Thirty days in an infrared sauna. The results? Better skin, deeper sleep, improved mood, and a general sense of well-being. These are real observations from a real person who committed to a daily practice. I believe them. What I want to do is help you understand what's actually driving these resultsâand where the science is solid versus where we're still working things out.
The core claim is that infrared saunas, operating at 120 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, deliver meaningful health benefits through sustained heat exposure. Cardiovascular support, detoxification, skin rejuvenation, relaxation. The article cites the Mayo Clinic, which is appropriateâthere is genuine scientific support for several of these. But infrared sauna research sits in an interesting position relative to the broader heat exposure literature, and that context matters.
Here's the thing. The landmark Finnish studiesâthe ones showing 27 to 63 percent reductions in cardiovascular mortality, the Alzheimer's risk data, the all-cause mortality findingsâwere conducted in traditional saunas at 170 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Rhonda Patrick has built much of her work around this research. These are some of the strongest observational data we have in wellness science.
Infrared saunas run at 120 to 150 degrees. That's a meaningful difference. The infrared proponents argueâcorrectlyâthat infrared wavelengths penetrate tissue more deeply than convective heat, so the comparison isn't apples to apples. Your core temperature can rise just as significantly in an infrared unit at lower ambient temperature. But the research base for infrared specifically is thinner. We're extrapolating from what we know about heat exposure generally. That's not dishonest. It's just important to understand.
Cardiovascular benefit from regular heat exposure? Solid ground. The mechanisms are well-understoodâelevated heart rate, improved vascular compliance, plasma volume expansion. These adaptations occur across heat modalities. Sleep improvement from evening heat exposure? Also well-supported. Your core temperature drops after the sauna, which amplifies the natural pre-sleep temperature decrease your circadian rhythm requires. Skin circulation and collagen support from infrared wavelengths? Emerging evidence, reasonably plausible.
The detoxification claim needs nuance. Sweating is real. But your liver and kidneys handle the overwhelming majority of actual toxin elimination. Sweat-based detox is real at the marginsâcertain heavy metals, some BPA. Not the comprehensive cellular cleanse the wellness industry implies. And that calorie figureâthree to six hundred calories per forty-minute sessionâis a range so wide it communicates almost nothing. Three calories is a brisk walk to the kitchen. Six hundred is a solid gym session. That spread suggests the research is preliminary at best.
If you're starting with infrared, begin at the lower end of the temperature range and shorter sessionsâfifteen to twenty minutes. Hydrate before and after. Don't push into discomfort early; let your body acclimate over the first week. Evening sessions appear to yield the strongest sleep benefits for most people. Leave the phone outside. Not as a rule, but as a practiceâthe meditative quality of undistracted heat exposure is itself therapeutic.
Four sessions per week is a reasonable target once you're comfortable. Consistency outperforms heroics here, as it does everywhere in this field.
What strikes me about this thirty-day experiment is something the participant probably didn't intend to document: the power of a committed, daily ritual. Every day, at roughly the same time, they entered a warm space, sat in stillness, and let the heat do its work. No optimization. No biometric tracking obsession. Just consistency and presence.
We have strong evidence that chronic stressâthe cortisol-elevated, sympathetic-dominant state most people live inâsuppresses immune function, degrades sleep, accelerates cellular aging. A daily ritual that produces even modest physiological stress relief compounds over thirty days into something real. The sauna is the vehicle. The practice is the medicine.