I’m a cyclist. I grew up about five miles from where I live now, and I’ve been riding some of these hills for the last 50 years. No surprise: I’m a little slower than I used to be.
What’s caught my attention is who’s passing me. The riders zipping by on these long climbs disproportionately have tattoos. I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit wondering about this from behind.
Is it the color of the ink? The placement on the arm? The leg?
After careful consideration, I’ve reached my conclusion: Tattoos don’t make you faster. They’re a marker for being younger. Younger cyclists are better athletes, and younger people are more likely to have tattoos.
In medical research, we call this a confounder, a variable linked to both a suspected cause and an observed outcome that tricks you into seeing a causal relationship where none exists. I discussed confounders at length when I evaluated the research behind fish oil supplements.
Keep this concept in mind. We’re going to need it as we examine the evidence for infrared sauna benefits.
What Is an Infrared Sauna?
The classic Finnish sauna heats the air to 175–210 degrees Fahrenheit. That hot air contacts your body through the skin and raises your core temperature.
An infrared sauna uses a different approach. Infrared is a form of light energy that strikes your skin and raises its surface temperature, which then raises your core temperature. We’ve covered how your body regulates temperature during sleep, and heat management is central to both processes.
Here’s the distinction that matters: The total heat energy delivered to your skin and core in an infrared sauna is less than in a Finnish sauna. Most of the published research on sauna health benefits studied Finnish-style hot air saunas, not infrared. That gap between the studied technology and the marketed technology is worth noting as we move forward.
How Infrared Saunas Stress Your Cardiovascular System
The theory behind sauna benefits starts with stress, the good kind.
Heat raises your heart rate and increases cardiac output. In many ways, sitting in a sauna creates a physiologic challenge similar to moderate exercise. You’ve used heat to stress your cardiovascular system at rest.
The benefit is two-pronged. First, the heat activates your sympathetic nervous system, the same system that fires during exercise. Second, your body has to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to cool down and recover.
We’ve discussed this concept of stimulating your vagus nerve for recovery in previous posts. That parasympathetic recovery work is itself a physiologic benefit, a “pushup” for your calming nervous system.
Infrared sauna benefits stem from this dual mechanism: the exercise-like sympathetic stimulus and the parasympathetic recovery your body needs to cool down. That’s what makes the therapy interesting from a physiologic standpoint.
Infrared Sauna Benefits: Where the Evidence Is Strongest
The strongest data supports improvements in blood pressure and vascular function.
A meta-analysis of heat therapy and sauna interventions found sauna use can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about four millimeters of mercury. That’s a real number, on par with certain blood pressure-lowering medications. Sauna users show improved blood flow and better vascular dilation.
A Finnish cohort study in JAMA Internal Medicine followed 2,315 men for over 20 years and found an association between regular sauna use and lower rates of cardiovascular death. We’ll come back to the quality of that evidence shortly.
Beyond blood pressure, some research suggests patients with congestive heart failure may experience improved heart pumping function and quality of life with regular sauna use. The signal here isn’t as strong, but it’s worth watching.
The data on infrared sauna benefits for autoimmune and musculoskeletal conditions isn’t strong, but it’s promising. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and osteoarthritis have reported less pain, less stiffness, and better mobility. The research isn’t strong enough for a definitive claim, but the potential matters.
These patients often can’t exercise, limited by their joint pain. Sauna therapy could offer them a way to receive some of the physiologic benefits of exercise without loading their painful joints.
Infrared Sauna Benefits That Don’t Hold Up
I don’t care how many times I have to say this: We don’t sweat out toxins. That’s not how the human body works.
We have a liver and kidneys to excrete toxins. Sweat is for thermoregulation. The “detox” claim is one of the most repeated sauna marketing promises, and it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. The claim echoes the same kind of unsupported marketing in the supplement space.
Why the Infrared Sauna Benefits Research Is Hard to Pin Down
Here’s where the tattooed cyclist makes his return.
Almost all of the sauna literature shows an association between sauna use and better health outcomes. But you can’t run a placebo-controlled trial for a sauna. People can tell whether they’re sitting in a hot room or not.
That limitation matters most in the Finnish epidemiologic data. The kind of person who has the time, lifestyle, and resources to access a sauna regularly and who chooses to spend time in one is a very different person from someone who doesn’t. That person probably exercises more, sleeps better, manages stress more carefully, and has better access to healthcare.
The potential for confounding is enormous. Seeing a tattoo in a sauna, no matter where it’s located, doesn’t tell you anything about that person’s health outcomes. The tattoo is just a marker, not a cause.
So how do we make sense of the infrared sauna benefits research when the evidence is mostly associative? We apply a framework. If an intervention is safe, not too expensive, and, in this case, feels good for many people, we don’t need as strong a data signal to recommend it.
The risk-benefit ratio for infrared sauna benefits favors giving it a try, especially for people who can’t exercise. Deconditioning, musculoskeletal injury, chronic fatigue: these all limit access to conventional exercise. The passive heat of a sauna reproduces many of the vascular responses of moderate exercise without loading the joints.
The scientific term for the next step is an N-of-one experiment. The plain English version: Try it and see if it works for you.
Who Won’t Benefit From an Infrared Sauna
A sauna places a real sympathetic load on your cardiovascular system. Certain people need to avoid it.
Don’t use an infrared sauna if you have unstable angina, a recent heart attack, aortic stenosis, serious heart arrhythmias, or worsening and uncontrolled heart failure. People prone to low blood pressure or lightheadedness are at risk for a dangerous blood pressure drop.
Pregnant women need to discuss sauna use with their care provider. The evidence is controversial, and I won’t weigh in with a blanket statement here.
Never combine a sauna with alcohol. The combination raises the risk for low blood pressure, arrhythmia, and death. Review the latest guidelines on alcohol and health if you have questions about safe consumption.
Certain medications (blood pressure drugs, diuretics, sedatives, anticholinergics) interact poorly with heat exposure. If you take any of these, talk to your doctor before trying a sauna.
How to Get Started With Infrared Saunas
Start slow. Begin with 10–15-minute sessions, two times per week.
Drink a glass or two of water before and after each session. You’ll sweat more than you expect.
If you experience dizziness, nausea, palpitations, or a headache, get out and cool down. Over time, you can build up to 20–30-minute sessions at higher frequency. Let how you feel guide your progression.
For those exploring sauna use at a commercial facility rather than investing in a home unit, look for these markers of quality:
Private or well-ventilated units sanitized between users, with clean towels provided. Clear temperature and time controls you can see and adjust, plus staff who can explain them.
Staff who ask about your health before your first session are a sign of a good facility. A good facility screens for the heart conditions, pregnancy risks, and medication interactions with blood pressure drugs we’ve already discussed. They don’t just take your money.
You need to be able to leave the unit freely. Ideally, staff don’t leave you completely unattended, especially the first few times. Water and a comfortable place to cool down are non-negotiable.
Today’s Takeaways on Infrared Sauna Benefits
The infrared sauna benefits supported by research are real, particularly for blood pressure reduction and vascular health. The data for musculoskeletal and autoimmune conditions is early but promising. The detox claims are nonsense.
The evidence is mostly associative and riddled with confounders, but the intervention is safe, affordable, and pleasant. That favorable risk-benefit ratio makes infrared sauna benefits worth exploring, particularly if joint pain or deconditioning keeps you from the exercise your body needs.
At Banner Peak Health, we build preventive health plans around each patient and their goals and risk profile. Bring your questions to your next visit, and we’ll help you figure out whether an infrared sauna fits your plan.
As for whether tattoos make you a better cyclist, the evidence is still inconclusive. Researchers are, however, investigating whether a tattoo of a sauna yields any health benefits. We’ll keep you posted.
