There’s nothing quite like a relaxing sweat session in the sauna to clear the mind, treat chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, improve immune system and relieve muscular aches. Unlike a traditional sauna, infrared saunas don’t heat the air around you. Instead, they use infrared rays to warm your body directly. As such, an infrared sauna can operate at a lower temperature than a traditional sauna whilst providing a much more intense sweat.
But how long should you stay in an infrared sauna? At Rimba Sweat, we’re asked this question a lot. However, there are several external factors that’ll influence the optimum time you should spend in the sauna. Our bodies are unique and complex, and as such, the time you should spend in the sauna will depend on your experience, body composition and underlying health factors.
As the first of its kind in Sydney, Rimba Sweat is here to ensure that you get the most from your infrared sauna experience. We strive to help our clients find peace of mind and physical wellness by combining age-old tradition with modern technology. In this article, we’ll answer the question of “how long should you stay in an infrared sauna?” and discuss the various moving parts so that you can realise the maximum benefits of infrared sauna use.
How Long Should You Stay in an Infrared Sauna?
If you’ve never used a steam sauna, infrared or traditional saunas before, you should start slow and ease into a frequent routine to help your body acclimatise to the conditions. Like anything, it takes time to get used to. So, how long should your session be, to realise infrared sauna health benefits?
Rimba Sweat recommends that first-time users should spend roughly 15 minutes in the sauna. As your body becomes more used to the process, you’ll experience maximum results anywhere from 25-40 minutes in the sauna. The optimum temperature for infrared sauna usage sits at around 40 to 55 degrees Celsius.
However, it is essential to note that you must hydrate before your sauna session as otherwise dehydration and dizziness can become a real risk. Moreover, staying in the sauna for too long can cause dehydration. If you enter into an infrared sauna bathing session low on fluids, you’ll likely begin to feel unwell after any longer than 30 minutes.
How Often Can I Use the Infrared Sauna?
Depending on your sauna experience, physical condition, and overall goals of sauna usage, the recommended frequency of sauna use will vary.
As a general rule of thumb, you know your body best – so listen to it. If you feel you need to increase the regularity of your sauna use or even take a rest day, do what you think will work. Like anything, it is always possible to overdo it, regardless of how healthy the activity is.
As a blanket recommendation, Rimba Sweat recommends using the sauna roughly 2 days a week to start. Once you’ve become used to the effects of infrared sauna therapy, Rimba Sweat suggests using the sauna anywhere from 3 to 4 times a week. However, once you’ve become used to the infrared sauna experience and provided proper hydration is followed, it is safe to practice sessions daily.
Similar to dieting, infrared heat therapy is a wellness experience with progressive results. It will take a few sessions for the health benefits to become distinctly noticeable. Keep this in mind when planning future infrared sauna usage.
How Long Should I Stay in the Sauna If This Is My First Time?
If it is your first time using a sauna, Rimba Sweat recommends that you spend around 15 minutes inside. This will give your body a steady introduction to infrared heat therapy and allow you to acclimatise over time naturally.
Infrared heat therapy can be a shock to the cardiovascular system for an inexperienced person. Easing into a routine of sessions is the most reliable way to experience prolonged health benefits from sauna use.
As infrared saunas deliver a deep, penetrative, detoxifying sweat that rids the body of impurity within cells where harmful substances and toxins build up, infrared saunas can help boost circulation and enhance oxygen flow around the body. When considering
“how long should I stay in the sauna?”, note that this is a feeling that takes a while to become used to, so caution in your early stages of infrared sauna use is necessary.
Make sure to replenish and rehydrate once you’re out of the sauna so you don’t get heat exhaustion. At Rimba Sweat, we offer a range of refreshments, including alkaline and coconut water and nutritionally dense cold-pressed juices and kombucha to help.
How Long Should You Stay in the Sauna If You’re a Regular?
Those who use infrared saunas regularly may be able to stay inside longer and book longer sessions with Rimba Sweat’s exclusive Northern Beaches studio. We offer a maximum of 50-minute sessions.
Because the heat temperature of infrared sauna therapy is a lot lower than a traditional sauna, it can be used for longer, consequently helping you achieve a deeper state of relaxation while raising your core body temperature.
If you’re a regular user of traditional steam saunas or infrared sauna treatments, you can stay inside for up to 45 to 50 minutes. It is unlikely that you’ll experience more significant health benefits by staying inside for longer as your body will have cleared out the majority of harmful toxins inside the body through sweating within 45 to 50 minutes.
Factors Influencing How Long Your Sessions Stay in an Infrared Sauna
At Rimba Sweat, we’re often asked, “how long should my session be?”. The time you should spend in the studio will depend on a number of factors, including pre-existing health conditions, age, level of experience, skin condition, hydration levels and your overall goals of sauna usage.
Younger users will acclimatise quicker to the effects of infrared sauna therapy and can thus stay in for longer earlier than their older counterparts.
Those with skin conditions may take a little longer to use infrared saunas for greater periods of time to first assess how their skin reacts to the infrared light therapy and how long it needs to recover.
You’ll be able to stay in a sauna for longer if you are properly hydrated and have considerable experience with infrared saunas. Experienced users with specific goals may experience benefits from using an infrared sauna therapy twice a day.
Infrared Sauna Sessions & Sweat
The more often you use infrared saunas, the longer it will take to break a sweat. This is because your body becomes used to higher temperatures.
How long until you break a sweat? As a general statement, it takes around 8-10 minutes to begin sweating during infrared sauna therapy for most users.
What About for a Workout?
It is not recommended to use infrared sauna therapy before working out, as the infrared light will heighten the risk of injury or over-exertion during your workout.
However, use after your workout for weight loss benefits is strongly recommended, the perfect remedy for rejuvenation post-workout and a good support to lose weight in body fat. However, this does not replace other weight loss strategies like a healthy diet or regular exercise. You can also choose to conduct a light workout in your infrared sauna session to burn some extra body fat – you may just need to book one of the larger saunas!
Your body is already more worn down after an intense workout, so it is best to keep it short and sweet in your post-workout sauna session to burn additional calories to lose weight. Plan to stay no longer than 20 minutes to avoid overexerting your body. At the end of the day, listen to your body – it will tell you if you’re spending too long in the sauna during or post-workout.
Can You Overdo Infrared Sauna Sessions?
Yes, you can overdo infrared technology. Staying in a sauna for too long can cause dehydration, dizziness, headaches, or sickness.
There is no reason to stay in an infrared sauna for too long anyway – once you start to sweat and have been inside for the recommended time, that’s all you need to reap the health benefits.
Rimba Sweat monitors your session to ensure that clients spend the optimum amount of time inside and are not at risk of overdoing it.
Book Your Infrared Sauna Session Today
Infrared saunas are one of the most enjoyable ways to improve mind and body, providing substantial short-term and long-term health benefits, such as pain relief like joint pain, burning calories, stress relief, and reducing muscle soreness. Come find out for yourself!
Located in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Rimba Sweat’s exclusive infrared sauna studio has both standard and large rooms so that you can enjoy the relaxing, healing benefits by yourself or with a friend. Inside, you’ll find a state-of-the-art, full-spectrum cedar wood sauna, a consciously curated space designed to promote healing.
Experience the restoration and clarity that comes with infrared sauna use and book online with Rimba Sweat today. Once you start, you’ll never look back.
If you have any further queries or wish to learn more about infrared saunas, call us today on (02) 8959 0672 or e-mail us at hello@rimbasweat.com.au.