and relax your body, letting you get the most out of your training sessions. After your event, you may be feeling a little sore and sorry, but the sauna will help you with this as well. Boosting your circulation whilst remaining relatively still and relaxed will allow healing and repairing blood and oxygen to flow around the body. Try a weekly sauna session as you train for your event and then have a couple in the week following to enhance recovery. 

Sleep and relaxation: We recommend you have your relaxation sauna session later in the day, so all of your tasks are completed, and you can just switch off. Turning your sauna light to red can help to balance the circadian rhythm (which also helps us relax). This is because the frequency of red light is the last light we see in nature when the sun sets, which means our body naturally reacts to it by preparing for sleep. Red light can also promote the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Keeping your sessions to a comfortable temperature that doesn’t have you huffing and puffing will allow you to relax, calming your mind and body.

Cardio: If it’s a cardio kick you are after, you can add in a weekly sauna session in conjunction with your exercise regime. Setting the temperature to 55-60 degrees should see you pushing for the last 5 minutes, counting down the time! Your heart rate should feel elevated throughout the session and your breathing a little heavy. A cardio session can be energising and stimulating so these are best booked during the day so you don’t disrupt your sleep. If you have an injury or condition that keeps you from exercising as you usually would, this is a fantastic way to get a sweat on and get your heart pumping. 

Combining Infrared Sauna and Massage or Myotherapy: We love combining massage or myotherapy treatments with infrared sauna sessions as part of your treatment plan. It can really help to optimise all of those wonderful benefits. 

To enhance your sleep and relaxation benefits, we recommend adding a sauna straight after a relaxation massage. This allows you to sit and chill in solitude for another 30 minutes after your treatment, before you float back out into the world.

For managing ongoing pain and tension, we would advise interchanging your sauna session with your massage/myotherapy treatments. For example, have your massage one week, then the next visit a sauna and go between the two at regular intervals to maximise your pain relief. 

If you are someone who gets a bit sore or tender after a hands-on treatment, jumping into the sauna straight after is a great way to get that healing heat deep into your body, helping to get ahead of any soreness that may develop.

If you’ve just completed a marathon, triathlon or big bike event, your body might feel a bit too sore for hands on treatment right away. Have a sauna the day after your event, then follow up with myotherapy or massage a few days after to iron out any remaining trouble spots.