A 2025 study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living found that six weeks of post-exercise infrared sauna use improved neuromuscular performance, leg-press strength, and muscle hypertrophy in athletes compared to controls who didn’t use a sauna.

Saunas trigger the release of endorphins, easing post-workout soreness and boosting mood. The heat also improves joint flexibility, helping your body recover faster and reducing the risk of injury.

Research suggests that 10 consecutive days of daily 30-minute infrared sauna sessions increased plasma volume by nearly 18%, boosted oxygen delivery to tissues, and improved haemoglobin concentration, further supporting circulatory efficiency from frequent sauna bathing.

The warmth causes blood vessels to dilate, improving circulation and delivering oxygen-rich blood to muscles and organs. This supports heart health and speeds up recovery.

Customer data from Oura shows that people who use a sauna before sleep have 4% more total sleep and 14.9% deeper sleep than the previous day without a sauna.

Regular Infrared sauna use helps regulate melatonin, allowing you to fall asleep faster and enjoy longer, more restorative rest.

Heat therapy can ease discomfort from arthritis, joint stiffness, and sore muscles, making movement easier and recovery smoother.

A Clinical Rheumatology pilot study noted “significant improvement” in arthritis pain and stiffness, while a 2019 Korean clinical trial found that 15-minute sessions at 90°C twice daily led to significant decreases in pain scores and improved daily functioning among patients with chronic low back pain.

Saunas reduce stress and anxiety by stimulating the vagus nerve and boosting feel-good chemicals like dopamine and serotonin.

Heat exposure activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s “rest and digest” mode, which helps lower stress-related hormones, such as cortisol. Chronic cortisol elevation disrupts sleep architecture, while its regulation through sauna bathing supports more stable REM and deep sleep phases.

A core mechanism behind sauna-related immunity improvement is mild hyperthermia. This induced rise in body temperature simulates a fever response, thereby enhancing the production and activation of white blood cells (WBCs). 

A study published in Journal of Human Kinetics found that after a 15-minute sauna session at 96°C, participants, especially trained athletes, showed significant increases in leukocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and basophils, all crucial for immune defence. These changes mirror immune responses seen during moderate exercise and short-term fever episodes.

Heat exposure stimulates growth hormone release, which plays a role in fat burning and muscle growth.

The classic study by Leppäluoto et al. (Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 1986) found that a sauna at 80°C for 1 hour twice daily increased participants’ metabolic rate by 25–33% after the first exposure, with parallel rises in heart rate and thermogenesis resembling aerobic exercise. This increase is attributed to the body’s cooling response, dilating vessels, elevating oxygen consumption, and mobilising energy substrates.

Infrared sauna heat can ease congestion, open airways, and support those with breathing difficulties such as asthma. Sauna bathing doesn’t just improve breathing post-session, but it also reduces the risk of respiratory diseases. 

A large-scale prospective cohort study from Finland (Kunutsor & Laukkanen, 2017) involving 1,935 men showed that those taking 2–3 sauna sessions per week reduced their risk of acute and chronic respiratory disease by 27%, and those taking ≥4 sessions weekly reduced risk by 41% compared with once-weekly sauna users.