Key Takeaways
· An estimated 35% of adults struggle with insufficient sleep, and incorporating heat therapy from an infrared sauna or sauna blanket can help restore superior sleep quality.
· Infrared sauna sessions work by raising the core body temperature, then triggering a natural cooling response from the hypothalamus, which primes the body for deep, restful sleep.
· Saunas influence neurotransmitter levels by boosting serotonin thus promoting calm and lowering noradrenaline.
· The “exercise-like” effect of regular sauna use causes healthy fatigue and greater slow-wave (deep) sleep, supported by research on both traditional and infrared saunas.
· Infrared sauna health benefits also include pain relief for those with chronic conditions, reducing discomfort that often disrupts sleep, and supporting sustainable improvements in overall wellness.
There's little more satisfying than a deep, rejuvenating sleep. It's not only essential for feeling refreshed but also for maintaining your physical and mental health. Sleep should be an integral part of everyone's self-care. However, you may be one of the 35% of adults that do not get enough sleep.
If you are one of those counting sheep all night long, then an infrared sauna or infrared sauna blanket may be just what you need to get your sleep back on track. Saunas have been used for centuries to help people get a better night's sleep.
However, it’s only recently that modern science has been able to tell us exactly why heat is such a good sleep aid. In this post, we'll delve into the science of heat therapy and explain how infrared saunas can help us enjoy an even more blissful snooze.
Heat Therapy
Before we talk about how infrared saunas can benefit your sleep, you first need to understand the power of heat therapy. Heat therapy is any practice that uses heat to raise the temperature of the body. Some examples of this would include:
· Hot water bottles
· Heating pads
· Heating gels
· Infrared sauna
Things that only heat a part of the body, like bottles, pads, and gels, are considered 'local' heat therapy. Whilst these are great in specific situations, they will only deliver benefits to the part of the body you heat. If you want to maximize your heat therapy, then you'll want to do heat therapy that heats the entire body at once.
Learn about infrared sauna use: Beginners tips on how to use a sauna
When you heat the entire body at once, you raise the body's core temperature, and it's this increase in temperature that delivers all the benefits of heat therapy. The best way to do this is through an infrared sauna which uses infrared light to heat the body from deep within.
But how exactly does raising our core body temperature through an infrared sauna help us feel more relaxed and primed for sleep? Well, the reasons are many and complex, but let's break them down into the current main theories.
How Does the Infrared Sauna Affect Sleep?
Sauna and the Hypothalamus
As we discussed before, heat therapy raises the core body temperature. An increase in core body temperature activates the hypothalamus. "Think of your hypothalamus as the smart meter in your home. Its job is to monitor conditions in the body and to dial up or dial down body processes so that things stay in balance," says Dr. Michael Njunge, MD and performance enthusiast.
"When your core temperature goes up, your hypothalamus acts as a thermostat. It tells the body that it needs to lower its internal temperature. This drop in temperature promotes relaxation and sleep as the body likes to be at a slightly lower temperature at night." In fact, your temperature naturally drops 1-3°C overnight, and overheating is a common cause of poor sleep!
For consistent bedtime routines, home sauna installation allows you to personalize temperature settings and integrate daily infrared use into your sleep hygiene plan.
Sauna and Neurotransmitters
Heat and sauna are also thought to cause a change in brain neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that cause brain cells to fire, and they play a large role in how we act and feel.
Sauna has been shown to increase certain neurotransmitters, like serotonin. Serotonin is a feel-good chemical that not only boosts mood but also promotes a feeling of calm and relaxation.
Sauna has also been shown to reduce other neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline, which is an alertness chemical. Noradrenaline is involved in your sympathetic nervous system, which is your fight-or-flight system. By reducing this fight-or-flight chemical, a sauna can help you relax and prime your mind for sleep.
To maximize results, investing in a luxury home sauna ensures you’re getting full-body, even heat therapy and improved relaxation before bed.
Sauna and exercise-like stimulus
Saunas are known to make your heart beat faster and pump harder. The result of this is that you burn more calories; up to 1.5-2x what you would burn at rest. That's a great result for just lying in a comfy sauna blanket!
But this increased heart rate does not just burn calories, it also fatigues the body and makes it feel like it's had a workout. This is what is known as an exercise-like stimulus. It's thought that this exercise-like stimulus makes you feel fatigued and primes you for sleep.
There are a few studies to back this up:
One study found that using a sauna increased slow-wave sleep activity by 72% in 18-year-old athletes after three 10-minute sessions. Slow-wave sleep is the deepest and most restorative phase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and is thought to be crucial for memory and learning.
Another study found that heating resulted in better quality NREM sleep in female athletes who were heated during a run. Athletes who were cooled during running had no change in slow-wave sleep compared to normal.
While these studies were done in traditional saunas, there is no reason to believe infrared saunas would not have the same effects on sleep, given they provide the same exercise-like stimulus. If anything, the deeper heating of any full-spectrum infrared sauna for sale in the market may provide an even greater exercise-like effect for improved sleep.
What are the Infrared Sauna Health Benefits for Pain?
One of the most common causes of tossing and turning at night is pain. After all, how can you possibly focus on drifting off when your knee is throbbing with pain?
For a long time, people have turned to local heat treatments, such as heating pads or hot water bottles, but we now have evidence that infrared saunas are just as effective. One 2008 study found that regular sauna sessions improved pain, stiffness, and fatigue in people with a variety of chronic musculoskeletal conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
If you want every session to be relaxing and restorative, accessorize with top-quality sauna accessories such as headrests, timers, or soft towels to elevate your nightly routine.
Learn more about infrared therapy for pain: Best red light therapy device for pain
Sleep Better Today with a Home Sauna Installation
As you can see, there are many ways that infrared heat therapy can help you sleep deeper and better. It's an investment worth making as better sleep translates to better life outcomes in all areas.
It's also important to understand how long and how hot your sauna session should be to maximize benefits.
If you’re tight on space or prefer quick set-up, an infrared sauna 1-person is ideal. It is compact for most bedrooms yet powerful enough for deep relaxation and improved sleep.
And if you are interested in learning more about infrared saunas, be sure to check out the available selections. Here you can find an array of sizes and styles to find one that suits your needs and budget.
Sun Home Saunas offers a wide range of saunas, including infrared saunas and traditional saunas as well as infrared blankets.
Reach out today and find out more from our sauna experts.
FAQs
How does an infrared sauna blanket help improve sleep quality?
Using an infrared sauna blanket raises your body temperature and triggers a cooling response as you leave the session, which signals your body to enter a sleep-ready state and supports deeper, more restorative rest.
What neurotransmitters are affected during sauna sessions, and why does that matter for sleep?
Sauna use increases serotonin, which calms the mind and prepares you for sleep, while lowering noradrenaline, an alertness chemical, so you fall asleep faster and experience a calmer night.
Can the benefits of infrared sauna health benefits extend to those with chronic pain or insomnia?
Yes, regular use of an infrared sauna or sauna blanket has been shown to reduce pain, stiffness, and fatigue in people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions, helping improve quality and duration of sleep.
Are there any guidelines for time and temperature when using an infrared sauna blanket before sleep?
Start with shorter sessions and moderate heat, gradually increasing as your body adapts. Most users find sessions of 15–30 minutes in the evening lead to the best sleep without overheating.
Is there a difference between an infrared sauna and traditional sauna for improving sleep?
While both saunas offer similar sleep benefits, infrared saunas and blankets penetrate more deeply and provide more consistent warmth, which can lead to a stronger exercise-like effect and potentially better sleep outcomes.
