Stephen Curry has spent nearly two decades competing at the highest level of professional basketball, and recovery has become an increasingly important part of the way he approaches training and longevity.
In a recent interview, Curry described infrared sauna use as part of his recovery routine. He reportedly uses an infrared sauna after games and demanding workouts, while also emphasizing the less glamorous fundamentals: sleep, nutrition, training and recovery habits.
That raises a useful question for anyone considering a home sauna:
Can infrared sauna actually help with exercise recovery, or is it mainly another wellness trend?
The answer is more interesting than either extreme.
Why Curry Uses an Infrared Sauna
For an NBA player, recovery is not simply about feeling less sore. It is about being able to train, travel, compete and repeat that cycle through a long season.
Curry has described becoming increasingly deliberate about recovery as he has gotten older. His routine includes familiar fundamentals such as sleep and nutrition along with newer recovery tools, including infrared heat.
Infrared saunas work differently from traditional Finnish-style saunas. Instead of relying primarily on very hot surrounding air, infrared heaters emit radiant heat while the air temperature stays lower than it typically would in a traditional sauna.
For someone coming off a strenuous workout or game, that lower-temperature environment may simply feel more comfortable.
But comfort is one thing. Recovery is another.
What Research Says About Infrared Sauna and Recovery
The research is still developing, and many of the studies are small.
One particularly relevant study involved 16 male basketball players. After resistance exercise, the athletes completed either passive recovery or a 20-minute infrared sauna session.
Researchers found that the infrared-sauna condition was associated with less decline in explosive jumping performance the following day, lower reported muscle soreness and better perceived recovery. The researchers did not find evidence that the sauna impaired overnight autonomic recovery.
That is intriguing—especially because the participants were basketball players—but it is still one small study. It does not establish that infrared sauna will improve recovery for every athlete or every workout.
An earlier study involving physically active men also investigated far-infrared sauna use after strength and endurance exercise. Most recovery measures were not significantly different from passive recovery, although one measure of neuromuscular performance following endurance exercise improved after infrared sauna use.
In other words, the evidence is not simply “saunas work” or “saunas don't work.”
It is more accurate to say that some research suggests infrared heat may improve certain aspects of perceived or neuromuscular recovery, while the overall evidence remains limited.
What About Longer-Term Training?
Researchers are also looking at whether repeated heat exposure affects training adaptations. A 2025 systematic review examined 14 controlled studies involving 194 participants and found mixed results for acute recovery. Some studies found benefits, some found no effect, and one found an adverse effect. The review concluded that the evidence is not strong enough to draw definitive conclusions about post-exercise heat exposure and physical-performance recovery.
That is an important distinction.
A sauna can be part of a recovery routine without being a shortcut to athletic performance.
Sauna Is Still Stress on the Body
One reason the research is complicated is that sauna bathing is not completely passive from a physiological standpoint.
Heat exposure raises skin temperature, increases blood flow and generally increases heart rate. Your body has to actively regulate temperature. That additional stress may sometimes be useful, but more is not automatically better.
Timing, temperature, duration, hydration and the individual's training schedule all matter.
Curry's controlled approach—rather than simply sitting in extreme heat for as long as possible—is a useful reminder of that.
Infrared vs. Traditional Sauna for Athletes
People sometimes assume infrared sauna is inherently better for recovery because many athletes use it.
The science does not currently justify that conclusion.
Traditional sauna has its own body of research, particularly around cardiovascular responses and repeated heat exposure. In one small study of competitive male runners, three weeks of post-training sauna bathing was associated with improved run-to-exhaustion performance and increased plasma volume.
Infrared sauna may appeal to athletes because the lower operating temperatures can make longer or post-workout sessions more comfortable.
But the better choice for a home sauna often comes down to something simpler:
Which experience will you actually enjoy and use consistently?
What Curry's Routine Can—and Cannot—Tell Us
Steph Curry's use of an infrared sauna is interesting because elite athletes have access to extensive coaching, training and recovery resources.
But his routine should not be interpreted as proof that infrared sauna is responsible for his longevity or athletic performance.
Curry is also doing things that have much stronger evidence behind them: training, sleeping, eating well, managing workload and working with professional performance teams.
The sauna is one tool inside that much larger system.
That distinction is important for everyday sauna owners. You do not need to reproduce a professional athlete's routine to enjoy sauna use, and sauna should not be expected to compensate for inadequate sleep, poor nutrition or inappropriate training.
A Practical Post-Workout Sauna Approach
For healthy adults who enjoy sauna after exercise, a conservative routine is usually more sensible than chasing an extreme temperature or session length.
- Allow your heart rate to begin settling after exercise.
- Replace fluids lost during your workout.
- Begin with shorter sauna sessions.
- Increase time gradually based on comfort.
- Cool down afterward.
- Stop if you become dizzy, nauseated or unusually fatigued.
Curry's reported sauna routine is an example of an individualized recovery habit, not a universal recommendation.
Anyone with cardiovascular disease, blood-pressure concerns, pregnancy, or medications that affect hydration or heat tolerance should discuss sauna use with a qualified healthcare professional.
The Bottom Line
Steph Curry's infrared sauna habit is another example of how sauna bathing has moved beyond the spa and into modern home fitness and recovery routines.
There is legitimate research suggesting that post-exercise infrared sauna may reduce perceived soreness and support certain aspects of neuromuscular recovery. At the same time, the evidence remains limited, and sauna should not be treated as a proven shortcut to faster recovery or better athletic performance.
Perhaps the most useful lesson from Curry's approach is not that everyone needs an infrared sauna.
It is that recovery works best as a routine.
If spending 15 or 20 minutes in a sauna gives you a reliable way to transition out of training, relax and make recovery something you actually look forward to, that may be valuable in its own right.
For home use, compare Martin Sauna's Infrared Saunas, Traditional Saunas, or browse all saunas to find the heat experience that best fits your routine.
Martin Sauna is not affiliated with Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors or the NBA. Stephen Curry has not endorsed Martin Sauna or any product sold by Martin Sauna.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not medical advice.
Featured photo: Keith Allison / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. No AI-generated imagery was used.
Sources
- Business Insider — Stephen Curry's recovery routine and infrared sauna use, September 2026
- Post-exercise infrared sauna and recovery in male basketball players — Biology of Sport, 2023
- Far-infrared sauna and recovery after strength and endurance exercise — SpringerPlus, 2015
- Effects of post-exercise heat exposure on recovery and performance — Sports Medicine - Open, 2025
- Post-exercise sauna bathing and endurance performance in competitive runners — Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2007
