Infrared saunas have been popping up all over the place and for good reason, they have many benefits. One of the reasons people have been going to infrared saunas lately is for muscle recovery after a workout. The question is, how effective is infrared sauna for workout recovery? Here’s how it all fits together.
What happens to the body in a sauna
After a really intense training session, there’s nothing quite like jumping in the sauna to allow your body to repair and adapt to the demands that you’ve put it under. The increased blood flow generated by the heat will ensure that your muscles receive the perfect amount of oxygen and nutrients required for recovery. The heat will also relieve any tension in the muscles and block excessive numbers of pro-inflammatory chemicals entering the body which can contribute to post exercise soreness.
Training in heat and heat shock proteins, which are induced in the body by heat stress, may enhance the body’s function in handling glucose. Habitual sauna bathing acutely increases plasma volume, which has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness and training performance.
What the research says
In order to gain more in-depth insights into the effects of post-physical exercise treatment with infrared sauna, male basketball players of high fitness level were studied in an experiment published in an internationally evaluated journal Biology of Sport. The findings suggest that a single training session of basketball exercise followed by an infrared sauna session significantly decreases perceived muscle soreness and accelerates training – induced jump performance recovery compared with recovery at room temperature. Also, the participants rated themselves better recovered the next morning, even though sleep was just as poor as in the other group. “This is believed to be caused by the infrared radiation penetrating deeper into the muscles than air with high temperature.” First author Keinanen-Toivainen commented.
While spending hours in a sauna might sound like fun, research shows duration matters, and a 2018 study published in the American Journal of Physiology found that 15-minute sessions three times weekly for eight weeks improved cardiovascular fitness more than training with exercise. This may also hold true for people who use the sauna regularly to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Another study with distance runners found that their time to exhaustion was increased by 32% within three weeks through 15 minute sessions in the sauna after exercise.
Traditional versus infrared saunas
Traditional saunas are often heated to very high air temperature and work through convection, by circulating warm air around the body to warm it up. Infrared saunas on the other hand are designed to heat the body up from inside out using infrared radiation, low-temperature heat that penetrates deep into the body. The air temperature in an infrared sauna would typically be around 40 to 50 degrees Celsius.
Sauna has been a long-standing practice used by athletes for post-training relaxation, but is typically used on a separate day post-exercise due to increased heart rate and sweating during intense training sessions. Emerging evidence however suggests that infrared training does not have the same effects and initial studies suggest that infrared training offers improved outcomes for training recovery.
This is a highly contentious area and the answer can often revolve around personal preference, however there are some general guidelines you can follow as with most things.
Most people recommend 15 to 20 minutes in the sauna after training to get the full benefits. This will raise your core temperature to around 38 to 39 degrees Celsius, so make sure you have a way of cooling down afterwards. There is no need to stay in any longer, you will not get any more benefits but you could end up dehydrated and on fire!
While the heat of the sauna is a key component in allowing the tissues to release waste products, it is equally important to consider hydration levels prior to entering the sauna. Loss of sweat from normal activity is vastly overshadowed by the amount of sweat that is released during a sauna session. Entering a sauna session dehydrated can lead to some pretty nasty, even dangerous side effects. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water before entering the sauna, and take an electrolyte drink during your workout and sauna session to replace lost electrolytes.
Who should be careful when using infrared saunas?
Saunas are not suitable for everyone without some thought. People with low or high blood pressure, heart conditions, or anyone taking blood pressure medication should check with a doctor before making a sauna a regular habit.
The heat lowers blood pressure, and when combined with medication that does the same, the effect can be significant enough to cause dizziness or fainting. Starting with shorter sessions of around 5 minutes and gradually building up is sensible advice for anyone new to the practice.
Finding the right facility
Access to a good quality sauna, particularly an infrared model, makes a real difference to the consistency of the practice. Many people tend to use an infrared sauna for recovery, but they also promote overall wellness. Check out TH7 Body Labs. They offer a range of services to assist with muscle recovery and boost your vitality.
Final thoughts
The evidence for saunas as a recovery tool is genuinely compelling. Reduced muscle soreness, better explosive performance the following day, improved cardiovascular fitness over time, and a meaningful boost in how recovered someone feels are outcomes observed in controlled research settings. For anyone who trains hard and wants to get the most out of their recovery, adding a post-workout sauna session is a well-supported and practical place to start.
Written by jason.littlehouseinthevalley@gmail.com
