Take you standard infrared sauna and get rid of its non-essential elements. Get rid of the bench, strip away the wood panels and remove the glass door. Now take away the skeleton–the very structure of the sauna itself. Eliminate everything except the the infrared carbon fiber heating panels and a control panel.
When you eliminate the non-essentials of an infrared sauna, what you are left with is probably pretty close to what a sauna blanket is. It will definitely be cheaper, and smaller, but will it provide the same benefits as real infrared sauna?
A sauna blank is just as effective at raising the body’s core temperature and has the same physiological effect on the body as a regular sauna. Apart from the heat, a sauna blanket will provide much different user experience. Whether one is better than the other is strictly a matter of personal preference.
By raising your body’s core temperature, a sauna blanket will cause your body to sweat, increase your heart rate, cause your brain to release serotonin and endorphins, and most importantly, cause you to experience heat stress.
Think of it like exercise. Just as exercise causes your body to experience a good kind of stress producing a multitude of positive benefits, experiencing stress as the result of exposure to high temperatures will cause you body to experience a myriad of heat stress related benefits.
Your body has natural built-in ways of responding to stress. Exposing your body to short bursts of stress, triggers stress responses. Because it is limited to a short burst, your body isn’t overwhelmed and weakened by the stress. Instead, it tells the body that it needs to make itself stronger, more efficient, and more capable.
The heat stress provided by a sauna blanket will tell your body to strengthen its cardiovascular system, widen blood vessels, produce heat shock proteins, improve brain chemistry, and make the body more capable of dealing with stress in the future.
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What is a Sauna Blanket?
A sauna blanket (sometimes referred to as a thermal blanket) is shaped similar to a sleeping bag. It has padded carbon fiber heating elements sown into the blanket. These heating elements use infrared heat to heat the user’s body similar to an infrared sauna. Each Sauna Blanket has a control box which sets the time and temperature of the blanket. Sauna Blankets often have several zones allowing the user to adjust the temperature for different parts of the body.
How Much Do Sauna Blankets Cost?
As you would expect, sauna blankets are far more affordable than traditional and infrared saunas. There are models which are manufactured and marketed for both personal use at home and commercial use in a spa or fitness center.
A typical sauna blanket, designed for personal use, will cost between $140 and $300. This sauna blanket by TTLife will work for most people.
High end Sauna blankets and those designed for commercial use will usually cost between $400 and $1000, but some can cost more. This model by Mag.al is an example of one of the highest end saunas blankets on the market.
Both the cheaper and the more expensive sauna blankets function the same way, have similar features, and heat up to between 105℉ to 175℉ (or 40℃ to 80℃). More expensive models are built to be more durable and able to handle the strain multiple daily uses.
More expensive models will usually allow you to heat different parts of the body to different temperatures. The less expensive models will not.
Are Sauna Blankets Safe?
Sauna blankets are completely safe, so long as they are used properly and with care.
Like any electrical device, but especially those meant to produce heat, sauna blankets can present a fire hazard. They should never be left on when unattended. Unplug the blanket when you are done using it.
Sauna blankets will raise your core temperature, causing you to sweat. Therefore you should be careful not to become dehydrated and make sure to drink plenty of water before and after using the blanket.
It is normal for the high heat of the sauna blanket to cause you to feel uncomfortable. If, however, you become dizzy or feel like you are going to faint, you should immediately exit the sauna blanket.
You should not use a sauna blanket if you are pregnant or have a respiratory condition, a heart condition, skin diseases or disorders, or have recently consumed alcoholic beverages.
How to Use a Sauna Blanket
Sauna blankets are easy to use, but do require you to follow a number of steps. You should develop a good routine, not only to get the most out of your sauna session, but also, so that you can clean up efficiently and ensure the life-span of your blanket.
You should always check your sauna blanket’s user manual, as procedures vary according to device, but in general, you should:
- Spread out the sauna blanket on a flat surface, like a bed or floor. It is a good idea to start on the floor (somewhere it is ok to spill a little sweat) until you are confident in your clean-up procedure.
- Put the control box or control panel on a flat surface and within reach of the blanket. Then plug the control box into an outlet.
- Now you want to connect the wires from the control box to the blanket.
- Have a couple of dry towels and your cleaning supplies handy before you begin your session. You will also want to keep a water bottle within arms reach.
- Lay a plastic wrap on the sauna blanket and then lie down on time of the wrap. First wrap yourself in the plastic wrap and then wrap the sauna blanket over your body.
- Turn the control box on and set the temperature for each zone of your blanket. It is fine to set all zones to the same temperature at first. You can adjust each zone during the session to suit your preferences. It is a good idea to begin with lower temperatures at first and gradually work your way up to higher temperatures.
- Now set the timer. Timers will typically go up to one hour in duration. You should NOT use it longer than one hour per day. The Sauna Blanket may feel uncomfortable at first and you do not need to start with full hour-long sessions. It is fine to begin with 20 minutes and gradually increase session length.
- Once the timer goes off and your session is over, you should unwrap the blanket and then the plastic wrap. Then get up, while trying to leave as much of the sweat on the plastic wrap as possible. Now it is time to clean your sauna blanket.
How Do You Clean a Sauna Blanket?
You need to clean the sauna blanket after every use. Follow these steps to keep your blanket sanitary and to make it last.
- Before cleaning you should make sure the sauna blanket is switched off and unplugged from the electrical outlet.
- Wipe the control box with a dry towel or paper towel. You should not get the control box wet, even when cleaning.
- Wipe the surface of the sauna blanket with a damp cloth after each use. You can use a cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the blanket.
- Make sure the sauna blanket is completely dry and then store it in a cool dry place. Do not attempt to fold the blanket until it is dry, has cooled down, and is unplugged.
- It is best to use disposable plastic body wrap while using your sauna blanket. This plastic wrap creates a lining between your sweaty body and the blanket. After you are using the blanket, stand up out of the body wrap and carefully fold the body wrap so that the sweat does not spill onto the blanket.
Can You Travel With a Sauna Blanket?
You can definitely travel with your sauna blanket. When spread out, they have similar dimensions to a sleeping bag, but they are thinner and will usually fold down to half the size.
Some sauna blankets, usually the more expensive ones, come with rather large control boxes. Lugging around these control boxes will be the the most difficult part of traveling with a sauna blanket. If you intend to travel with your sauna blanket, you may want to look specifically for blankets that have small control panels, rather than large clunky control boxes.
For example, this sauna blanket by TTLIFE weighs only 13.4 pounds and has a small control panel. It is going to be much easier to travel with than this sauna blanket by GIZMO, which weighs 22.7 pounds and has a much larger control box.
