Infrared vs Traditional Sauna: What Are the Differences?
Along with the traditional saunas you may know and love, infrared saunas have emerged as a popular, effective option for achieving your wellness goals. Both traditional and infrared saunas can provide you with a range of health benefits, but they have several distinctions that set them apart.
When comparing an infrared sauna vs. traditional sauna, which option fits best with your lifestyle and wellness needs?
Explore their key differences below to find out.
What is a Traditional Sauna?
A traditional sauna is a small, therapeutic room that uses stoves, heaters, and steam generators to heat the interior air. They can provide classic dry heat, or use steam to offer a wet sauna experience. Traditional steam saunas also have a wooden interior because wood is a strong insulator. This means you can relax on the sauna's wooden benches or rest against the wooden walls without burning your skin.
When you spend time in the high-heat environment of either a wet or dry sauna, you can enjoy various physical and mental health benefits. For instance, along with being relaxing and stress-relieving, the heat of a regular sauna can stimulate your1:
- Cardiovascular system
- Muscles
- Joint tissues
What is an Infrared Sauna?
An infrared (IR) sauna is also designed to heat your body. However, unlike a traditional steam sauna, it uses infrared light to do so directly instead of raising the temperature of the air around you. Infrared saunas can be physical rooms, like traditional saunas, but you can also find types of infrared saunas, like portable sauna pods or infrared sauna blankets, that allow you to experience sauna sessions in your own home.
Because the infrared light rays affect your body directly, infrared saunas give you a targeted sauna experience that offers the benefits of heat stimulation at a more comfortable external temperature.2
Key Differences Between Infrared and Traditional Saunas
If traditional and infrared saunas are so similar, how do you choose between the two?
As noted above, they actually have several characteristics that set them apart, mostly due to how they operate and their convenience.
Let’s examine the differences more closely to help you determine which makes a better fit for both your lifestyle and your health goals.
Heating Method and Temperature
The heating elements of traditional and infrared saunas are the basis of all their other differences.
- Classic saunas can use multiple methods to heat the air in the room. For example, intense, high-heat bulgama saunas comprise stone rooms heated with wooden logs, whereas wet saunas will use steam generators to make the room hot and humid. Regardless of the specific method, you’ll experience the heat around you when stepping into the room.
- Infrared light saunas work a bit differently. When the photoreceptors in your cells absorb infrared light, they get a burst of energy that heats up your body. So, although the air in an infrared sauna room may not feel overly hot and balmy, you’ll still experience a warming sensation from within that stimulates a detoxifying sweat session.
Here’s another difference: Infrared and classic saunas target different temperature ranges.2
- Infrared saunas usually reach 110 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Traditional saunas can range from 150 to 195 degrees.
In a classic sauna, your body has to adapt to its new environment and soak in the external heat. With infrared versions, your cells are heated directly by the infrared rays, so you can effectively raise your internal body temperature while still being in a low-heat environment with minimal humidity.
Energy Efficiency and Cost
Running a traditional sauna is often a significant operation, which is why many people go to spas, luxury gyms, and bathhouses for a sauna experience. Even still, regular treatments can quickly cut into your budget. Alternatively, you can set up a small sauna or steam room at home, but even after the initial structure and installation costs, you’ll have to power the heating element, stove, or steam generator with your own resources.
Moreover, traditional saunas require preheating to raise the interior air to the right temperature, so you’ll be using energy during both prep and your actual sauna session.
Infrared saunas don’t require a preheating period and can start heating your body right away. Even larger at-home models are fairly energy-efficient, but you can also choose personal infrared sauna blankets for an even more affordable solution. Sauna blankets, in particular, are quite affordable and accessible for the average person to use in their home wellness routine.
Energy costs vary depending on the size of your sauna and the duration of each session, whether you use an infrared or traditional option. On average, however, infrared saunas use about 120 kWh per month if you use them daily, while traditional saunas use almost double the energy at 220 kWh per month for daily use.3
Setup and Space Requirements
Setting up a traditional sauna in your home requires a fair amount of space, even for smaller, private options. You may have to set the sauna up outdoors for proper heating and ventilation.
Infrared saunas, however, are usually much more portable and size-efficient. Although you can set up a larger, permanent infrared sauna structure, you can get the same benefits with a convenient sauna blanket that you can roll up and store with ease.
Maintenance and Upkeep
To keep the wood of a conventional sauna in good shape, you’ll need to regularly wipe down the walls, benches, and floors. If the sauna doesn’t dry out all the way after use, you may need to repair or replace warped, cracked, or moldy wood panels. Cleaning out and inspecting the heater is also essential for keeping your sauna operational.
Infrared saunas require much less upkeep, especially if you opt for a portable, personal model. With sauna blankets, you’ll just need to wipe down the interior with a damp cloth, occasionally using a mild disinfectant for a deep clean. As long as you unplug your device during the cleaning process and let it dry after cleaning, you can expect your sauna blanket to last with minimal maintenance.
Health Benefits of Infrared vs Traditional Saunas
Because traditional and infrared saunas both use heat to activate your cells, they have similar health benefits. Still, the different ways they deliver heat to your body are ideal for distinct purposes.
Benefits of Traditional Saunas
Traditional saunas are relaxing, serene environments that offer a number of health benefits. For instance, traditional sauna sessions can4:
- Help reduce stress by encouraging the release of endorphins
- Improve your blood pressure
- Elevate your heart rate and open up your blood vessels, promoting circulation and boosting your overall cardiovascular health
Improving your circulation also supports your muscular wellness, helping your body soothe and repair sore muscles and joints. Plus, because sauna use improves your cardiovascular fitness, your body can more effectively deliver oxygen to damaged muscles, reducing soreness and pain to promote faster recovery after working out.4
Benefits of Infrared Saunas
Infrared saunas offer many of the same benefits as traditional saunas, including reduced stress, improved blood pressure, elevated heart rate, and enhanced circulation. However, because infrared light penetrates deeply into your body, it can promote a deeper sweat at lower temperatures. This can also help you excrete toxins from your system. Understanding how long you should stay in an infrared sauna is key to maximizing these benefits, as starting with shorter sessions and gradually increasing time ensures comfort and effectiveness.
Infrared light therapy has also been shown to offer pain relief by triggering the healing mechanisms in your joints, muscles, and other tissues. Take a deeper dive into infrared sauna benefits in our comprehensive blog.
Choosing the Right Sauna for Your Needs
As you explore both options for your home sauna experience, consider how each style of sauna will fit into your lifestyle, preferences, and budget.
Personal Preferences and Comfort
Infrared and conventional saunas provide you with different physical sensations, and you may prefer one to the other. If you enjoy the feeling of high heat and steamy humidity, the classic option may be better for you. If you prefer lower temps, an infrared sauna would be best.
Health Goals and Potential Benefits
Both styles of sauna overlap when it comes to health benefits, but there are situations where one or the other may be more ideal. Because infrared heat is more direct and focused, it can be more effective for addressing pain and soreness.5 Meanwhile, many prefer traditional saunas for overall relaxation.
Budget and Maintenance Considerations
Most conventional saunas cost several thousand dollars at minimum to purchase and install. Full infrared sauna structures can also be pricey. However, infrared options still cost only a fraction of traditional saunas, with options ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 for home models.
Plus, you can consider sauna blankets and other wearable options for an even more affordable infrared sauna experience. This lower upfront cost—combined with their greater energy efficiency—makes infrared saunas the better choice for a limited budget.
Explore Lifepro Infrared Saunas Today
Sauna sessions are relaxing experiences that provide you with countless health benefits to improve your quality of life and support your overall wellness. Thanks to the development of infrared sauna tools, you don’t need to shell out for an expensive in-house sauna or spa membership to enjoy this luxury.
Lifepro’s infrared sauna tools are designed to give you high-end wellness support from the comfort of your own home. By browsing our collection of infrared sauna blankets and personal saunas,, you can discover a new way to restore, relax, and reinvigorate your body.
Sources:
- Cleveland Clinic. Get Your Sweat On: The Benefits of a Sauna. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sauna-benefits
- Cleveland Clinic. Infrared Saunas: What They Do and 6 Health Benefits. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/infrared-sauna-benefits
- Parker & Sons. How Much Electricity Does a Sauna Use? https://www.parkerandsons.com/blog/how-much-electricity-does-a-sauna-use
- UCLA Health. Benefits of sauna bathing for heart health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/benefits-sauna-bathing-heart-health
- Dr. Ruscio. Infrared Saunas vs. Traditional: Which Is Better? https://drruscio.com/infrared-sauna/
