Infrared Sauna Therapy and Your Mood: Why Heat Therapy Supports Mental Wellness.
If you’ve been feeling off lately, know that you’re in a very big crowd. The CDC’s latest data shows roughly 13% of Americans age 12 and older dealt with depression in a two-week window between 2021 and 2023. A decade earlier, that number sat closer to 8%. Look at it from another angle and about 28.5% of U.S. adults say they’ve been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives. These aren’t cold statistics. They’re our neighbors, our coworkers, the people we love. And a whole lot of them only get partial relief from the standard medication-and-therapy playbook, which is exactly why people keep hunting for tools that sit outside the usual box.
Here’s the part that surprises folks. One of the more intriguing ideas to come out of mood research recently isn’t a pill or a supplement. It’s heat. The deep, core-warming kind you get from sitting in an infrared sauna.
What “Whole Body Hyperthermia” Actually Means
Researchers have a clinical name for this approach: whole body hyperthermia, or WBH. Don’t let the term scare you off, because the idea is dead simple. You deliberately nudge your core body temperature up a little, usually somewhere between 1.5 and 3°F. You hold it there for around 20 minutes. Then you let your body cool back down.
That’s it. You can reach that state in a traditional sauna, a hot bath, or an infrared sauna. The studies I’m about to walk you through cover all three methods, so when you see “WBH,” picture any one of those. The mood research doesn’t care how you get warm. It cares that you get warm and then cool down.
The Research, Sorted by How Solid It Is
At High Tech Health, we’re a little obsessed with telling truth from hype. So instead of throwing every study at you like they all carry equal weight, I’m going to be straight about which findings stand on firm ground and which are still early. With WBH and mood, the picture is being painted by small human trials plus a believable biological story. We’re not at the “settled science” stage, and I’d rather you hear that from me than from a sales page.
The strongest piece: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The headliner is Janssen and colleagues, published in JAMA Psychiatry back in 2016. They took 34 adults with major depressive disorder and randomly gave them either one real WBH session (core temperature raised with an infrared device) or a convincing fake session, then followed everyone for six weeks. The real-heat group showed noticeably bigger drops on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, around a 6.5-point edge at week one. And here’s the wild part. That benefit, while it faded somewhat, hung around all the way out to six weeks. From a single session. The authors called WBH a potentially safe, fast-acting antidepressant approach with lasting effect.
What makes me sit up is that durability from one exposure, which almost never happens in depression research. What keeps me honest is the size (small) and a blinding hiccup worth naming: about 71% of the people in the fake group thought they’d gotten the real thing, which is good, but because the actual heat experience felt different between groups, the researchers admitted the blinding may not have fully held. So treat this as a strong starting line, not a finish line.
The promising middle: small controlled pilots. Naumann and colleagues (2020) ran a controlled pilot comparing hot baths against an exercise program, both added on top of usual depression care. It was a feasibility study, but it matters because it tests a totally different way of heating the body (water instead of infrared) and still points in a hopeful direction. Then Mason and colleagues paired cognitive behavioral therapy with infrared-sauna WBH against CBT plus fake heat in 30 people with depression. Their main question was whether people would actually stick with it, and the answer was a clear yes. Most participants said they’d recommend it and would sign up again.
Where it all started: early trials and the mechanism hunt. This whole line of work traces back to Hanusch and colleagues (2013), who ran an open trial where a single WBH session eased depressive symptoms. The fascinating detail? How much someone improved tracked with how well their body cooled down afterward. That one observation kicked off one of the leading theories for why this works. More recently, a 2023 paper dug into inflammatory markers in the blood and found a link between certain cytokines and how well people responded, which supports an inflammation-related angle for at least some folks.
Why Would Heat Lift Your Mood? Three Theories
Nobody has these fully nailed down in humans yet, so think of this as the plausible “why,” not gospel.
One, the thermostat reset. People dealing with depression tend to run a slightly warm core temperature and have a harder time shedding heat. The thinking goes that firing up the body’s cooling system hard (heat it, then force a strong cool-down) might help recalibrate the whole thermostat. Remember that Hanusch finding about better cooling predicting better mood? That’s the clue here, and it’s a big reason the cool-down matters so much.
Two, your warm skin talks to your brain. Warming the skin lights up warm-sensitive nerves that run straight to mood-related regions of the brain, including the serotonin system. In animal and lab models, poking those warm-signal pathways produces antidepressant-like and anxiety-calming effects. It’s a beautiful example of the body and brain being way more connected than we give them credit for.
Three, it calms inflammation. Heat exposure triggers heat-shock proteins, which help dial down inflammatory signals. Since elevated inflammation shows up in a meaningful slice of depression cases, this is a real candidate, and it’s the pathway that 2023 cytokine study was poking at. (If inflammation and the calming side of heat interest you, our piece on how saunas help with stress and cortisol digs into that whole nervous-system reset.)
How to Use Your Sauna for Mood Support
Here’s where I put on my practitioner hat and take off any salesman hat I might be accused of wearing. I am not telling you a sauna treats depression. I’m not making that claim, period.
What I can tell you, honestly, is that regular heat exposure has well-documented effects on relaxation, stress physiology, better sleep, and plenty more. The mood research gives a credible biological reason that steady sauna use may support how you feel as part of a bigger routine. If shorter, darker months hit you hard, our article on infrared saunas and seasonal mood dips is worth a read too.
So if you’ve got a sauna or you’re thinking about one, here’s how I’d frame it:
Consistency beats intensity. The broader sauna literature rewards regular, sustainable use far more than the occasional heroic marathon session. Three or four calm sessions a week will do more for you than one punishing one.
Respect the cool-down. Given the thermostat theory, that post-session cooling phase might be doing real work. Don’t bolt straight from your sauna back into a hot environment. Let your body do its thing. It’s also part of why a sauna can leave your mind feeling clearer afterward, something we cover in our brain fog article.
Pair it, don’t replace it. Treat heat as one supportive piece alongside nutrition, sleep, movement, sunlight, real human connection, and professional care when you need it. It plays best on a team.
The Bottom Line
WBH for mood support is early, ongoing, and legitimately exciting. My honest verdict? Genuinely promising, not yet proven, and the science gives a real reason to believe consistent sauna use may support your mood as part of a well-rounded routine.
At High Tech Health, we take pride in building what we believe are the cleanest, lowest-EMF, most effective saunas on the market. If you’re ready to start feeling the benefits of whole body hyperthermia for yourself, take a look at our sauna comparison guide, or jump straight to our most popular size, the 2-person Transcend.
One last, important note. Depression is serious, and heat therapy is not a replacement for professional mental health care. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a qualified clinician. This article is educational and reflects the current research. It is not medical advice, and it does not establish a treatment. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) in the U.S. for free, confidential support.
See The Difference
Check out our entire line of infrared saunas recommended by more doctors and health practitioners than any other.
Shop by Size
Find the perfect medical-grade fit for your home. Browse our curated, low-EMF models by capacity.
Or call us at 1-800-794-5355
Our product specialists are all health professionals and are available to help you in your wellness journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an infrared sauna help with depression? The research is promising but not conclusive. A 2016 randomized trial found that a single whole body hyperthermia session eased depressive symptoms in adults with major depression, with benefits lasting up to six weeks. Regular infrared sauna use may support mood as part of a broader routine, not as a standalone treatment.
What is whole body hyperthermia? Whole body hyperthermia (WBH) means deliberately raising your core body temperature by about 1.5 to 3°F, holding it there for roughly 20 minutes, then cooling down. You can reach that state in an infrared sauna, a traditional sauna, or a hot bath. Researchers study it for its potential mood and stress benefits.
How does heat affect your mood? Researchers point to three possible pathways. Heat may help reset the body’s temperature regulation, which often runs slightly off in depression. Warming the skin also signals mood-related brain regions tied to serotonin. And heat triggers heat-shock proteins that calm inflammation, which is linked to some forms of depression.
How often should I use an infrared sauna for mood support? Consistency matters more than intensity. Most people do well with three to four sessions a week of around 20 minutes, rather than occasional long ones. Pay attention to the cool-down afterward, since gradual cooling may be part of why heat supports mood. Build up your time and frequency slowly.
Can an infrared sauna replace antidepressants or therapy? No. Infrared sauna therapy is not a replacement for professional mental health care, medication, or talk therapy. The research treats heat as a possible supportive tool alongside proven treatments, not a substitute. If you’re struggling with depression, talk with a qualified clinician about the right plan for you.
How long do the mood benefits of a sauna session last? In the 2016 randomized trial, a single whole body hyperthermia session produced antidepressant effects that, while fading over time, were still measurable six weeks later. That durability from one session is unusual in depression research, though it comes from a small study that needs larger trials to confirm.
References
- Brody DJ, Hughes JP. Depression Prevalence in Adolescents and Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 527. National Center for Health Statistics; April 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db527.htm
- Becker’s Behavioral Health. (2026, March 13). 18.3% of US adults treated for depression in 2025: Gallup. https://www.beckersbehavioralhealth.com/behavioral-health-mental-health/18-3-of-us-adults-treated-for-depression-in-2025-gallup/
- Janssen CW, et al. Whole-Body Hyperthermia for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016;73(8):789-95. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.1031. PMID: 27172277.
- Naumann J, et al. Effects and feasibility of hyperthermic baths in comparison to exercise as add-on treatment to usual care in depression: a randomised, controlled pilot study. BMC Psychiatry. 2020;20(1):536. doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02941-1. PMID: 33176757.
- Mason AE, et al. A Randomized Trial Testing a Novel Mind and Body Intervention for Depression: CBT and Whole-Body Hyperthermia (WBH). Glob Adv Integr Med Health. 2025;14:27536130251387714. doi:10.1177/27536130251387714. PMID: 41146956.
- Hanusch KU, et al. Whole-body hyperthermia for the treatment of major depression: associations with thermoregulatory cooling. Am J Psychiatry. 2013;170(7):802-4. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12111395. PMID: 23820835.
- Flux MC, et al. Association of plasma cytokines and antidepressant response following mild-intensity whole-body hyperthermia in major depressive disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2023;13:132. doi:10.1038/s41398-023-02402-9
- Raison CL, et al. Somatic influences on subjective well-being and affective disorders: the convergence of thermosensory and central serotonergic systems. Front Psychol. 2015;5:1580. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01580
