How Many Calories Do You Burn in an Infrared Sauna?

You may have heard that you can burn calories by simply spending time in an infrared sauna. But how exactly does infrared light help your body use more energy? And how many calories do you burn in an infrared sauna?

Understanding how any of the types of infrared saunas impact your body can help you estimate the caloric effects of your sauna experience. With this information, you’ll be able to incorporate infrared sauna sessions into a balanced wellness and weight loss plan.

How Does the Body Burn Calories in an Infrared Sauna?

Your body requires a certain number of calories to perform even the most basic functions.¹ As a result, anything that requires you to exert yourself beyond your baseline basal metabolic rate (BMR) will increase the number of calories you burn—including exposure to heat.

As the infrared rays of an infrared sauna permeate your cells and raise your core body temperature, your body will respond in several ways²:

• Your heart rate will increase
• Your circulation will increase
• You’ll begin to sweat

All of these functions, however small, use up your body’s stored energy, contributing to calorie burning during each sauna session.

Factors That Affect Caloric Burn in an Infrared Sauna

The number of calories you burn in an infrared sauna can vary significantly depending on both personal characteristics and the exact specifications of your sauna session.

Duration of the Session

The longer your body is heated by infrared rays, the more calories you’ll burn. What’s more, one study found that the rate at which you burn calories also increases as you spend more time in the sauna. This means you’ll burn more calories per minute at the end of a session than you would at the beginning.³ Many people ask how long to see the benefits of infrared sauna use, and while calorie burning can begin immediately, cumulative benefits like improved metabolism and overall wellness are often noticeable after consistent sessions over a few weeks.

In the aforementioned study, participants underwent four 10-minute sauna sessions back-to-back, with a short five-minute cool-down period between each session. During the first 10-minute session, they burned an average of 73 calories. By the final session, they burned an average of 131 calories. Based on the average calories burned during each session, the participants burned about 413 over the entire 40 minutes of sauna use. Without the five-minute breaks, it’s possible that this number could be even higher.

When considering how long you should stay in an infrared sauna, it’s essential to start slow and gradually increase the duration and intensity of your sessions. It may be tempting to jump into a long session right away to maximize your calorie burn, but starting slow and gradually increasing the time and intensity of your sauna sessions is more sustainable. Pushing yourself to a long, intense session as a beginner may cause discomfort or side effects like dizziness and dehydration.

Body Weight and Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The more you weigh, the more calories your body needs to perform basic functions. This means you have a higher BMR.

Infrared sauna sessions build upon your existing BMR, so you’ll likely burn more calories the more you weigh.¹ Supporting muscle also requires more calories than sustaining fat, so people who are more muscular will also likely burn calories at a faster rate in an infrared sauna.

Temperature Settings of the Infrared Sauna

When your body responds to hotter temperatures, it works harder to maintain equilibrium. As a result, hotter, more intense sauna sessions will burn more calories. However, too much heat can be taxing on your body and cause serious health issues. Staying in the recommended range for your infrared sauna will help you maximize benefits without added risk.

How Many Calories Can You Expect to Burn in an Infrared Sauna?

The average person can expect to burn about 400 to 600 calories in a 30-minute infrared sauna session, aligning with the study involving five-minute breaks cited above.⁴ This number can be higher or lower depending on your own metabolism, your weight, the temperature of the sauna, and more.

Tips to Maximize Caloric Burn in an Infrared Sauna

If you want to use your infrared sauna to slim down and burn calories, being strategic with the following tips can help you get the most out of each session.

Stay Hydrated Before, During, and After the Session

Longer sessions can burn more calories, but only if your body can tolerate the heat. Staying properly hydrated will help support your body’s temperature regulation and ensure that you can comfortably complete each session.

Combine Sauna Sessions with Light Physical Activity

Because infrared light intensifies your body’s current metabolic rate, stacking sauna time on top of light exercise can help you burn even more energy. Focus on mild, gentle activities, like stretching, to increase the metabolic impact of your sauna time without overexerting your body.

Establish a Consistent Routine

If you want to see results from your time in the infrared sauna, build a consistent routine that you can commit to. It will take several sauna sessions to put your body into a calorie deficit and start burning fat alongside general water weight. Being consistent and combining sauna use with healthy eating and activity is the best way to get visible results.

Choose Lifepro Infrared Saunas to Support Your Wellness Goals

When you have access to an infrared sauna, you can start burning hundreds of extra calories any time you have a few spare minutes. Beyond raising your metabolism, you’ll also access various health and wellness benefits, including detoxification, stress management, improved cardiovascular function and circulation, pain reduction, and more.

At Lifepro, you can find a variety of high-quality personal saunas for your home—from ultra-convenient infrared sauna blankets to pop-up tents and enclosed rooms. Explore our full range to find a sauna solution that fits your goals and lifestyle.

Sources:

1. Healthline. What Is Basal Metabolic Rate? https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-basal-metabolic-rate
2. Mayo Clinic. What is an infrared sauna? Does it have health benefits? https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/infrared-sauna/faq-20057954
3. National Library of Medicine. Correlations between Repeated Use of Dry Sauna for 4 x 10 Minutes, Physiological Parameters, Anthropometric Features, and Body Composition in Young Sedentary and Overweight Men: Health Implications. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6360547/
4. Research Gate. Innovative Technologies Preference for Slimming Treatment. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321302768_Innovative_Technologies_Preference_for_Slimming_Treatment