What is Floating?
What is a Floatation Tank
What is Floating? Floating is a therapeutic experience which takes place in a Floatation tank. During the floating experience, the float tank It is filled with a highly concentrated solution of Epsom salt and water, heated to the same temperature as the human body. It provides a complete disconnection from the outside world, providing a lightless, soundless environment, allowing you to relax into a meditative state.
Float Tank Terminology
Common Floatation Tank Names:
Floatation Tanks are called various different names;
What Does Floating Feel Like
Floating is a unique and calming experience. When you enter the tank, you find yourself in a weightless state as the high concentration of Epsom salt in the water allows your body to float effortlessly. With no external stimuli to distract you, you may find yourself in a state of deep relaxation with reduced muscle tension and a sense of calmness.
As you adjust to the darkness and quietness of the tank, you may find yourself more aware of your breath and body sensations, allowing you to focus more deeply on mindfulness and meditation. Many people report a reduction in feelings of stress and anxiety after floating, as well as relief from chronic pain and improved sleep quality.
Additionally, some people find that the sensory deprivation experience helps to stimulate their creative thinking and problem-solving abilities, leading to a greater sense of mental clarity and focus. Overall, floating in a floatation tank can be a rejuvenating and beneficial form of self-care that allows you to disconnect from the stresses of daily life and achieve a greater sense of physical and mental well-being.
The Benefits of Floating
General Well-Being
- Promotes total calm and peaceful relaxation
- Eliminates fatigue and can aid with jet lag
- Improves sleep
- Alleviates stress (mental and physical)
- Energises, rejuvenates and revitalises
- Increases motivation, diminishes depression, anxiety and fear
- Facilitates freedom from habits, phobias and addictions
Physical Benefits Of Floatation
- Decreases the production of cortisol, ACTH, lactic acid and adrenaline
- Increases production of endorphins
- Speeds up rehabilitation and recovery
- Relieves pain (arthritis, migraines, injuries and so on)
- Boosts immune function
- Improves circulation and distribution of oxygen and nutrients
- Reduces blood pressure and heart rate
- Helps prevent sports injuries and speeds healing process
Mental
- Stimulates left/right brain synchronisation
- Shifts brain waves from beta, to lower frequency alpha, theta and even delta waves
- Creates mental clarity and alertness
- Increases creativity and problem-solving
- Heightens visualisation
- Deepens meditation
- Expands awareness and intensifies acuteness of all the senses
The Exo Floating Experience
The Exo Float Tank is very different from any other floatation tank on the market. Upon entering the room, you will notice the first difference. The tank remains empty, ensuring your salt solution is fully cleansed and filtered. The tank readies while you shower, showing its crystal-clear waters filling up its brilliant white shell.
The environment in the Exo floatation tank completely isolates the senses, blocking out all distractions and creates a sensation close to zero gravity. Being in an environment like this allows you to deeply relax likened to a meditative dream-like state.
The Science Behind Floating
The scientific term for the practice of Sensory Deprivation (i.e. Floating) is Floatation-REST, which stands for Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy. The float experience minimizes sensory input from various channels, including sight, sound, smell, taste, thermal, tactile, gravitational, vestibular, and proprioception. By reducing these stimuli, individuals may experience benefits such as reduced anxiety and depression, lower stress levels, increased happiness and feelings of calmness and tranquility.
What Makes You Float In A Float Tank
Float tanks achieve a state near to zero gravity by adding high concentrations of Epsom salt into the water. By using the correct amount of salt, the buoyancy increases, allowing a person to float. This mimics the environment in the Dead Sea, a popular location for people looking to experience weightlessness. Specifically, an Exo Float Tank uses 550kg of Epsom Salt with 850 liters of water to achieve floatation.
Why use Epsom Salt in a Floatation Tank?
Of the possible substances that could make a person float, Epsom Salt stands out as the most beneficial for its users. Alongside its ability to increase the buoyancy of the water, Epsom Salt contains high concentrations of magnesium, a mineral vital to the function of the human body. During a float, magnesium is absorbed through the skin. As this happens, the body optimises the levels of magnesium, preventing levels from becoming too concentrated.
Magnesium is a mineral linked to the Cardiovascular and Skeletal Systems. It has been shown to assist in keeping blood pressure at a regular level and strengthening bones. It also supports the development of muscles, nerve functions and energy productions.
Due to a combination of dietary and lifestyle choices, many people have lower levels of magnesium. Floating offers an alternative source of magnesium.
