Experts call it float therapy It seems to work on several levels, heightening the senses, aiding relaxation, and calming the body and mind.
“It calms the mind, sharpens the senses in the body, and helps you live in the moment, all of which can break cycles of negative thinking,” says lead researcher at the Laureate Brain Institute in Tulsa. said Sahib Khalsa, Clinical Director. , a center of float therapy research.
Abby Michelle, 27, had been receiving treatment for anxiety since graduating high school. When she moved to Boston in 2019, she was hired as a receptionist at Indoor Oasis, a wellness center with a float tank in Newton, Massachusetts. Michelle started floating regularly, which she said became “an important tool in my toolbox” for management. her anxiety.
“It's become like a ritual,” she says. “When you relax, you start looking at life differently, from a more detached perspective.”
The science behind buoyancy therapy
Research on the mental health benefits of buoyancy therapy is mixed and limited. Some studies have shown that float therapy may reduce symptoms of a variety of conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder, as well as depression and anxiety. This treatment also appears to lower blood pressure and reduce pain after high-intensity exercise. Preliminary research suggests it may minimize cravings in addiction-related disorders.
A 2021 meta-analysis of studies on flotation therapy for mental health conditions found that flotation may reduce anxiety and anxiety-related symptoms such as muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, and depression, two random studies found. “limited evidence'' was found from controlled trials.
Mark Wittmann, a brain and time perception researcher based in Freiberg, Germany, likens the experience of floating to meditation. “During meditation, the boundaries of your body disappear and you feel more at one with your environment,” said Whitman, who uses float tanks for some of his research.
According to his own research, which has not yet been published, this feeling of your body melting correlates with reduced anxiety.
One explanation for the potential mental health benefits of floating is that it can enhance a biological process known as “interoception.” Interoception is defined as the process by which the nervous system “senses, interprets, and integrates” signals from the body, or how the brain understands the body. Interoceptive dysfunction may play a role in anxiety and eating disorders, among other mental health conditions.
One of the challenges in evaluating specific treatments, such as floating, is figuring out the different mechanisms at work, says the National Institutes of Health's Basic and Mechanistic Research on Complementary and Integrative Health. said Wen Chen, the branch manager in charge. “Is there something special about buoyancy?” “Perhaps you are in a very relaxing environment, but how unique is it compared to other relaxation techniques we offer?” she said.
Floatation therapy for eating disorders
Some researchers are studying whether floatation therapy can help people with eating disorders. An NIH-funded study currently recruiting patients will explore how augmenting float therapy with interoception-focused psychotherapy can improve anxiety and body image in patients with anorexia nervosa. We plan to investigate.
Another study, a randomized controlled trial of 68 women and girls hospitalized with anorexia, found that twice-weekly float sessions improved patients' levels of body dissatisfaction, a hallmark of the disease. The researchers reported that.
Patients were shown images of different body shapes and sizes and asked to choose the image that best matched their body and their ideal body.
Immediately after float therapy and again six months later, patients showed a “significant” reduction in body dissatisfaction, indicating that patients chose images that more closely resembled their own bodies and had less distorted body image. researchers said.
“Floating shifts attention from how your body looks to how it feels, which may promote a healthier body image,” said Khalsa, the study's lead author.
What does float therapy feel like?
Consumer demand for float tanks is increasing. By some estimates, there are now nearly 400 float centers in the United States, up from about 50 in 2010, with costs ranging from about $50 to $100 per 60- or 90-minute session. Many of the new float centers are very different from the “sensory deprivation” tanks made infamous in pop culture such as the movie “Altered States.” These days, people can add calming music and gentle lighting to their float experience, or choose open-style hot tub-like pools that are less claustrophobic.
Justin Feinstein, director and president of the Float Research Collective, a nonprofit organization that raises money to conduct more research, said many doctors still hold outdated views about the practice. He said that
“The feeling of floating is called 'sensory deprivation,' but I think that's a misnomer,” Feinstein says. On the contrary, he said, patients reported “enhanced” internal sensations, such as being aware of their own breathing and heartbeat while floating.
For some people, floating can bring them deep peace.
Emily Nolen, 28, of San Diego, tried floating after multiple failed attempts at treatment for her eating disorder.
At first, she said, she felt uncomfortable with the experience. But she made it through her first 90 minute float and came back for more of her.
“The float tank allowed me to disconnect from the real world and get out of my body for a little while,” said Nolen, who self-published a book about the experience, “Unsinkable.'' “Before, I was hearing the voices of eating disorders, the voices of diet commercials, the voices of skinny influencers, the voices of my father's trauma. I could hear my own voice inside the float tank.”
Marty Gibbons, a contracting businessman in Portland, Oregon, used buoyancy to avoid taking painkillers after breaking his leg in a skydiving accident.
“I started floating three days a week for six months,” Gibbons said. Gibbons was sober and she didn't want to take the painkillers she was prescribed. “I never took any opiate pills. I used ice cubes. That was my treatment for the pain.”
Have questions about human behavior or neuroscience? Email BrainMatters@washpost.com I may answer that in a future column.
