Traditional Sauna vs. Infrared: What the Science Actually Says

Infrared saunas are everywhere. In apartments, wellness studios, even portable tents on Amazon. They promise the same benefits in less time, at lower temperatures, for less money. So why did we build Pyre around traditional sauna?

Because the research told a different story.

This isn’t a hit piece on infrared. If you use one and enjoy it, that’s great. We’d rather see someone using an infrared sauna than no sauna at all. But if you’re comparing the two, or if you’ve seen health claims about infrared that seem too good to be true, you deserve an honest breakdown of what the science actually supports.

How They Work (The Basics)

Traditional sauna heats the air and the room. A wood-burning or electric stove raises the air temperature to 170-200°F (75-100°C). Your entire body is immersed in hot air. When you pour water on the stones (called loyly in Finnish), the burst of steam adds humidity that intensifies the heat and changes how it interacts with your skin and lungs.

Infrared sauna uses infrared light panels to heat your body directly, without significantly heating the air. The room temperature stays around 120-150°F (50-65°C). The infrared radiation penetrates your skin and warms you from the inside out.

Both make you sweat. Both feel warm. But the mechanisms, the temperatures, and the resulting physiological responses are meaningfully different.

The Research Gap

Here’s the part that gets glossed over in most infrared marketing:

The landmark studies on sauna and health, the ones that show a 66% reduction in dementia risk, a 50% reduction in cardiovascular mortality, and associations with increased lifespan, were all conducted using traditional Finnish saunas at 80-100°C.¹²³

These aren’t small studies. The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Study followed over 2,300 men for more than 20 years. The Finnish population data covers decades of consistent traditional sauna use. This is some of the most robust epidemiological evidence in all of thermal medicine.

Infrared sauna research exists, but it looks very different. Studies tend to be smaller, shorter, and conducted at much lower temperatures. Some show promising results for specific conditions like chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and congestive heart failure.⁴ But the sweeping longevity and cardiovascular claims? Those belong to traditional sauna data.

When someone posts an infographic about “sauna health benefits” on social media, they’re almost always citing traditional sauna research. The fine print just doesn’t mention that the sauna in question was a 185°F room with a stone stove, not a panel of infrared lights at 130°F.

Why Temperature Matters

This isn’t about macho tolerance for extreme heat. The temperature difference creates a fundamentally different physiological response.

In a traditional sauna at 170-200°F:

• Core body temperature rises 1-2°F
• Heart rate increases to 100-150 bpm (comparable to moderate exercise)
• Blood vessels dilate significantly
• Heat shock proteins are produced
• Growth hormone levels spike 200-300%
• Cardiovascular stress mimics a moderate workout³

In an infrared sauna at 120-150°F:

• Core body temperature rises modestly
• Heart rate increases mildly
• You sweat, but the cardiovascular stress is lower
• Heat shock protein production is less well-documented at these temperatures

The higher temperature of a traditional sauna creates a genuine cardiovascular training effect. Your heart works harder to cool your body, and over time, this repeated stress leads to adaptations: improved blood vessel function, lower resting blood pressure, increased blood plasma volume.³

Infrared advocates often frame the lower temperature as a benefit (“all the results, none of the discomfort”). But the physiological challenge is part of how it works. The discomfort isn’t a bug. It’s the mechanism.

The Loyly Factor

One thing infrared saunas simply cannot replicate: loyly.

Loyly is the Finnish word for the steam created when water is thrown on hot sauna stones. It’s been central to sauna culture for millennia, and it’s not just tradition for tradition’s sake.

The burst of steam temporarily spikes the humidity, intensifying the heat sensation and changing how thermal energy interacts with your body. Your skin reacts differently to humid heat than dry heat. Breathing humid air triggers different responses in your lungs and airways. The cycling between dry and humid heat creates a more dynamic and comprehensive thermal experience.

Traditional Finnish sauna culture considers the quality of loyly to be the single most important aspect of the sauna experience. It’s the craft that sauna masters spend years refining.

An infrared panel can warm you. It cannot create loyly.

What Infrared Can’t Replicate: The Communal Experience

This is the factor that rarely shows up in comparison articles, and we think it’s the most important one.

Infrared saunas are typically designed for one to three people. Many are single-person pods or small cabinets. The experience is private and individual by design.

Traditional saunas are communal by design. In Finland, sauna rooms hold 10-20 people. In Richmond, at Pyre, you’re sharing the space with others. Strangers who become familiar faces. Conversations that happen because the conditions are right: no phones, no pretense, shared heat.

The health benefits of social connection are well-documented. Reduced mortality, lower cortisol, improved immune function, reduced risk of dementia and heart disease.⁵ These benefits stack on top of the thermal benefits. They don’t just add to the effects of sauna use. They multiply them.

You can’t get that in a one-person box. And an infrared pod in your spare bedroom, however convenient, cannot replace the experience of sitting shoulder to shoulder with other humans in a room where everyone has agreed to be present.

When Infrared Makes Sense

We believe in being fair about this.

Infrared saunas are a good option if you:

• Have a medical condition that makes high temperatures unsafe (consult your doctor)
• Have limited space and want something for your apartment
• Are on a tight budget and want an entry point to heat therapy
• Have no access to a traditional sauna in your area

Some infrared research shows benefits for chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and certain cardiovascular conditions at lower heat thresholds.⁴ If that’s your situation, infrared may be the better fit.

Our position isn’t that infrared is bad. It’s that the two aren’t equivalent, and the marketing often implies they are.

Why We Chose Traditional

When we were designing Pyre, we had a choice. Infrared would have been cheaper to build, easier to maintain, and simpler to market (“sauna without the heat!”).

We chose traditional because:

1. The evidence base is stronger. Twenty years of Finnish longitudinal data, Mayo Clinic reviews, and consistent dose-response relationships all point to traditional sauna at high temperatures.

2. The experience is richer. Loyly, the dynamic cycling of heat and humidity, the intensity of genuine thermal challenge. These create an experience that’s qualitatively different from sitting in front of a warm panel.

3. The communal model works. Traditional saunas are built for shared space. The entire social bathhouse concept depends on a thermal environment where people can be together. Infrared’s individual-pod model doesn’t support that.

4. We honor the tradition. Sauna culture is thousands of years old. The Finns, the Russians, the Koreans, the Turks, they didn’t build these traditions around infrared panels. They built them around fire, stone, water, and community. We wanted to continue that lineage, not approximate it.

The Bottom Line

If you’re Googling “infrared sauna near me,” what you’re really looking for might be a traditional sauna experience. The one with real heat, real steam, real challenge, and real people sitting next to you.

That’s what we built. Come find out the difference for yourself.

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This article is for informational purposes. If you have medical conditions that affect heat tolerance, consult your healthcare provider before using any type of sauna.

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References

Footnotes

1. Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S., Kauhanen, J., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2017). Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged Finnish men. Age and Ageing, 46(2), 245-249. ↩

2. Laukkanen, T., Khan, H., Zaccardi, F., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2015). Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(4), 542-548. ↩

3. Laukkanen, T., et al. (2018). Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 93(8), 1111-1121. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Beever, R. (2009). Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Canadian Family Physician, 55(7), 691-696. ↩ ↩²

5. U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ↩