One of the most common reasons people choose to work out in 2025 is for their mental health. We know exercise releases endorphins, which naturally helps elevate our mood. Exercise can improve many other things that affect our mental health as well, like sleep, energy, reduced tiredness, and increased mental alertness. Yoga specifically is often considered a great way to focus on your mental well-being due to its focus on its integration of breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation exercises. Now, with infrared heated workouts, you can add another layer of support to your mental well-being through the stress-relieving benefits of far infrared heat.
According to Hans Selye, MD, Phd, and the American Institute of Stress, stress is “the body’s nonspecific responses to any demand – pleasant or unpleasant”. Meaning, when our body feels stress, that’s a response to something being demanded of us. And while the definition of stress illuminates that stress can be positive or negative, and in fact stress can be a useful motivator, when we discuss stress relief we’re speaking of excess negative stress.
Negative stress, instead, can lead to hopelessness and lead us to give up instead of trying to cope. A 2022 study found 76% of adults said they’d experienced health impacts due to stress. With prevalance like that, it seems many of us could benefit from an additional way to reduce stress. Luckily, far infrared might be just the recipe.
But first, what is far infrared? Infrared is a type of light which is invisible to the human eye and instead experienced as heat. Far Infrared workouts heats your body temperature instead of heating the air around you like a typical hot yoga class.
Studies of all types of infrared light have looked at the impacts of infrared heat and stress relief.
A study on how infrared light therapy affects the plantar region found decreased blood pressure and stress markers after treatment. Likewise, a study on Far Infrared radiation found physical health, general health, social functioning, and stress and fatigue all improved in the treatment group.
Tuscon Sports Recovery explains that far infrared saunas can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby making room for the body to enter what’s known as rest-and-digest state.
The Paraysmathetic nervous system, as explained by Cleveland Clinic is “a network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger”. So when we’re thinking about decreasing stress from inside our bodies, this is the exact part of our inner workings we’d want to focus on. The rest and digest system is an informal description of what happens when this network is activated because, like it sounds, the system allows our bodies to rest and perform their everyday functions like digestion. This system also has many other benefits like controlling heart rates, blood pressures, urination, and your fight and flight response.
Far infrared therapy in specific is thought to reduce cortisol, known as the stress cortisol. It also may improve sleep, and poor sleep is linked to high stress levels.
There’s also been research looking into far infrared’s effects on other aspects of our mental health. It may help boost seretonin and help with mood fluctuations. Research into depression is looking at connections between far infrared light therapy’s ability to increase relaxation and lower stress, which is also related to depression. In fact, far infrared therapy’s thought to remove chemicals and heavy metals that “cause brain fog, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, headaches, and insomnia” according to Balsam Institute. Far infrared’s ability to improve blood circulation may also affect those with anxiety.
To focus on lowering your stress levels this season, try stopping by a class at your local Oxygen Yoga & Fitness.