MiHigh infrared sauna blanket review: We tried the supercharged spa experience for your home

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Saunas used to be the preserve of holidays and of Hollywood-based celebrities. If you ever watched an episode of MTV Cribs back in the day, the likelihood is that at some point alongside an avant-garde crystal-encrusted bath, you’d have seen a sauna with a view of LA’s twinkly lights.

But, rather like LED face masks and laser hair removal devices, saunas have become more widely accessible for at-home use – though, granted, they are still an investment.

The question is though, are they worth it? It’s probably worth considering how much you like to be warm (think about how often you yearn for a bath as a barometer, perhaps), and whether you’d use it often enough to warrant buying. If the answers are that you like nothing more than being cosseted in a balmy temperature and would use it regularly, in all likelihood, you’d love an infrared sauna blanket.

That brings us to the MiHigh infrared sauna blanket. It’s a popular model, with reviews citing its ability to soothe, boost circulation, warm and relax the body – all in a portable, easy-to-manoeuvre blanket.

We put ours to the test over the course of a month, making notes on whether it was easy to use, had positive effects on our wellbeing, and was generally well made.

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Rating: 8/10

To start, here are some tips on using your blanket. Firstly, decide where you’d like to use yours – a bed works well, or on a mat/carpet. But before you use your sauna blanket, you’ll need to switch it on and let it warm up. We found around 20-30 minutes was enough for it to reach the desired temperature. Start on a lower setting (around four was warm but didn’t make us instantly sweat) and then work your way up to a higher heat if that suits you.

You also need to put an appropriate outfit on – nothing with any metal elements (as they would heat up and could burn skin), and cotton is advised. You’ll need to cover your feet with socks while in the blanket. Our go-to were some thin gym trousers with a long-sleeved t-shirt and cotton socks.

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Make sure you put a glass of water next to you and it might be worth having a pillow nearby in case you want to prop your head up.

This was a really easy to use model, with the control being simple as can be, while the blanket itself literally was a case of pulling the velcro open, getting in, and pressing it shut. We’d recommend shuffling down a bit once you’ve done up the fastenings so that your chest and shoulders can also benefit.

Thirty minutes was enough to feel warm and a touch sweaty on setting six, and we were left feeling relaxed after each session. A few observations over the course of testing included speedier recovery of muscles after a work out, and better sleep on nights we used it.

MiHigh’s infrared sauna blanket is a really effective way to warm up, relax, and reap some of the benefits of an at home sauna. We found ourselves using it more often than we initially expected over the course of testing as it was such an easy way to have a little treat in daily life.