PEMF Mats With Crystals: What Amethyst & Tourmaline Actually Do

Almost every PEMF mat I look at now comes packed with crystals. Amethyst, tourmaline, jade, obsidian, sometimes 30 pounds of them. And the brands make big promises about what those stones do for you.

When I was shopping for my own mat to help with my back pain, I had no idea how much of that was real. So I dug into it. Below is what the crystals in a PEMF mat actually do, what’s marketing, and a chart showing exactly which crystals are inside some of the most popular PEMF mats, so you can compare them side by side.

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The crystals don’t create the PEMF

This is the most important thing to understand, so I’ll start here.

The PEMF in a PEMF mat, the pulsing magnetic field, comes from copper coils built into the mat. The crystals sit in a separate layer on top, along with a heating system. They don’t make the magnetic field, and they don’t make it stronger.

That’s why a mat can have 30 pounds of crystals and no PEMF at all, and why some of the strongest PEMF mats on the market have no crystals whatsoever. You’ll see both in the chart below.

So why are crystals in PEMF mats?

The main answer is heat.

Stones soak up heat and release it slowly and evenly, the same reason hot stone massage uses warm stones. Instead of a thin heating wire that has hot spots, you get a steady, even warmth across your whole body. And like any warm object, heated stones give off far infrared heat, the deep, soaking kind of warmth you feel from the sun.

The crystals also add weight and settle around the shape of your body, so you sink in a little and feel supported everywhere at once. That’s a big part of why crystal mats feel so comfortable, and it’s the part people notice first.

Beyond heat, many people believe crystals carry energy of their own, and that different stones can help you feel more grounded, calm, or balanced. Plenty of people say the stones make their sessions feel more calming and intentional, and for them, that’s a big part of why they choose a crystal mat.

I’ll give credit to Hooga here, because they say this more plainly than almost anyone. Hooga describes the amethyst and tourmaline in its PEMF mat as part of the heated layer that warms up with the mat, not a separate healing treatment, and says it doesn’t promise negative-ion health effects. That’s an honest description of what crystals do in every mat on this list.

The three crystals you’ll see most

Amethyst

Amethyst is the purple one, a type of quartz, and it’s the most common crystal in heated mats. Brands often say amethyst gives off a special kind of far infrared heat. What’s true is that warm amethyst gives off far infrared heat, the way any warm stone does. In crystal traditions, amethyst is associated with calm and clarity, which is a big reason people like it.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is usually black, and it has one genuinely unusual property. When it’s heated or squeezed, it builds up a small electrical charge. That’s real physics.

Brands take that much further and claim tourmaline releases negative ions that calm your nervous system, boost your mood, or “ground” you. That part is a lot shakier. McGill University’s Office for Science and Society points out that tourmaline only gives off ions when it’s ground or squeezed, and even then it produces positive and negative ions in roughly equal amounts. I’d treat negative-ion claims as marketing, not a benefit you can count on.

Jade

Jade is the green one. It’s dense, so it holds heat well, and it has a long history in Chinese culture as a stone of balance and good health.

Chakra stones

Some mats lay out seven different crystals in bands, one for each chakra, usually red jasper at the base up to amethyst at the crown. In yoga and Eastern energy traditions, chakras are energy centers that run along the spine. Physically, these stones do the same job as any others: they hold and spread heat. What’s different is the meaning. If chakra work or meditation is already part of your life, a chakra mat like the HealthyLine Rainbow Chakra is designed to fit right into that practice.

My honest bottom line on crystals: I couldn’t find research showing any particular crystal changes something in your body. What crystals reliably do is make the heat better and the mat more comfortable. If a crystal means something to you, that’s a perfectly good reason to choose it. Just don’t pay extra for health claims about the stones themselves.

Is a BioMat a PEMF mat?

No, and this is one of the most common mix-ups I see.

The Richway BioMat is one of the best-known crystal mats out there. It’s a popular amethyst and tourmaline mat with far infrared heat and negative ions. But it doesn’t have PEMF. There are no magnetic coils inside.

If you like the idea of a BioMat but want PEMF too, the Sparkle Mat is the closest match I’ve found. Here’s my full review of a BioMat alternative with PEMF built in.

Either way, if PEMF is what you’re shopping for, don’t go by the crystals. Check the spec sheet for:

• PEMF coils (how many, and where they are)
• A frequency range (most home mats run somewhere between about 0.25 and 50 Hz)
• A Gauss rating, the standard measure of PEMF strength

If a mat lists none of those, it’s probably a heated crystal mat, not a PEMF mat.

Crystal comparison chart: what’s inside popular PEMF mats

Here’s what each brand says is inside its mat. “Crystal weight” is only listed where the brand or an authorized retailer publishes it. “Gauss” is the brand’s published PEMF intensity; “Not published” means I couldn’t find a number on the brand’s site. Where I’ve reviewed a mat, the “Review” link takes you to my full write-up.

A few things jump out when you see it all together:

• The strongest mats on this list have no crystals at all. Celler8 (600 Gauss), Sedona Pro (up to 100 Gauss), and Parmeds Home (70 Gauss) are pure PEMF systems with no stone layer and, in most cases, no heat. If maximum PEMF strength is your priority, crystals have nothing to do with it.
• Many brands that lead with crystals don’t publish their PEMF strength. Of the mats here with the most elaborate crystal descriptions (chakra stones, 30 pounds of tourmaline, five-stone blends), several don’t list a Gauss rating anywhere I could find.
• Amethyst and tourmaline are nearly universal. If a mat has crystals, it almost certainly has one or both. The real differences between crystal mats are how much stone they use and what else they add.

For the full specs on every mat I track, including frequency, coils, warranty, returns, and price, see the full PEMF mat comparison table.

How should crystals factor into which mat you buy?

Think of a PEMF mat as two separate parts.

The crystals are the comfort and heat part. They decide how warm the mat gets, how evenly it heats, how heavy it feels, and whether the stones mean something to you.

The coils are the PEMF part. The number of coils and the Gauss rating decide how strong the PEMF is.

So here’s how I’d shop. Pick a PEMF system you can actually see specs for: coils, a frequency range, and a published Gauss rating. Then choose the crystals you like on top of that. That’s how I ended up with the mat I use every day.

If you want my picks for specific situations, from beginners to people who want the strongest PEMF available, see The Best PEMF Mats of 2026.

Larry Phelps

If you’ve been dealing with back pain, stress, poor sleep, or just feeling worn down, I know how frustrating it can be trying to find something that actually helps. That’s what led me to PEMF therapy in the first place. After experiencing the benefits firsthand, I wanted to help other people discover products that can bring real relief, relaxation, and a better quality of life without wasting money on overhyped products that don’t deliver.