Heat therapy options like traditional saunas and infrared saunas have their own unique benefits. For example, dry sauna benefits include the potential to improve mood and reduce anxiety1 along with cardiovascular health benefits like reducing high blood pressure and the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases2. Infrared saunas have similar benefits but may help reduce muscle soreness3 better than traditional saunas. However, both types of heat therapy are ideal for increased blood flow and blood circulation2.
The question is, are sauna suit benefits the same as traditional saunas or infrared saunas? I’m going to walk you through a handful of potential health benefits and risks of saunas suits so you can make an informed decision.
What Is a Sauna Suit?
A sauna suit may also be referred to as a sweat suit, mostly because of their ability to initiate perspiration. Sauna suits typically look like a track suit or sweatpants and hoodie. They are usually made of neoprene, nylon, or PVC materials. These types of fibers are not as breathable as traditional workout clothing or the best running leggings. Sauna suits are designed for heat retention, increasing body temperature, and promoting sweat.
Potential Risks of Sauna Suits
While I’m about to highlight some potential benefits, it’s worth noting that sauna suits are not recommended for everyone. Nearly every study I’ll highlight below was performed on healthy, active, and endurance-trained individuals. Plus, most of the test subjects were male.
Additionally, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)4 no longer allows the use of sauna suits after three wrestlers’ deaths5 were linked to overheating and dehydration from the use of sweat suits—the two biggest risks associated with wearing one.
Potential Benefits of a Sauna Suit
Sauna suits are popular in wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and bodybuilding. Athletes may use a sauna suit to help reduce body weight through excessive sweating and dropping water weight. It’s popular for athletes who compete in weight-class- driven sports and want to cut down a weight class before weigh-ins or competition.
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Sauna Suits May Help Reduce Body Fat
While the use of sauna suits seems like a small and temporary method to lose weight (like to drop a weight class for professional MMA fighters), a small study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research6 found that participants had higher energy expenditure during exercise with a sauna suit than the participants who didn’t use a sauna suit.
But don’t hold your breath on this weight loss method, because the calorie burn was negligible. Folks wearing a sauna suit during the prescribed interval exercise burned 23 more calories than test subjects without sauna suits.
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While 23 extra calories burned won’t have any significant effects on weight loss, the same study showed that fat oxidation—how your body breaks down fat stores—increased an hour post-exercise in participants who wore a sauna suit.
Sauna Suits Show Potential to Improve VO2 Max
In a 2017 study published by Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology7 researchers found that athletes and endurance-trained folks may be able to increase their VO2 max and maximal oxygen uptake. If you’re wondering what VO2 max is, have no fear because we have an entire guide written on the subject.
For now, all you need to know is that VO2 max is a measurement of oxygen consumption during exercise. The more oxygen you can take in during exercise, the better. If you’re limited in your ability to take in oxygen and deliver it to the muscles, it affects your performance and exercise output.
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The study found that over the course of 14 days of cardio training, participants were able to increase VO2 max, ventilatory threshold, and time trial performance. While the test was rather small at 14 participants, it’s an indicator that sauna suits can help athletes and active individuals improve performance faster than without a sauna suit.
Sauna Suits Work for Heat Acclimation
If you’re anything like me, when summer days turn hot and humid, I go from enjoying outdoor workouts to an obsession with air conditioning. Intense heat, sweating right through my workout clothes, and barely being able to keep up with hydration is a recipe for disaster in my book.
Interestingly, sauna suits may help active folks acclimate to exercise in high-heat environments (so you can keep up your running routine all summer). A recent study from the Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology8 found that repeated use of sauna suits during low to moderate exercise may help active adults adapt to heat by earlier onset of body sweat, decreased heart rate, and decreased core temperature.
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Sauna Suit Helps You Warm Up Faster In Cold Weather
On the flip side of heat acclimation covered in the section above, sauna suits could make outdoor training sessions in cold weather a little warmer. There’s not a ton of research around this topic, but many sweat suit and sauna suit brands recommend using them in the winter months to increase body heat, blood circulation, and generally warm up faster.
Sauna Suit Benefits: Final Thoughts
Our team recommends checking with your doctor before adding a sauna suit to your fitness routine. And based on the potential risks of overheating and dehydration, we don’t recommend sauna suits for exercise beginners, older adults, children, or people with chronic illness.
We recommend using sauna suits with purpose, guidance, and with proper rehydration and electrolytes. We don’t recommend sauna suits for the sole purpose of weight loss or detoxification.
Sauna Suit Benefits: FAQs
Do sauna suits help burn fat?
There is research6 to suggest that sauna suits worn during interval drills helped study participants increase fat oxidation for up to an hour after a workout. Keep in mind research was done on a small group of healthy and trained individuals.
What are the disadvantages of a sauna suit?
The disadvantages of a sauna suit are overheating and dehydration, which are serious health concerns. The NCAA has even banned the use of sauna suits after the deaths of three wrestlers who had all used sauna suits5.
Should you wear clothes in a sauna suit?
Wearing a layer under a sauna suit may help absorb sweat and wick it away from your body, but it may trap heat more and lead to more sweating. Wearing clothing under your sauna suit may require more awareness of time spent in the sweat suit and how much water you’re drinking to maintain hydration.
References
- Masuda, A., Nakazato, M., Kihara, T., Minagoe, S., & Tei, C. (2005). Repeated thermal therapy diminishes appetite loss and subjective complaints in mildly depressed patients. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67(4), 643–647. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000171812.67767.8f
- Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T, Kunutsor SK. Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018;93(8):1111-1121. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.04.008
- Mero, A., Tornberg, J., Mäntykoski, M., & Puurtinen, R. (2015). Effects of far-infrared sauna bathing on recovery from strength and endurance training sessions in men. SpringerPlus, 4, 321. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-1093-5
- NCAA memorandum. 2023.
- Wrestling away from a troubled past. Accessed June 24, 2024. NCAA media center. 2013.
- Matthews, A.R.D., et al. (2022). Acute effects of high-intensity interval exercise while wearing a sauna suit on energy expenditure and excess post-exercise oxygen
- Van de Velde, S.S., et al. (2017). The performance benefits of training with a sauna suit: A randomized, controlled trial. International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology. 13(1): 1-11.
- Carrillo, S.N., et al. (2020). Quantifying heat stress of sauna suits during physical activity and examining the effects of heat acclimation on physiological responses in hypoxic conditions: a preliminary explorative study on cross-adaptation. International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology. 15(2): 35-52.
