Short answer: red light therapy in a sauna is a set of LED lights built into the cabin that shine red and near-infrared light on your skin while you sit. It is a light feature, not a heater. The sauna’s heat comes from infrared panels or a rock heater; the red light runs alongside it. Ten of the thirteen Icelandic saunas at MinnSpas include it.
Jump to: What it is | Red light vs. infrared | Which saunas have it | What the internet is saying | FAQ
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What Is Red Light Therapy in a Sauna?
Red light therapy uses LEDs that give off red and near-infrared light. In a sauna, those LEDs are built into the cabin, so you get the light during the same session as the heat. You switch it on from the sauna’s controls.
It is not what makes the sauna hot. Think of it as a second feature that shares the room: the heater does the warming, the red light does the lighting.
Red Light vs. Infrared Heat: Not the Same Thing
People mix these up because of the word “infrared.” They do different jobs.
| Red light | Infrared heat | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | LED lights | Heater panels in the walls and floor |
| What you notice | A red glow | Warmth on your body |
| Its job | Light exposure during your session | Heating you so you sweat |
| Found on | Infrared, hybrid and traditional models | Infrared and hybrid models |
A traditional sauna with a rock heater can have red light too. The two are separate.
Which MinnSpas Saunas Have Red Light?
Red light therapy is on 10 of the 13 Icelandic saunas we carry. Seven of them also have Himalayan salt: see What does Himalayan salt do in a sauna?
- Hybrid: the Fusion Combo 720 and Fusion Combo 830 include it as standard, alongside infrared panels and a rock heater you can pour water on.
- Built around it: the Aura 620 pairs red light with low-EMF far-infrared heat.
- Also standard on: the Himalayan 620 and 630, the TimberSteel 420, 430 and 450, and the outdoor Reyk 520 and 550.
- Not included on: the Valo 410, Valo 420 and Husavik 520.
Eye-protection glasses for the red light come with the Aura, Fusion and Reyk models. Use the red light the way your sauna’s manual describes.
Here Is What the Internet Is Saying About Red Light Therapy
These videos are from outside sources. MinnSpas did not make them and is not affiliated with the people in them. Their opinions and any health claims are their own, not ours, and nothing here is medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own health.
What Is Red Light Therapy? (Cleveland Clinic)
Credit: “What Is Red Light Therapy? | Ask Cleveland Clinic’s Expert,” Cleveland Clinic on YouTube.
How Red Light Therapy Improves Your Health (Huberman Lab Clips)
Credit: “How Red Light Therapy Improves Your Health | Dr. Glen Jeffery & Dr. Andrew Huberman,” Huberman Lab Clips on YouTube.
Red Light Therapy: Scam or Science? (Ultimate Human Podcast)
Credit: “Red Light Therapy: Scam or Science? Here’s What The Research Says | TUH #130,” Ultimate Human Podcast with Gary Brecka on YouTube.
More to watch: Using Light (Sunlight, Blue Light & Red Light) to Optimize Health (Andrew Huberman) | Gary Brecka on red light therapy (The Diary Of A CEO Clips)
See the Red Light Running, in Apple Valley
The easiest way to decide is to sit in one. Visit the MinnSpas showroom at 14608 Felton Ct #109 in Apple Valley and we’ll show you how the red light, infrared and rock-heater controls work together on the models on our floor.
Ask About Saunas: Price, Availability & Delivery
Prefer to talk? Call or text (763) 200-SPAS.