Research explainer: heat and post-workout recovery
The short answer
Infrared sauna may help selected measures of post-workout recovery, but the evidence is limited and depends on the exercise, heat exposure and outcome measured. Small trials report benefits for some jump-performance and soreness outcomes, while other measures do not improve. Research on repeated use also exists, including female athletes. The evidence does not establish a universal recovery protocol or a guaranteed muscle-growth benefit.
What "muscle recovery" means in the studies
Recovery studies measure several different outcomes: performance tests, self-reported soreness or recovery, physiological signals and longer-term training adaptations. Improvement in one does not establish improvement in all of them. The studies below use countermovement jump height and power, isometric strength, sprint time and time to exhaustion as performance outcomes, alongside soreness ratings, heart rate variability, sleep quality and, in the repeated-use trial, muscle size. When this article says a session "helped recovery," it names the specific outcome that changed in a controlled comparison.
The studies, by type
Acute recovery (one session after one workout)
| Study | Who and design | Protocol | What was found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mero et al., 2015, SpringerPlus (PMC4493260) | 10 physically active men; crossover | 30 min far-infrared sauna (35 to 50°C, 95 to 122°F depending on measurement height, 25 to 35 percent humidity) after either a 60 min hypertrophy strength session or a 34 to 40 min maximal endurance session. Post-exercise infrared recovery was compared with no sauna; separate sauna-only sessions compared infrared and traditional conditions. | After strength training: no recovery differences between infrared sauna and no sauna. After endurance training: countermovement jump at 30 minutes of recovery was higher after the infrared sauna than after no sauna. The authors described infrared bathing as a very light load on the body. |
| Ahokas et al., 2023, Biology of Sport (open-access record) | 16 male basketball players; randomized crossover, trials one week apart | Complex resistance exercise (maximal strength plus plyometrics), then 20 min infrared sauna at 43 plus or minus 5°C (about 109°F) or 20 min passive rest; performance tested 14 hours later | The drop in countermovement jump from before to after exercise was smaller after the infrared sauna than after passive rest, and muscle soreness ratings were better. The trial found lower parasympathetic activity during the infrared session than during passive recovery; overnight heart rate variability and subjective sleep quality did not differ between conditions. |
| Skorski et al., 2020, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (abstract record) | 20 competitive swimmers and triathletes; randomized crossover | Traditional sauna, 3 by 8 min at 80 to 85°C (176 to 185°F), after an intensive training session, versus placebo rest; 4 by 50 m all-out swim the next morning | Swimmers were slower the next morning after the sauna (plus 1.69 s) than after placebo (minus 0.66 s), with higher subjective stress. The authors advise caution with post-exercise sauna when hard training or competition follows the next day. |
Repeated use and training adaptation
| Study | Who and design | Protocol | What was found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahokas et al., 2025, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (PMC11913669) | 40 female team-sport athletes, pair-matched (not randomized) into infrared and control groups of 20, during six weeks of strength and power training; 36 completed the analysis | 10 minutes in an infrared sauna set to 50°C after training, three times per week (the measured air temperature at hip level averaged about 31°C) | Some evidence of improved loaded-jump power: jump height and peak power with 15 percent added load improved within the infrared group and showed a group-by-time interaction. The 5 m sprint interaction did not resolve into significant pairwise differences. No additional hypertrophy effect was detected; both groups gained lower-body muscle. The authors conclude infrared sauna does not significantly affect hypertrophy gains but might support long-term power production. |
| Scoon et al., 2007, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (repository record) | 6 male distance runners; crossover | Three weeks of traditional sauna (about 90°C, about 31 min, immediately after training, about 13 sessions) versus three weeks of control | Run time to exhaustion improved and plasma and total blood volume increased after the sauna block: a training-adaptation and heat-acclimation effect, not a same-day recovery effect. |
Systematic review
| Review | Scope | Method | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahokas et al., 2025, Sports Medicine Open (PubMed) | Randomized and crossover trials of whole-body post-exercise heat exposure (sauna or hot-water immersion at or above 36°C, not infrared sauna alone) versus passive or placebo recovery; per the review, 14 studies and 194 participants, search updated June 2025 | PRISMA review with Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment | On current evidence it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions about the effects of post-exercise heat exposure on recovery and performance development. Its participants overlap the trials above and are not additional independent subjects. |
Read together: the two acute infrared trials are positive on the jump-performance outcomes they measured and used cabin settings of 43°C and 35 to 50°C for 20 to 30 minutes (thermostat settings and measured air temperatures differ, as the 2025 trial's 50°C setting and 31°C hip-level reading show); the acute trial with a negative result used a hot traditional protocol before next-morning testing; the repeated-use infrared trial found a modest power benefit and no hypertrophy effect; and the systematic review says the evidence base is not yet large enough to settle the question.
Why heat might help
Passive heating raises skin blood flow and cardiac output, which is the mechanism most often proposed for recovery effects (Crandall and Wilson, Comprehensive Physiology, 2015, review the cardiovascular response to passive heat stress). Heat also triggers heat shock protein expression, discussed in the sauna-health literature as a cellular repair pathway (Hussain and Cohen, 2018, systematic review of regular dry sauna bathing). Infrared cabins reach a given body-temperature response at lower air temperatures than a stone-heater sauna, which Mero and colleagues singled out as the reason infrared felt like a light load after maximal exercise. On the autonomic side, Ahokas et al. found lower parasympathetic activity during the infrared session than during passive recovery, and overnight heart rate variability and subjective sleep quality did not differ between conditions; Leicht and colleagues (Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2018) examined heart rate variability responses to acute and repeated post-exercise sauna in trained cyclists. Proposed mechanisms help explain why heat might affect recovery, but they do not by themselves establish a practical benefit. Judge each claimed benefit by the measured outcomes in controlled studies.
Infrared vs traditional sauna for recovery
Mero's post-exercise comparisons tested infrared sauna against no sauna. Its traditional-sauna session was a separate experiment, so it does not establish that infrared sauna produces better post-workout recovery than traditional sauna. Differences across separate studies also cannot isolate sauna type from temperature, duration, exercise and recovery interval. What the studies do show is that heat dose differs: the positive acute infrared trials used a 43°C cabin for 20 minutes (Ahokas 2023) and a 35 to 50°C range for 30 minutes (Mero 2015, air temperature varying with measurement height); the repeated-use trial used a 50°C thermostat setting that measured about 31°C at hip level for 10 minutes; the trial that found next-morning performance losses used 80 to 85°C traditional heat; and the runners' study used about 90°C for heat acclimation over three weeks. Our how to choose a home sauna hub covers the format decision beyond recovery.
Red light is a separate modality
Red and near-infrared light therapy (photobiomodulation) is not infrared heat. It delivers specific wavelengths, commonly 630 to 660 nm and 810 to 850 nm, at a measured irradiance, and its exercise literature (trials and meta-analyses of light applied before or after exercise, with outcomes such as muscle damage markers and fatigue) is a different body of research from the sauna trials above. Some cabins, including the Sun Home Eclipse, integrate red light towers with published wavelengths and irradiance, which lets a user combine both modalities in one session; whether the combination adds to either alone has not been tested in a controlled trial that we located, and a cabin reaching a trial's air temperature does not reproduce that trial's outcome. Our red light therapy sauna guide covers the evidence, the dose specifications that matter, and how to tell a photobiomodulation panel from chromotherapy lighting.
What the research does not show
- That sauna "flushes lactic acid" or "detoxes" muscles. Lactate clears through metabolism within an hour or two after exercise regardless; the trials measured performance recovery, not toxin removal, and no sauna trial has shown a detoxification effect on muscle.
- A settled effect on soreness. Ahokas 2023 reported better soreness ratings after one infrared session; Mero 2015 did not find recovery differences after strength training. Two trials do not establish a rule.
- The same result in every population. The populations differ across studies. Early acute trials used male participants, while the 2025 repeated-use trial enrolled female athletes. These findings do not establish the same effects in every age group, training background or health condition.
- Safety of stacking heat before next-day competition. Skorski's swimmers got slower after hot traditional sauna. If a hard session or a race is scheduled for the next morning, that protocol has evidence against it.
- Muscle growth effects. The 2025 trial measured hypertrophy and found no significant additional gain from infrared sauna under its protocol. This does not settle every possible protocol or population.
What protocols did the studies use?
The acute studies and the repeated-training study used different protocols, and none was designed as a prescription:
- Mero 2015 (acute): 30 minutes of far-infrared sauna, with air temperature reported as 35 to 50°C depending on measurement height, begun after the training session.
- Ahokas 2023 (acute): 20 minutes at 43 plus or minus 5°C after complex resistance exercise, with testing 14 hours later.
- Ahokas 2025 (repeated use): 10 minutes in a cabin set to 50°C (measured about 31°C at hip level) after training, three times per week for six weeks.
- Skorski 2020 (acute, traditional): 3 by 8 minutes at 80 to 85°C, the protocol associated with slower next-morning swims.
- Scoon 2007 (repeated use, traditional): about 31 minutes at about 90°C after training, about 13 sessions over three weeks.
These are studied exposures, not a universal prescription. Research protocols are not individualized safety instructions. Follow the equipment instructions, account for health conditions and heat tolerance, and seek clinical advice where appropriate; the Mayo Clinic's sauna guidance lists conditions that call for caution. Sauna does not replace sleep, nutrition or hydration.
Sun Home's sauna before or after a workout guide covers timing in more depth, and its best infrared sauna for athletes and recovery ranking compares cabins on the specifications that matter for post-workout use. This article does not rank saunas.
FAQs
Can infrared saunas help with muscle recovery after workouts?
Two small acute trials found that a single 20 to 30 minute infrared session after training helped jump performance recover, and one also found better soreness ratings, compared with sitting still. A six-week repeated-use trial in female athletes found a modest power benefit and no extra muscle growth. A 2025 systematic review of post-exercise heat exposure says the overall evidence is too limited for a definitive answer.
Is infrared or traditional sauna better for recovery?
The studies summarized here do not establish that infrared sauna is generally superior to traditional sauna for post-exercise recovery. The positive acute infrared trials used a 43°C cabin (Ahokas 2023) and a 35 to 50°C range depending on measurement height (Mero 2015); the repeated-use trial used a 50°C setting that measured about 31°C at hip level; the acute trial with next-morning performance losses used 80 to 85°C traditional heat. Separate studies cannot isolate sauna type from temperature, duration and timing.
How long after a workout should I use an infrared sauna?
The trials began the sauna after the session ended, for 10 to 30 minutes depending on the study. These studies do not establish an optimal waiting period; follow the equipment instructions and your own heat tolerance.
Does an infrared sauna reduce muscle soreness (DOMS)?
One 2023 trial in basketball players reported better soreness ratings after a post-exercise infrared session. Earlier work did not find recovery differences after strength training. The evidence is promising but limited.
Should I use a sauna the night before a competition?
Results depend on the heat protocol and performance task. Next-morning testing has been studied, but the available evidence does not establish that sauna before competition improves performance generally. Avoid treating findings from one sport or heat exposure as a universal rule.
Does red light therapy help muscle recovery?
It is a different modality with its own literature on light applied before or after exercise. Cabins with integrated red light panels let you combine the two, but no controlled trial we located has tested the combination.