Health
Sensory Deprivation— How Floating in the Dark Will Ease Your Mind
By Lynn Brewer
5 Stress-Relieving Benefits of Floatation Therapy
Amongst the many benefits that have been proven over time, here are our top five reasons float therapy is so effective in relieving stress. 1. Floating Improves Sleep Quality: This is largely due to the absorption of magnesium during the float therapy session. Magnesium is an essential macromineral that keeps our muscles and nerves working optimally. It helps regulate mood and stabilizes our sleep/wake cycles. Unfortunately, our bodies do not produce magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is more common than we realize and can result in: • Interference with our body’s enzyme production • Increased stress and anxiety • Lower levels of energy • Disruption in our ability to fall and stay asleep • Compromised musculoskeletal system that makes us prone to injury and pain • Compromised nervous system The weightlessness, the complete and utter silence, and the total lack of sensory
stimulation during a float provide the perfect environment for our bodies and minds to completely unwind. This enhances relaxation, helping us sleep deeper for days following a float session. 2. Improved Cortisol Levels: Cortisol is involved in regulating metabolism and plays an important role in our body’s immune system functioning. Maintaining healthy cortisol levels is key to protecting our mental and physical health. Chronically high cortisol levels are a symptom of stress and often poor sleep. It becomes a vicious cycle—too much cortisol also contributes to sleep issues and other health problems, such as: • Poor regulation of blood sugar • Suppressed immune system • Weight gain, specifically around the mid-section • Gut issues like irritable bowel syndrome • Chronic anxiety 3. Floating Relieves Pain: As floating promotes vasodilation, enabling better oxygenation—better blood flow to the brain, organs, and limbs—it helps to minimize pain caused by tension, stress, and even arthritis. Magnesium is better absorbed through the skin rather than via the normal digestive tract, making it more effective to counter migraines, promote relaxation, and help lubricate muscles and joints. 4. Floating Relaxes Muscle and Accelerates Recovery: Floating helps to relax the muscles and accelerates the body’s natural ability to recover by reducing lactic acid in the body. The zero-temperature, magnesium-saturated water allows the lactic acid to move out of the muscle faster when relaxed, thereby reducing overall muscle stiffness and pain.
“The weightlessness, the complete and utter silence, and the total lack of sensory stimulation during a float provide the perfect environment for our bodies and minds to completely unwind. This enhances relaxation, helping us sleep deeper for days following a float session.” —Lynn Brewer
37 SUMMER 2022
loating, sensory deprivation, and restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST)— all essentially the same thing with different names—can improve mood swings and sleep regulation after 8–12 float sessions. When floating, your body and mind will go from normal alpha and beta brain waves to transform into theta waves. These waves are usually only present right before falling asleep or waking up. Basically, being in the theta state helps us reach a level of calm we don’t generally experience otherwise during our waking hours. Theta brain waves are much slower than alpha and beta waves, allowing for deeper relaxation and reduced stress.
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