February 5, 2024

Is Floating Good for Anxiety?

Water has a lot of health benefits, but most people are not fully aware of how powerful it is in improving your mental health, especially fighting anxiety.

What? Water is good for your anxiety?

Well, here’s the truth: water therapy, known as Float Therapy, positively impacts your overall well-being and reduces anxiety. Busy routines, hectic schedules, and other factors have made anxiety extremely common.

According to the World Health Organization, anxiety is the most common mental health disorder, and around 4% of the world’s population is suffering from it.

That’s why more people opt for Floatation Therapy and find it extremely beneficial. There are various scientific evidence which supports that floatation is good for anxiety.

But how beneficial it is for your anxiety?

How can Float Therapy help you?

Keep reading because, in this article, we’ll briefly discuss all these aspects.

What Is Float Therapy?

Float therapy is also known as sensory deprivation or REST: Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy. It is a practice in which an individual enters a tank filled with about 11 inches of water and a super high concentration of Epsom salt around 1000-1300 lbs.

The solution is buoyant, creating an environment where an individual floats lying comfortably half in and half out of the water.

The tank is entirely soundproof and lightproof. Thus creating a space that minimizes external stimuli. The temperature is carefully maintained so that you are comfortable and not focusing on temperature. This environment allows the person floating to enter a state of rest and digest and experience a weightless state – both mentally and physically.

But what’s the purpose behind it?

It ensures that the individual goes into a deep state of relaxation. All the external stimuli and distractions are removed. It results in detaching from the outside world and focusing on the inner world.

This therapy has gained immense popularity in the United States and worldwide in the past few years.

First Float Experiment For Alleviating Anxiety

Before doing any treatment, it’s important to know the scientific research behind it. Laureate Institute for Brain Research published the world’s first float research. It was regarding the impact of floatation on anxiety and depression.

Floating reduces the sensory input to the nervous system. How’s that possible?

It happens when a person lies in a pool of Epsom salt water. Many sensory impulses become limited due to that. Some of them are:

Visuals
Olfactory
Vestibular
Gustatory
Gravitational
Some related to speech and movement

These factors combine to provide a unique holistic float session and refreshes your mind and body.

The purpose of this open-label research was to find out if float therapy is significant in reducing anxiety, stress, and mental health issues.

For this, 50 people struggling with stress-related issues were made part of the research. The self-reported effects were gathered two times.

Before the session
1-hour after float session

What Was The Result Of This Study?

The primary change in the majority of participants was a change in the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory score. No matter what the condition was, the anxiety of floatation-REST participants decreased significantly.

Not only this, participants noticed decreases in stress, pain, and despair. Moreover, mood swings also lessened, and they experienced an increase in serenity, happiness, satisfaction, and enjoyment.

But you might think about people who have the highest levels of anxiety. What did the study find about them?

According to an exploratory subgroup study, people who have high levels of anxiety experience more significant impacts. More than 80% of people emphasized that floating had more of an effect on alleviating anxiety than any other treatment they tried.

How Does Float Therapy For Anxiety Work?

Most often people pack a swimsuit for their float therapy session. But it’s recommended to float nude. Its to ensure that you are safe here are some reasons for this:

Swimsuit can leave residue in the water of detergents
Removes the chances of any irritants
Ensures proper blood flow for the body – some bathing suits are too tight and feel restricting

Sometimes people go to pools but don’t rinse the chlorine. It can be harmful, that’s why it’s best to float nude. The general duration of a float therapy session is around 60 minutes. At Float Love we offer sessions of 75 minutes. But what if you want to leave early?

Then you are free to leave. Remember you have full control on your float.

Now, come to the most important part of the session: the pod or the sensory deprivation tank. It is where your therapy will take place. The water is added to the pod and saturated with around 1,000 pounds of medical grade Epsom salt It allows the individual to float effortlessly on the top of the water.

There’s another intricate detail that most people miss.

The water in which you’re floating and the air temperature are maintained at the same temperature. After the sensory deprivation tank fully shuts all types of sounds, lights are kept outside the pod.

It is how float therapy is done. It’s a safe and effective treatment for people of all ages. Anyone who is overwhelmed and stressed out can benefit from this.

How Does Float Therapy Treat Anxiety?

If you’re suffering from anxiety, then float therapy might help you. Sitting in a tub full of water for over an hour might not seem the most amazing idea. But numerous benefits of this therapy will compel you to try it.

Here are five key ways floatation helps you, thus proving it’s tremendously good for anxiety issues.

1. It Reduces Sensory Input

Just imagine the moment you wake up. You open your eyes and think of the next thing to do: work on the project, go to the office, listen to the boss, and then sleep. From waking up to sleep, your mind and body are constantly bombarded with smells, sights, sounds, etc.

They don’t catch a single break.

We barely notice our surroundings because our lives are so busy. So, the overload of senses keeps becoming intense.

Now, what float therapy does is eliminate distractions of the senses. In a float therapy session, you focus on peace instead of the constant noise around you.

2. Makes Body Healthy, Eliminating Effects of Gravity & Stress

You must have heard that people carry anxiety and stress in their bodies. A quick way to identify that is to check for these physical symptoms:

Deal with stress: Your neck and shoulders feel as if they are stiff 24/7.
Deal with anxiety: You carry tension in your muscles 24/7.

Likewise, gravity also affects the body, which makes the situation even worse. But how does a float session help?

In float therapy session, Epsom salt is used, that’s why you will float effortlessly.

Here’s an interesting fact about the solution in the tank, it has 49% water salt and 51% water.

3. It Helps You With Natural Relaxants

If you don’t like taking medicines but still want to get rid of anxiety, then float therapy is for you. The Medical Grade Epsom salt used in tank solution contains Magnesium sulfate. It is absorbed into your body, which naturally relaxes your muscles.

Magnesium = Natural relaxant + Helpful for insomniac individuals

4. Positive Impact On Blood Pressure & Heart Rate

Many health diseases are directly connected with stress and anxiety. Among these, heart issues come first. If you suffer from cardiac problems, then anxiety will eventually accompany making the situation worse.

But here’s how float therapy resolves this issue.

It relaxes your body so stress levels come back to normal. You might have noticed that whenever a person gets anxious, they feel a sudden pain in their chest, as if the heart is about to come out of the chest.

Your blood pressure increases, high anxiety, and stress at peak.

But when you’re relaxed, the opposite thing happens. You forget about your problems, and your heart rate becomes normal. Floatation-REST, a therapy reducing sensory input, was studied for its effects on the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular responses. The changes, observed in both anxious and non-anxious participants, suggested a shift towards a more relaxed state, indicating that Floatation-REST reduces sympathetic arousal.

5. Theta State & Altered Consciousness

The duration of a float therapy session is around 75 minutes. During this time, a person enters into a deep meditative state.

It involves an increase in theta brainwave activity. This results in an increase in creativity and relaxation. Moreover, it reduces anxiety and stress.

The altered consciousness experienced in float therapy contributes to perspective shift. Thus helping individuals process and manage anxious thoughts more effectively.

Tips For Your Float Therapy Session

Cutting off from the outside world, external stimulation and living in the moment is not a new concept. It gives a sense of ease and comfort to people. So, if you’re planning your first float therapy session, here are some do’s and don’ts to remember. It’ll make your session more therapeutic with additional beneficial effects.

Do’s	Don’ts
Arrive on time for your scheduled session.	Avoid consuming caffeine 8 hours before session.
Shower thoroughly before entering the float tank.	Avoid using hair products, lotions or shaving your legs before the session.
Explore different meditation and visualization techniques.	Don’t panic if you accidentally get saltwater. Just hop out of the tank and rinse your eyes. After this get back in the tank.
Communicate any concerns or discomfort with the staff.	Avoid excessive splashing or disrupting the water in the floatation tank.

Alternative Therapies Used to Treat Anxiety

If you are exploring natural ways to get rid of your anxiety, then there are many ways to do so. There are different therapies and treatments through which you can reduce stress levels in your mind and body. Some of them are as below:

Herbal Supplements: Some herbs, such as valerian root, chamomile, and passionflower, are believed to have calming effects.
Aromatherapy: Essential oils like lavender, chamomile, and bergamot are thought to have calming properties. It can be used through diffusers or inhaled for relaxation.
Yoga: Combining physical postures with mindfulness and controlled breathing.

Ending Thoughts

With floatation therapy, a lot of people suffering from anxiety can reduce these issues. Many scientific studies and testimonials tell us about its potential benefits.

If a person does this therapy regularly, they can see significant improvement in anxiety management. It sets them on a path of tranquility and well-being. You can do it twice a week or even once a month. But make sure to be consistent with the sessions.

The list of float therapy advantages is extremely long. So if you are tired of anxiety and want an effective solution to deal with stress, then float therapy might be the ideal choice for you. It not only relaxes your mind but also eases your body.

Ready to book your first session and take steps towards anxiety-free life?

Contact Float Love today.