How to Use an Infrared Sauna: Temperature and Timing | Sauna Republic

Infrared sauna guide

Here is how to use an infrared sauna for a first session: preheat the cabin, set the thermostat high so the heaters stay on, sit on a towel, keep the session short, sip water, leave at the first sign of feeling unwell, and cool down before standing up slowly. Figures vary by model and by source, so each one below is attributed.

The manufacturer instructions below come from Clearlight, whose Sanctuary (full-spectrum) and Premier (far-infrared) cabins Sauna Republic carries.

Before you start

Infrared cabins run cooler than traditional saunas, but Clearlight's manuals still warn about overheating.

Health conditions. Clearlight's Sanctuary owner's manual tells anyone pregnant or possibly pregnant, and people with heart disease, high or low blood pressure, circulatory problems or diabetes, or who take medication, to consult a physician first. Cleveland Clinic adds people over 65 or under 16 and anyone trying to get pregnant, and says to avoid saunas after a recent heart attack or stroke.

Medications. Ask your doctor or pharmacist first. CDC guidance for clinicians, written for hot weather, names diuretics, anticholinergic agents and some psychiatric medications as examples of drugs that raise heat risk, lists beta blockers among those linked to fainting, and tells clinicians to remind patients not to stop medications abruptly without a plan. Never skip a dose to fit in a session.

Alcohol, illness and exercise. Skip the session after drinking (Cleveland Clinic) or when ill (Harvard Health Publishing), and wait at least 15 minutes after strenuous exercise, as Clearlight's manuals instruct.

Water. Clearlight's setup guide says to drink water beforehand and take a quart into the cabin, and Cleveland Clinic calls dehydration one of the biggest sauna risks. See our hydration and electrolytes guide.

Your first infrared sauna session, step by step

Where Clearlight's setup guide, FAQ and owner's manuals give different figures, each one below is attributed.

Preheat the cabin

Clearlight's setup guide, FAQ and 2022 Sanctuary and Premier manuals call for 10 to 15 minutes of warm-up. The newest manual we found, for the Sanctuary 5 (uploaded in 2024), calls for 20 to 30 minutes.

Set the thermostat high and expect cooler air

Clearlight has you set the thermostat above what the cabin will reach so the heaters stay on: 150 to 175 degrees (setup guide), 150°F or higher (2022 manuals) or 175°F (Sanctuary 5 manual). Clearlight's setup guide and FAQ say the air typically reads about 115°F to 125°F (46°C to 52°C).

Setting the wall-mounted control panel on the outside of a sauna before a session

Mayo Clinic says an infrared sauna "heats your body directly without warming the air around you", and Cleveland Clinic gives 110°F to 135°F (43°C to 57°C) as typical for infrared saunas, against 150°F to 195°F for traditional ones. Temperature and time still matter: in a 2026 Cardiff Metropolitan University study using a far-infrared sauna Clearlight supplied, 45 minutes at 65°C (149°F), hotter than the typical infrared ranges above, raised core temperature by about 1.4°C in 12 healthy adults, who rated it "extremely hot".

Put towels on the bench and floor

Clearlight's manuals say to lay one towel on the bench and one on the floor (the Premier manual adds one for wiping sweat), and its care guide says towels keep sweat and body oils from staining the wood. See our sauna towel guide, what to bring checklist and Clearlight accessories guide.

Towels laid on the bench and floor of an infrared sauna before a session

Sit with your back to the back wall

Clearlight's setup guide says you "sweat more sitting up in the sauna with your back to the back wall heaters"; Clearlight's 2022 Sanctuary manual calls the heaters a burn hazard, so do not touch them. Indoor Sanctuary cabins add full-spectrum heaters on the front wall: see our Sanctuary vs Premier guide, infrared bands explainer and EMF guide.

Keep the first session short

Start at the short end for your model and build up gradually. Clearlight's first-session figures run from 5 to 30 minutes by document (see the table below), and Cleveland Clinic says newcomers may need to start with five minutes and add time.

During the session

Sip water as you go; Clearlight's setup guide says thirst afterward is a sign you drank too little, and that you may start sweating within a few minutes. Clearlight's manuals say never to sleep in a running sauna. Lighting and scent are optional; see add-ons below.

Know the signs to stop

Leave as soon as you feel unwell. Warning signs by source:

Clearlight. The Sanctuary 5 manual says to exit immediately and hydrate if you feel "light-headed, dizzy, nauseous, or overheated"; the 2022 manuals list dizziness, lethargy, drowsiness and fainting as signs of overheating.

Cleveland Clinic. If you are "feeling unwell, feeling dizzy, feeling weak, feeling like it's hard to breathe or uncomfortable, you should exit the sauna and seek medical help."

Harvard Health Publishing. If you feel unwell during a sauna, "head for the door."

NHS. Its heat exhaustion guidance lists dizziness, headache, nausea, heavy sweating, cramps and intense thirst, and says to call emergency services if someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of rest, cooling and fluids.

Cool down and stand up slowly

Harvard Health Publishing advises cooling down gradually. No study we found tested standing up after an infrared session, but the CDC's NIOSH links heat syncope (fainting or dizziness) to suddenly standing up; Mayo Clinic says heavy sweating in a hot environment can lower blood pressure and cause dizziness on standing; and the NHS advises getting up slowly. In the Cardiff study, mean arterial pressure was about 9 mmHg lower right after the session. Sit for a minute, then stand.

Adding a cold plunge? Read our contrast therapy guide first.

Rehydrate

Harvard Health Publishing advises "two to four glasses of cool water after each sauna" and says the average person sweats out about a pint in a short session; Cleveland Clinic suggests water or even electrolyte drinks.

Choosing your first infrared sauna?

Send your room size and electrical details for a model recommendation and current pricing.

Get Pricing

How long to stay in an infrared sauna

Clearlight's documents differ, and the clinical publishers' general sauna limits are shorter:

Source	First sessions	Regular sessions or upper limit
Clearlight FAQ (two answers)	About 10 to 15 minutes in one, 15 to 20 in the other	20 to 30 minutes in one, 20 to 45 in the other
Clearlight setup guide	Shorter, if your health warrants it	20 to 45 minutes
Clearlight Sanctuary and Premier manuals (2022)	No more than 30 minutes	No figure found
Clearlight Sanctuary 5 manual	No more than 20 minutes, then increase gradually	No figure found
Clearlight blog on saunas and age	As little as 5 minutes	20 to 30 minutes
Cleveland Clinic (saunas generally)	Five minutes, adding time	Around 15 to 20 minutes
Harvard Health Publishing (saunas generally)	No figure found	No more than 15 to 20 minutes
American Lung Association (saunas generally)	No figure found	No more than 20 minutes at a time

Clearlight's 45-minute upper figure is longer than the general sauna limits in the table, which are not infrared-specific. Infrared studies mostly used shorter exposures: the Waon protocol is 15 minutes in a 60°C (140°F) far-infrared sauna plus 30 minutes of rest under a blanket, and two athlete trials used 10 to 20 minutes at about 50°C (122°F). The 45-minute sessions we found were single laboratory sessions.

No infrared-specific maximum was found from a clinical or official source. A 2018 systematic review of 40 dry sauna studies (Hussain and Cohen) says more high-quality data on adverse effects are needed.

How often to use an infrared sauna

Clearlight's FAQ calls 3 to 4 sessions a week "ideal and safe" for most people and says daily use is safe for most, advising you to consult your doctor before daily use, especially if you are pregnant or have a heart condition. Those are manufacturer statements; the clinical guidance cited here sets session lengths, not a weekly frequency. Study schedules, for context:

Waon therapy (far infrared). Daily or five days a week, typically for two to four weeks, mostly in hospital patients; the largest randomized trial, WAON-CHF, gave one session a day for 10 days.

Athlete trials (infrared). 10 to 20 minutes at about 50°C after training, as a single session or three times a week.

Finnish cohorts (traditional sauna). Laukkanen and colleagues grouped self-reported habits as once, two to three or four to seven sessions a week at about 80°C (176°F). The results are associations, and the 2018 study's authors say their findings "cannot be directly applied" to other steam rooms and warm-water therapy.

We are not recommending a frequency; ask your clinician if you have a medical condition, and see our benefits review for what studies found.

Using add-ons during a session

The first four Clearlight options below are made for use inside a running cabin; this guide makes no claim about their effects.

Chromotherapy lighting. Sanctuary cabins have 12-color LED ceiling lighting; Premier cabins have six colors, with a factory-only 12-color upgrade. See our chromotherapy guide.

AROMA ONE diffuser. An ultrasonic cool-mist diffuser that mounts on a side wall above bench height, clear of the heaters. See our AROMA ONE guide or the product page.

CORE red light tower. The only Clearlight tower engineered for an active sauna, with a door mount for Sanctuary, Premier and Outdoor cabins. Running it in a powered cabin pushes most Clearlight models past their default circuit amperage, so plan Clearlight's circuit upgrade with an electrician. See our CORE guide, red light and infrared sauna guide or the product page.

HALO ONE halogenerator. Wall-mounted (the bracket fits any Clearlight sauna) and battery-powered, so no cord crosses the hot cabin. See our HALO ONE guide or the product page.

Outside only. Clearlight's Full Body and Personal red light towers are standalone room devices; an active sauna will damage them.

After the session: shower, rehydrate and air out the cabin

Showers are optional: the 2022 Sanctuary manual says a hot shower beforehand promotes sweating and calls one afterward refreshing, and the Sanctuary 5 manual suggests a cold one after. Heard that sweating flushes out toxins? See our guide to what sweating does and does not remove.

Adult cooling down with a glass of water after an infrared sauna session

After each use, Clearlight's FAQ suggests going over the interior, heaters included, with a damp cloth and leaving the door ajar so the cabin airs out. Its care guide adds: wipe the heaters only once they have cooled.

Clearlight's documents give different advice on cleaning products: the owner's manuals warn against cleaning agents inside the sauna, while the FAQ and care guide suggest a deeper clean about every two weeks using a sauna cleaning solution (the Sanctuary 5 manual mentions both). The common ground is a damp cloth, towels and airing out; ask Clearlight or us before using anything stronger.

Safety: alcohol, pregnancy, children and medications

Alcohol

Avoid alcohol before and during a session. Clearlight's manuals warn that alcohol, drugs or medications "may lead to unconsciousness", and a 2001 review in The American Journal of Medicine says alcohol during sauna bathing raises the risk of low blood pressure, heart-rhythm problems and sudden death. A forensic study of deaths in Finnish saunas from 1990 to 2002 (Kenttämies and Karkola, 2008) found them rare, under 2 per 100,000 inhabitants a year, but 50% of those who died were under the influence of alcohol. It did not examine infrared saunas specifically.

Pregnancy

Talk to your clinician before using any sauna if you are pregnant or trying to conceive. Clearlight's manuals say excessive temperatures have "a high potential for causing fetal damage during the early months of pregnancy". In a 1992 prospective US study of 23,491 pregnant women, hot tub use in early pregnancy was linked to a higher risk of neural tube defects (adjusted relative risk 2.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.5); the adjusted sauna estimate, 1.8 (95% CI 0.4 to 7.9), was not statistically significant, though the authors' conclusion grouped hot tubs, saunas and fever. The UK Teratology Information Service says studies of saunas and hot tubs in pregnancy have produced mixed findings and that "it is therefore not possible to confirm that their use is safe."

Children

Clearlight's manuals say children should use the sauna only under close supervision, and the newest says to consult the child's pediatrician first; Cleveland Clinic lists anyone under 16 among those who should check with a provider. A Clearlight blog post suggests that children under 12 avoid saunas; we found no official pediatric guideline that sets a specific age, so ask your child's pediatrician.

Medications, implants and other conditions

Ask your doctor or pharmacist about any regular medication; Clearlight's Sanctuary 5 manual names diuretics, barbiturates and beta-blockers as medicines that may impair heat loss. For metal pins, artificial joints and other surgical implants, it advises consulting your surgeon first and stopping if you feel pain near the implant. No Clearlight manual we reviewed addresses pacemakers, so ask your cardiologist. The Sanctuary 5 manual also rules out sessions with a fever and says anyone predisposed to bleeding should avoid infrared saunas.

Common first-session mistakes

Most infrared sauna tips for beginners come down to avoiding these:

A long first session. Clearlight's manuals cap first sessions at 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the manual.

No water. Clearlight suggests taking a quart into the cabin.

Alcohol beforehand. Clearlight's manuals and Cleveland Clinic both warn against it.

Standing up fast. Sit for a minute, then rise slowly.

Oil on the heaters. Never pour undiluted essential oils onto a heater or stones; they are flammable and can give off harsh fumes. Use a diffuser (see our essential oils guide).

Frequently asked questions

How hot should an infrared sauna be?

Hotter on the dial than in the air: Clearlight's documents put the thermostat at 150 to 175 degrees so the heaters stay on, and its setup guide and FAQ expect the air to read about 115°F to 125°F. Cleveland Clinic gives 110°F to 135°F as typical for infrared saunas.

How long should a first infrared sauna session be?

Short. Clearlight's figures run from 5 minutes to caps of 20 or 30 minutes depending on the document, and Cleveland Clinic suggests newcomers may need to start with five minutes.

How often can I use an infrared sauna?

Clearlight's FAQ suggests 3 to 4 sessions a week for most people and calls daily use safe for most; that is the manufacturer's guidance, not a study finding. Ask your clinician if you have a medical condition.

Do I need to preheat an infrared sauna?

Yes: 10 to 15 minutes per Clearlight's setup guide, FAQ and 2022 manuals, or 20 to 30 minutes per the Sanctuary 5 manual.

Should I shower before or after an infrared sauna?

Either is optional. Clearlight's 2022 Sanctuary manual says a hot shower beforehand promotes sweating and calls one afterward refreshing.

What should I wear in an infrared sauna?

The Clearlight documents we reviewed give no clothing guidance; they specify towels on the bench and floor. Our guide to what to wear in a sauna covers clothing by setting, and our what to bring checklist covers the rest.

Get pricing on a Clearlight infrared sauna

Tell us your room size and electrical service for current pricing on the model that fits.

Request pricing

Browse the Clearlight indoor sauna collection or the full infrared sauna collection.

Clearlight, Sanctuary, Premier, CORE, AROMA ONE and HALO ONE are trademarks of Sauna Works, Inc., dba Clearlight Infrared. Sauna Republic is an authorized Clearlight dealer. This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Clearlight describes its products as general wellness products; their statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, managing a heart, blood-pressure or other medical condition, or taking medication, talk with a healthcare professional before using a sauna, and follow the manufacturer's safety guidance.

Talk to a Specialist

How to Use an Infrared Sauna: Temperature, Session Length and First-Session Steps