What Is Float Therapy?

An Intro to Float Therapy

A floatation tank, also known as an isolation tank or sensory deprivation tank, is a zero-gravity environment designed to help your mind & body relax, recover, and reset. When you begin your floatation therapy session, you’ll enter a clean and serene environment eliminating external stimuli.

What you’ll find in the float room:

• A floatation tank filled with Epsom salt and water solution to float

• The 94 degree solution matches your skin temperature

• A button to turn off the lights for complete darkness

• Soundproofing to limit external distraction

No light. No noise. No sound.

The state of sensory relaxation achieved during a float session acts as a powerful therapeutic tool. Floatation offers both physical and mental ease. See float tank benefits below:

• increased blood flow

• elevated dopamine and endorphins

• pain relief, stress reduction

• sleep schedule maintenance

• increased creativity

What Is Float Therapy? How Does Float Therapy Work?

Scientists estimate 90% of the brain’s regular workload is spent responding to gravity, sound, temperature, and light. 

Our float tanks are designed to quiet that constant input, limiting environmental stimulation and allowing your musculoskeletal and nervous systems to relax. 

One of the most powerful effects of floating on the mind is its ability to induce what’s called a theta state, or dream-like state. This state is where our deepest learning and imaginative processes exist.

The theta state is normally only achievable through sleep or deep meditation, but the float tank allows you to slip into it effortlessly. Throughout your float, you’ll remain in this pre-sleep stage of consciousness, attentive to your mind’s journey.

Floatation therapy also has cognitive and physical benefits. 

Benefits of Float Therapy:

• Strengthen synchronicity between two halves of your brain

• Decrease blood pressure

• Ease muscle tension

• Regulate heart rate

• Increase oxygen supply and vital nutrient distribution

• Resets chemical imbalance

• Improves bodily resistance to illness and injury

• Decreases stress and induces dopamine

With a new boost in energy, it’s no wonder that floaters consistently report immediate feelings of joy and relaxation.

Our  Epsom salt solution alone offers countless therapeutic benefits. It’s magnesium sulfate, which provides floaters with  the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. Adequate magnesium levels can promote better sleep, exfoliate your skin, and it can even add volume to your hair. 

Float Tank Benefits and How Often Should You Float?

The more you float, the better you’ll feel.

Like meditation or yoga, it is a wellness practice, and as you practice, your mind and body will grow more comfortable in that space and begin to build on each experience.

People feeling particularly overwhelmed in their personal or professional lives might elect to float once or twice a week, while others might be comfortable with scheduling floats around significant events like job interviews or pregnancies.  It is strictly a personal preference.

Whatever your individual situation, it’s easier to enjoy and appreciate life when you’re calm, relaxed, and happy.

Article written by TeamFloat8 “What is Floatation Therapy? Here’s What to Expect.” February 26, 2020