Float Your Way to Relaxation!

Float Your Way to Relaxation!
Written by Jaimie Bougie

A couple of weeks ago, my good buddy Coach Calvin came up to me and said, “Jaimie, you seem a bit stressed out. Why don’t you schedule a float tank session?” Even though I’ve heard multiple coaches at Invictus talk about their experience with salt water float tanks, I never actually thought about making an appointment for myself. So, I decided to check it out!

What is a Saltwater Float Tank?

In simple terms, you climb into a big enclosed tank that contains around ten inches of water that is heated to the same temperature as your skin. The water is saturated with one thousand pounds of pharmaceutical grade Epsom salt; the amount of salt used provides buoyancy of the body (aka you float). The tanks are usually located in a private room that also contains a shower.

During your sixty minute session, you strip down to your birthday suit (since you are the only one in the private room and tank), climb into the tank and then close the door. Then, you simply lay back in the water and float around for an hour. Sounds relaxing, right?

Sensory Deprivation = Relaxation

By default, the inside of the tank is pitch black and soundless, providing a complete sensory deprivation experience. (I say ‘by default’ because some places will play massage/spa-type music for you by request.) Now, floating around in a pitch black silent tank might seem like a terrifying thing for people who are claustrophobic; the tank size is designed to fit an average sized man with outstretched arms, so it’s not very big. But for the rest of us, it can actually be quite the relaxing experience. As someone who has a hard time ‘relaxing’, I can attest that it is really quite awesome.

The Mental Health Benefits of Stress and Pain Reduction

So what are the mental benefits of floating and how does it help with stress management? The Float Sanctuary website lists a wide variety of benefits, including stress and pain management due to cortisol reduction, lower blood pressure, and the release of endorphins. Of course, you can’t always trust what you read on the internet, so I did some research to see if there was any truth to these claims.

A group of psychologists at the Medical College of Ohio found during their studies that Flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) can help lower both your blood pressure and stress-related hormone levels [1]. Not only did they find these effects to take place during and after flotation, but they also found that the effects persisted long after the float session. In 2005, the results of a meta-analysis study also showed that REST has positive effects on physiology (e.g., lower levels of cortisol, lower blood pressure), well-being, and performance [2]. (For more information on cortisol and why reduction is important to recovery, check out our past blog posts on this subject.)

The claim of the release of endorphins (or more specifically, beta-endorphins) is still up in the air. Some preliminary studies have suggested that flotation therapy can facilitate the release of beta-endorphins in the brain, which can induce a euphoria state in humans and help with pain reduction [3]. Other studies, however, have found that endorphin levels are not affected by flotation, even though subjects did experience a reduction in pain [4].

Should YOU Float?

Whether you are feeling stressed out, suffering from back pain or just plain curious, flotation therapy could be a positive experience that everyone should try out at least once.

From my personal experience, I have noticed many positive effects in the few times that I have used flotation therapy. When used immediately after a hard training session, I felt more recovered and less sore than I usually do; when used at night before going to bed, I found myself extremely relaxed and had a great sleep experience.

Share with us in the comments your experience of flotation therapy and whether or not you’ll give it a try in the future.

Resources

[1] Suedfeld, P.; Turner, J.W.; Fine, T.H. (1990) Hormonal Changes Associated with Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy; http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4613-9701-4_6

[2] Dirk van Dierendonck & Jan Te Nijenhuis (2005) Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) as a stress-management tool: A meta-analysis; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08870440412331337093

[3] Effects of flotation therapy on relaxation and mental state; (2007) Chinese Medical Journal; http://www.xinli110.com/english/PsychEdu/Psychology/Research/200702/15375.html

[4] The experience of flotation-REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique: Consciousness, Creativity, Subjective Stress and Pain; http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A598195&dswid=-8401