Beever, Richard · Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2009
This review looked at nine published studies about far-infrared saunas and their health benefits. The researchers found weak evidence from just one study suggesting that far-infrared saunas might help with chronic fatigue syndrome, though the evidence is too limited to make firm recommendations. While manufacturers claim many health benefits for these saunas, most claims are not well supported by scientific research.
This systematic review directly addresses FIRS as a potential therapeutic intervention for ME/CFS, identifying only weak evidence from a single study. For ME/CFS patients exploring complementary therapies, this summary highlights the current evidence gap and emphasizes the need for better-designed trials before recommending FIRS as a treatment.
This review does not establish that far-infrared saunas are effective for ME/CFS, as the evidence is based on only one small study. The weak evidence grade indicates that single study may have had methodological limitations. Additionally, this review does not assess whether FIRS might worsen post-exertional malaise or other ME/CFS symptoms in susceptible patients.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Beever, Richard (2009). Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: summary of published evidence.. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19602651/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-beever-2009-far-infrared,
author = {Beever, Richard},
title = {Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: summary of published evidence.},
journal = {Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien},
year = {2009},
note = {PubMed: 19602651},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/beever-2009-far-infrared},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/beever-2009-far-infrared
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