Mental Benefits

Mental Health Improves the Quality of Life - that’s a fact!

When we are free of depression, anxiety, excessive stress and worry, addictions, and other psychological problems, we are more able to live our lives to the fullest.

Peace of mind is a natural condition, and is available to everyone.

Mental health strengthens and supports our ability to:

  • have healthy relationships
  • make good life choices
  • maintain physical health and well-being
  • handle the natural ups and downs of life
  • discover and grow toward our potential

ADHD/ADD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) is so prevalent in today’s culture that it’s almost become a throwaway reference—”She can’t sit through a whole movie ’cause she’s so ADD all the time” or “Oh, I can’t handle museums, I’m way too ADHD”.

This disorder has become shorthand for feeling overstimulated and unable to focus, but it’s a true disease—one that may affect up to 11% of American children and over 4% of adults. And in many circles, floatation therapy is becoming increasingly recognized as a supplemental treatment for ADHD/ADD.

Read more: ADHD/ADD

Creativity, Learning & Memory

The benefits of flotation therapy are numerous and far-reaching. Perhaps the most universally appealing is floating’s proclivity to enhance creativity, learning, and memory.

From students to artists to working professionals, most of us would love to experience a boost in our ability to think, learn, and solve problems. Floating can do just that: study after study has shown that time spent in a float tank enhances our cognitive powers. As usual with floating, more research is needed to understand exactly why this is, but scientists have a few ideas about the ways floating boosts creativity, learning, and memory.

Read more: Creativity, Learning & Memory

Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreaming is simply being aware you are dreaming while you are dreaming.

Studies suggest than about half of the population has experienced a lucid dream at some point in their lives. While most of those are spontaneous lucid dreams, some people train themselves to seek out lucid dreaming and can initiate lucid dreams several times per week. (This is where the float tank comes in—more on that in a minute.)

Read more: Lucid Dreaming

Meditation

Floating and meditation are natural complements. Both involve finding a place of quiet within your own mind, and both have been linked to incredible benefits like lowering stress and anxiety. Floating can act as “training wheels” for newcomers to meditation—and can help take even experienced meditation practitioners to new levels of calm and peace.

Read more: Meditation

PTSD

Flotation therapy provides a unique opportunity for unplugging from the routine and chaos of daily life. Many people dealing with stress or anxiety can find relief in the float tank, but perhaps no group needs that relief more than individuals suffering from PTSD.

Read more: PTSD

Reducing Stress

One of the primary benefits of floatation therapy is stress reduction. While this is not the only benefit, it is perhaps one of the most significant. According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. More than 75% of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

The sad truth is that stress is a complex and potentially dangerous risk factor that causes a lot of suffering in a lot of lives. Stress can lead to increased risk of chronic disease, as well as simply detract from the quality of daily life.

That’s why we believe floating is so beneficial. Both from personal testimonies from our frequent floaters and by delving into the scientific research, it’s evident that float tanks have huge potential to lessen stress.

Here are just a few of the ways floating works to reduce stress:

Read more: Reducing Stress

Theta Waves

Flotation therapy has many benefits—and many buzzwords! One of the most frequently mentioned but rarely explained is the idea of “theta state” or “theta waves.” “You really tap into your theta waves.” “The float tank lets you enter the theta state.” “Floating is so powerful because your brain produces theta waves.” But what exactly are theta waves? Why do we want them? And what do we really know about the float tank’s effect on our brain? As usual, the answers aren’t quite as simple and clear-cut as we might like, but we can look at the science behind theta waves and the science behind floating to get a better idea of the relationship between them.

Read more: Theta Waves

Sources

  1. Sensory Isolation in Flotation Tanks: Altered States of Consciousness and Effects on Well-being, The Qualitative Report, December 2008.
  2. Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) as a stress-management tool: A meta-analysis, Psychology & Health, 2005.
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