“There’s a big area of research in thermal medicine showing that if you heat the whole body a degree or two, you can boost immunity, because it’s just like inducing a fever,” he says.
Targeted heat therapies, like radiofrequency waves and ultrasound, are already used to treat tumors, with multiple clinical studies showing that this heat can improve long-term survival rates by up to 20 percent, Griffin says.
Infrared heat is also showing promise in mental health treatment. A recent study found infrared sauna sessions, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, led to a statistically significant reduction in depression symptoms. Depression is associated with a higher body temperature, and the infrared sauna induces sweating so the body can better cool down, says Ashley Mason, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and the study’s author.
Despite the positive anecdotal reports from patients that infrared heating sessions help with their chronic fatigue and pain, Tankha says it’s too early to make a definitive statement about the benefits of infrared heating when treating chronic pain.
