What’s The Benefit Of Float Therapy?
Have you heard of Float Therapy? Find out how they began and what the benefits are for you!
Float therapy, contrary to popular belief, is not a new phenomenon - in fact, the very first floatation tank was devised by Dr John C. Lilly way back in 1954. He was a professor of neurophysiology, who was researching the conscious state of the brain and whether outside stimuli was needed to continue this conscious state.
From the original float tank he created, which was a much more intimidating design than those of today, through the early 1970s and ‘80s, the floatation tank was refined to its current form.
It was in 1983 that floatation tanks and float therapy took off with the public, and as their incredible benefits became widely-known, they became one of the top choices for relaxation and healing thanks to its many benefits.
Decreases Stress & Anxiety/Improves Mood
When you’re under stress, your hypothalamus signals your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Chronic stress leads to an overactive hypothalamus, which can cause depression. Floating helps to minimise cortisol production.
Floating relieves stress in two ways. First, the water’s magnesium inhibits the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Magnesium also improves sleep quality, which contributes to feeling less stressed.
The sensory deprivation component of floating also minimises stress. In a recent study, people who floated eight times in two weeks saw their cortisol decrease by 21.6 percent. They also showed a 50.5 percent decrease in cortisol spikes during stressful situations.
Want to know more about Float Therapy and Mental Health? Click Here
Improves Sleep Quality/Decrease Chronic Fatigue
There are a number of reasons people suffer from poor sleep. They can range from anxiety and stress, to pain and injury. Float therapy’s relaxing design is a powerful tool in sleep aid and reducing insomnia. Research has shown float therapy is an effective tool in reducing insomnia, they also help any person fall asleep with more ease. The best part is those effects last long after the float - up to 12 weeks after!
When you spend an hour engaged in deep relaxation, it will actually feel like a few hours of sleep to your body. The natural calming effect of floating and as mentioned above, magnesium also is a sleep aid, allowing you to sleep easier at bedtime as well
A meta-analysis of 27 studies revealed that floating also has relaxation, mood, and performance-enhancing effects, particularly in cases of burnout or chronic fatigue.
Muscle and Athletic Recovery
When you float, the brain enters the parasympathetic state, signalling the body to heal and regenerate. When combined with removing pressure off every joint and muscle, the result is a swift release of all physical tension and you are able to fully relax. Many athletes have reported increased mental focus, better performance, enhanced endurance and stamina, and improved physical recovery post float.
Floating helps you bounce back faster from workouts by reducing lactic acid in the blood. In a zero gravity environment, lactic acid passes out of the muscles faster, which reduces muscle stiffness and pain.
Magnesium absorbed into the body helps in muscle recovery and relieves sore, tired and achy muscles. This can help reduce recovery time between training and workouts.
Through the weightless environment floating reduces the pressure on tendons and high pressure joints. This in addition to increasing the flow of blood to all areas of your body, accelerates the process of healing & recovery.
Want to learn about Infrared Saunas and Athletic Recovery? Click Here
Improved Immune Health
Although floating demonstrates improved health outcomes such as better circulation and hormonal balance, the main reason that floatation therapy boosts the immune system is that it allows the body to focus its energy on building up defences.
We know that stress is a big contributor to a weakened immune system. Stress releases both cortisol and adrenaline as a fight or flight response to a perceived threat. Float therapy puts your body into a state of rest, which triggers the body to begin to turn inward and focus on building its defences. When you eliminate external stimuli, your body has much less to process and work through, allowing your immune system to remain strong in order to do battle with the various germs, viruses, colds and flus.
As a bonus, magnesium sulphate (or epsom salts) found in the float pool can draw out heaps of toxins that might be weakening your immune system. Freeing your body of these toxins allows more energy to be focused on building up your immunity so you are ready for whatever germy invaders that may be coming your way.
Pain Management
Since floating oxygenates your body by promoting better blood flow to the brain, organs, and limbs — it helps minimise pain in muscles, from degenerative disc disease or herniated disks.
This zero gravity environment shows a huge reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms. Many people who suffer with Fibromyalgia have found a significant reduction in pain and muscle tension. They also found Floating could help increase energy, and ease of movement in this group as well.
Floating has been proven to reduce pain from arthritis, lower back pain, lower abdominal muscle pains, neck pain, tendinitis, bursitis, and inflammation.
The characteristics of floatation therapy make it a strong fit for treating physical pain, helping the body recover from injury and pain-related illnesses.
Reduced Inflammation
For patients who suffer from back pain and muscle tension, inflammation is often an underlying cause. Float therapy can be an awesome complementary treatment to seeing a physiotherapist, chiropractor or massage therapist and can contribute to reduced inflammation in joints and muscles.
With floatation therapy, you experience immediate relief. The zero gravity setting allows the spine to naturally decompress in the weightless environment. It provides relief to your muscles while the magnesium sulphate acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent.
Magnesium is an essential for joint repair in addition to anti inflammatory properties. You will feel the effects immediately floating in 400kg of magnesium sulphate.
Inflammation is reduced from regular therapy in a float pool, less inflammation contributes to less stiffness, less pain, and better range of movement so get floating for love of joint health!
Boosts Creativity & Mindfulness
Floating is a perfect environment for mindfulness and meditation. The float tank eliminates all distractions on your body and your mind, allowing you to focus much deeper. It also creates a unique state of awareness that encourages activity between the left and right brain hemispheres.
While the body remains awake while being relaxed your brain is able to hold a theta state wave, typically only possible during sleep. This state coupled with fewer distractions allows you to absorb new material deeply and think on an enhanced level. Research has shown floating brings an improved performance in memory and creativity.
Musicians, writers, and creative performers also gain from floating. A study in the journal Music and Medicine found that floating improved the technical ability of musicians during jazz improvisation.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4219027/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11854763/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323617
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-8583-7_31#page-1
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26156832/
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2013/12000/The_Acute_Effects_of_Flotation_Restricted.30.aspx
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494405800817
http://mmd.iammonline.com/index.php/musmed/article/view/MMD-2011-3-4-4