Koanna Infrared (IR) sauna blanket is a portable, easy to use sauna cabin replacement for the home at an “attractive” price. I use this IR thermal blanket as a powerful regeneration, respectively biohacking tool in my weekly recovery routines. In this article I will share my own review of the Koanna sauna blanket. Furthermore, I give you an insight of how to set up this biohacking device and when I implement it. Moreover, I will share my ideas on how to rank the Koanna sauna blanket in terms of detoxification, as well as YIN and YANG principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Infrared Sauna (Thermal) Blankets – Are they backed up by science?

In a world in which science is the new religion people almost immediately scream things like: “Yeah, but where’s the proof?” or “But it’s not proved by science” etc.

Of course, it is generally not a bad thing to look into scientific studies, but nowadays a lot of experts tend to know everything about nothing! So just a friendly reminder to question everything and keep your common sense.

By the way, you cannot prove love and yet probably no one would deny its existence. You also pay your electricity bill yet even scientists cannot explain 100% what electricity really is!

Let’s take a look at accessible research about IR sauna blankets. This is not an easy thing to do, if you only focus 100% on IR thermal blankets, as they are relatively new devices.

Nevertheless, as we already learned in the 90’s hit-series “The X-Files”, the truth is out there. For those of you who are too young to remember the 90’s, you missed some trashy music (especially Euro-Disco) and even worse clothes.

I’ve done some research for you, though about IR sauna blankets, so you won’t miss that 😉

A study, published in “Infrared Physics & Technology” showed that:

“IR thermal blanket improves blood circulation and the metabolism of the whole body, accelerate the detoxification, trigger the consumption of calories and fat burning. It is an alternative treatment to saunas but more effective.” (Cristiano, 2019).

Furthermore, in 2014 the Journal named “Int. Heart Journal” published a study about “Thermal vasodilation using a portable infrared thermal blanket in decompensated heart failure”.

After having used an infrared blanket that heated the 38 tested patients (mean age: 56,9) at 50°C for 40 minutes the researchers concluded that:

“ The cardiac index increased by 24.1% (P = 0.009), and systemic vascular resistance decreased by 16.0% (…) after thermal therapy. Heat as a vasodilator increased the cardiac index and lowered systemic vascular resistance in DHF patients. These data suggest thermal therapy as a therapeutic approach for the adjuvant treatment of DHF patients.” (Lima et al., 2014).

Note: The abbreviation “DHF” means “decompensated heart failure”.

So, according to this study even patient with chronic heart problems benefited from using an infrared thermal blanket.

Of course, this is not a health claim and I recommend you to consult a physician before you think of using an IR sauna blanket!

It is a powerful technique/remedy, so use it wisely! Too much of a good thing can also turn into something bad!

Koanna Infrared Sauna Blanket and its use in regards of Strength Training

Besides being a “Heilpraktiker” (Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practitioner) I’m also a Strength-Coach/Personal-Trainer.

Therefore, I also like to share my thoughts and own experience about the Koanna sauna blanket in terms of regeneration after a strength training workout.

When it comes to strength-training, it’s not only about how much weight you lift and to have a well-structured, individual designed training program. It’s also important how fast you can recover from your last workout.

Speaking as a Strength-Coach, I’d say that recovery is always considered to be the “bottleneck” of one’s progress. In a nutshell: The faster you recover, the faster you’ll proceed!

I like to integrate my Koanna sauna blanket regularly after an intense strength-training, for vasodilation of my capillaries, to enhance blood circulation, oxygen transport, increase the body’s ability to sweat in order to aid with detoxification.

Improved blood circulation means better transport of nutrients and that’s what you want after draining your body’s energy in the gym.

So you might want to consider drinking an adequate amount of water, with some electrolytes and/or some collagen before wrapping a Koanna around you.

Always remember, no matter how good you feel after a workout (i.e. due to cortisol and adrenaline rush) it is a LOSS OF ENERGY! Movement in general is always a YANG-dominant activity.

Therefore, you will have to replenish lost energy. By using my Koanna sauna blanket I think I can speed up this process! Of course, this is my anecdotal knowledge “out of the trenches” and my own review.

Koanna Sauna Blanket – Do IR thermal blankets really help with detox?

Ok, let’s be honest “detox” is an inflationary used term. I’ll try to be a little bit more precise here.

In regards of training (especially hypertrophy training) something that can be “toxic” is the accumulation of lactic acid, which – if not properly “managed” – will end in muscle soreness.

Get me right, there is nothing “wrong” with experiencing some muscle soreness after an intense workout. But, the thing is that a too much damaged tissue (that’s what muscle soreness actually is!) might take quite some time to heal.

As mentioned above, this it the “bottleneck” of an athlete’s progression speed. It’s always key to have and adequate recovery strategy to perform at your best. No matter if you’re a world class athlete or just a “weekend-warrior”.

The basics will always be the basics, and, as the story goes:

 “You cannot fire a cannon from a canoe”.

Meaning you won’t make progress if you can’t recover properly from your workouts!

If you prefer a more holistic point of view, I’d like to tell you that, from my perspective, respectively own experience, I think that using my Koanna sauna blanket improved my sleep quality, enhanced my skin elasticity (when combined with collagen supplementation), and shed some subcutaneous fat.

So, are there any downsides of the Koanna Infrared sauna blanket? Well, I won’t say real downsides, but some limitations. Especially, when it comes to detoxification.

Learning how to “properly” sweat is a good thing and I’m convinced that it might enhance your ability to sweat out some toxins as well, BUT only those, that are water-soluble!

I haven’t seen/experienced any detoxification of toxic metals by using an IR sauna (no matter what kind).

This makes sense, as metals (i.e. Mercury, Aluminum, Lead etc.) need special, so called chelators to be extracted from the body.

The word chelator, by the way, derives from Greek chele = pincers (Antwerpes et al., 2019).

Toxic metals in the body need a chelator, that “grabs” them like pincers of a crab, in order to make them water soluble. Afterwards they can be eliminated by the urinary tract.

If you’re interested in how an overview/measurement of toxic metals looks like, you can see one of my “Oligoscan/ SO/Check” scans in another of my articles.

To draw a conclusion in regards of detoxification, there’s little downside or limitation of the Koanna sauna blanket, as no other brand will do a better job. The constraint is just due to the human body’s own ability to be able to detox metals.

Being polluted with toxic metals is a relatively new thing to humans. Therefore, our bodies haven’t adapted to these special environmental issues and, furthermore, only have a relatively low capacity of getting rid of them by their own.

Koanna Sauna Blanket review – my Infrared Sauna 101

OK, as I’ve already mentioned, the Koanna IR sauna blanket is a very useful and powerful tool.

Yet, power is nothing without control! That’s why you should always be careful and please don’t overuse it! Consult a physician before using any sauna.

Here’s how I typically use the Koanna sauna blanket:

• Post-Workout  and/or non-training day 2-3 times/week (sometimes more)
• Started with 65° C for 40 min and worked my way up to 80°C, for 60 min
• Typically I do 80°C for 40 min post-workout though
• I drink “sufficient” amount of water throughout the day (0,033ml x bodyweight in kg, of filtered, restructured (hexagonal water cluster), alkaline and with bio-photons (red-light for EZ-water) enriched water
• For an 80kg human this would equal about 2,6l (0,033ml x 80kg = 2,64)
• I add electrolytes in my water before and after the sauna session, to immediately replenish the loss of minerals through sweating
• Remember: having enough water is key, but water only functions as a semi-conductor! What you need are electrolytes! (Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, etc.)
• I also add Collagen (normally Type I) pre-sauna treatment
• Moreover, Glutamine (Kyowa Quality!) post workout/pre-sauna treatment
• Glutamine plays an important role not only for the Gastro-Intestinal (GI) tract, but also for proper kidney function!

This is just a little “cheat-sheet” for using my Koanna sauna blanket. Of course you cannot implement everything 1:1, as all humans are individuals with specific needs. But it will demonstrate you my idea of what to take into consideration.

Also please keep in mind that this regimen is not rigid, but fluent and I change it over time.

Having an effective sauna experience, in my opinion, is not only about wrapping a sauna blanket around you and just sweating. It is of uttermost importance to wisely see everything from a holistic perspective!

If you want to integrate IR sauna treatment into your weekly or even daily routine, then make sure you do it “right” if you don’t want to cause more harm than do good!

For example, Glutamine supplementation seems to play a central role in kidney function:

“l-glutamine is key in the function of the GI tract and the kidney, as well as numerous applications in the brain, liver etc. To address the question l-glutamine (and to some degree it’s acidic twin glutamate) are central to renal cellular excretion of amines or more specifically nitrogenous wastes. They are the ‘hub’ of an amino acid transport system that uses glutamine / glutamate and a few other key amino acids to ‘shuttle’ NH residues from the blood, through the kidney and into the urine. It, and glutamate, are recycled in the nephron thus increasing NH removal substrate rather than increasing net NH load. These key amino acids require little help other than pyridoxine to run the transaminase system in the kidney“ (PS Anderson 2021).  

I’ve already mentioned that you might be able to sweat out toxins more effectively by regular IR sauna treatment but only the ones that can be eliminated by the kidneys, respectively the urinary tract and/or transdermal through your skin.

That’s where L-Glutamine comes into play! The kidneys, the liver and other detoxification organs can only work as well as you support them with sufficient nutrients!

So, in a nutshell: Only use an IR sauna blanket if you have adequately prepared your body! Otherwise, it will put more stress on the body, which is not the desired effect!

Koanna Sauna Blanket – Is it YIN or YANG?

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dry saunas (like the Koanna IR sauna blanket) are a YANG therapy, as they involve heat and dryness (although you sweat).

Why is that so, you might ask? Well, in general, any movement is YANG (male).

Besides the fact that you are not moving while being in the sauna, your cells are! Dr. Wilson writes:

“Yang detoxification methods tonify and energize the system, and contract the cells, forcing poisons out.” (Wilson, 2021).

Again, a YANG activity will NOT be the ONE thing that cures all your problems as you will have to stay in an equilibrium of the YIN (female) and YANG (male) principles.

But, as generally speaking, most people nowadays are too YIN, and a YANG activity like the Koanna IR sauna treatment is probably a worthy thing to do!

As you see, and as I already stated above, it’s always about a holistic approach. You should not just integrate an IR sauna into your life unless you have evaluated your current “status-quo”.

For example, if you mismanage your fluid intake, which is a common thing I observe in clients/patients, when they first consult me, you will struggle to see benefits from excessive sweating in an IR sauna blanket!

At least you should consult a coach/physician etc. that can holistically evaluate you and can give you proper advice when, how and how frequently to implement the Koanna IR sauna blanket!

It’s the same with a car. If you just add a turbocharger to your engine, you might, let’s say add 200HP, BUT to have better overall driving performance, you will have to also upgrade your tires, brakes, transmission, fuel, etc.

Koanna Sauna Blanket Review – Conclusion

To make a long story short, I’d recommend investing in a Koanna IR sauna blanket if you’re looking for an economical alternative to a wooden fixed IR sauna.

Compared to those wooden saunas the Koanna sauna blanket is much more economical, and it is portable! The company also claims that the blanket produces zero electromagnetic fields (EMF). I couldn’t test that but even if it produces a little EMF I’d be okay with that.

EDIT: I recently got a “Cemprotec ESI 34” that measures EMF. Of course I used it to test the Koanna sauna blanket and, guess what, it really does almost produce 0 EMF (see picture below). Amazing!!

Following the pareto principle (respectively 20:80 rule), a Koanna blanket is a 20% of investment for 80% of the effects of a fixed wooden IR sauna (if you take everything in consideration like, price, size, maintenance costs, mobility etc.).

In the video linked above I show you how I usually set up my Koanna sauna blanket. If you prefer even some more comfort you can additionally get a special sauna blanket towel/insert by Koanna.

It’s an ultra-smooth, soft and velvety towel, crafted in Cairo from 100% premium Egyptian cotton.

If you want to learn more about the topics covered in this article you are welcomed to book a Biohacking-Consulting. Please feel free to contact me: info@bernd-stoesslein.de

When you’re interested in consulting me as a patient in my complementary and alternative medicine practice in Germany, contact me: info@heilpraktiker-stoesslein.de

© HP Bernd Stößlein, Master of Business Administration in Sports Management.

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Literature

Christiano L., Use of infrared-based devices in aesthetic medicine and for beauty and wellness treatments, Infrared Physics & Technology, Volume 102, November 2019, 102991.

Marcelo Villaça Lima 1, Marcelo E Ochiai, Kelly N Vieira, Airton Scipioni, Juliano N Cardoso, Robinson T Munhoz, Paulo C Morgado, Antonio C P Barretto, Thermal vasodilation using a portable infrared thermal blanket in decompensated heart failure,  Heart J. 2014;55(5):433-9.

Chelator, source: https://flexikon.doccheck.com/de/Chelator, access from 8.8.21.

Patients with sub-optimal GFR and the appropriateness of chelation therapy and l-glutamine treatment to improve GFR:  Excerpted from Glutamine and the Kidney © PS Anderson 2021 – www.ConsultDrA.com” Page 2.

Yin and yang Healing by Dr. Lawrence Wilson, source: https://www.drlwilson.com/articles/YIN%20YANG%20HEALING.htm, access from 9.8.2021.