What is a float tank?

Float tanks were created in 1954 by John C Lilly, an American physician and neuroscientist. They’re also referred to as sensory deprivation tanks or isolation tanks.

The tank itself is a light proof, soundproof chamber where an occupant lays horizontally in about 12 inches of highly concentrated salt water - more dense than the Dead Sea! The floating experience combined with a lack of sensory input or stimuli is what makes a sensory deprivation tank unique.

There have been studies that suggest float therapy offers a number of benefits including muscle relaxation, relief from back and neck pain, improved sleep, decreased stress and anxiety, as well as improved productivity and creativity.

Currently, there are many models and styles of sensory deprivation units on the market including float tanks, float pods, float cabins, and float rooms.

Tanks have been around the longest - they are a narrow rectangular unit with a hatch on one end. You enter through the hatch, sit down, and close the lid behind you. These are generally the smallest version of sensory deprivation units. 

Pods are a bit newer to the market - picture a race car version of the aforementioned tanks. Sweeping lines, wider body, and an easier entrance. Similar though, you close the lid behind you and are unable to stand at that point. Some offer light and sound controls for your in tank float experience.

Cabins or Suites, as we have at Victory Float Lounge, are much larger than the tanks or pods. They’re built in place and then the room is finished afterward, which means you enter by stepping through a door. At our space in Lawrenceville, our suites are 6.5 feet x 7 feet at their base, and more than 7 feet tall. They’re open, spacious and relaxing, which makes them comfortable for first time users, or those that may be uncomfortable in confined spaces. The suites we chose for Victory Float Lounge have in tank controls for light and sound, including a night sky option that offers a comfortable level of lighting if a user isn’t ready for a full sensory deprivation experience.

And finally, float rooms are big, fancy bath tubs placed in an open room, and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. The physical floating experience is the same, but the sensory input piece is typically controlled by the settings of the room. Set ups like this are typically used in spas that don’t ‘specialize’ in sensory deprivation. Although they are a wonderful alternative and worth trying if you have the opportunity. 

Regardless of what type of sensory deprivation experiences are available to you, they all have their physical and mental benefits, which we will dive into in a later blog post! The Pittsburgh area is fortunate to have a handful of float tank locations and types. Do your research and see what makes the most sense for you!

The Benefits of Floating

What are the benefits of floating?

This is one of my favorite topics to write about, because the more I float, and the more people we have come through our doors here in Lawrenceville, the more I learn about the benefits of floating.

Floatation therapy or sensory deprivation therapy has been studied since its creation in the 1950s, but mostly in small scale studies. Beyond the science, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest the benefits of floating as well. 

I think it’s important to make the distinction between physical and mental benefits only because clients can come to floatation sessions with very different goals. Although, if you’ve ever floated, it can be difficult to separate the physical feel good from the emotional release that many experience during their sessions. 

One study, published on October 25, 2014, cited some interesting and lasting benefits for its participants. If you’re interested, the article can be found here:

 https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-14-417

The conclusion of the study - 

The results of the present study indicate that flotation-REST may reduce contributing factors to potential stress-related illness as well as increase certain psychological factors in healthy participants. Stress, anxiety, depression, and worst pain decreased and sleep quality and optimism increased in the flotation-REST group compared to the wait-list control group. This technique might increase general health and thus help prevent future sick leave.

We’ve heard from our clients here in Pittsburgh similar anecdotal evidence. Relief from back, neck, and foot pain from the weightless environment inside the float tank. Reduced stress and increased relaxation due to the lack of or control surrounding sensory deprivation. Keep in mind, our floatation tanks allow you to control the light and sound, so it’s a comfortable, controlled environment.

Some additional anecdotal evidence, and one that I find personally helpful, is the deep sense of well being and ease I get from sensory deprivation therapy. It’s hard to describe to anyone that hasn’t experienced it. But floatation therapy can strip away the unnecessary and stress inducing things in your life, and allow you to focus on what’s in front of you and develop a sense of purpose and direction for your thoughts and feelings.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Float

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, because my first floatation therapy session was…difficult.

I had a cup of coffee maybe an hour beforehand, which amped me up way too much to sit calmly in a tank for an hour. I got out and felt relaxed, physically, but my head was spinning. 

“Was that it? That didn’t seem peaceful! I must have done it wrong!!”

So, use this guide to get the most out of your floatation therapy!

Preparation:

Try to avoid coffee for at least a few hours before your session.

Avoid shaving the day of as well (the salt can burn!).

Eat a small meal prior to floating (you don’t want an empty stomach yelling at you).

Then, as you settle in for your session, set your intention.

If you want to just kick back and relax, then try mindfulness and meditation. Which is nothing more than monitoring your breathing - 3 counts in, hold for 2 counts, 6 counts out. You can play with the timing of it to suit yourself and whatever you feel comfortable. As this breathing becomes a little more natural for you, start to put your mind in other parts of your body. Use your senses to their fullest - what are you feeling in your hands and your toes? What do you see (maybe nothing!) What do you smell? And explore those feelings. Eventually you may drift off, which is great! And that the end of your session, you’ll be recharged and relaxed!

If you want to problem solve while you’re in the tank, then I’d recommend going through a similar process. And as you relax, start to focus on the problem - relationship, writer’s block, work issues, creativity issues - literally anything. Then start to visualize that problem. Look at it from all angles. And then you can go one of two directions: Brainstorm ways to overcome the problem. OR, and this is where it gets fun - destroy or defeat the problem. Get creative! Put it in a box and bury it. Hug it. Smash it with a baseball bat! This is where you have to explore what makes you feel good!

Which leads me to the last way to use flotation therapy, at least here at Victory Float Lounge in Pittsburgh - visualize your victory! Our manager Lindsey ran her first marathon last fall. In preparation, she floated weekly leading up to it. And she would visualize, over and over, her crossing the finish line. And she plotted out the course and predicted where it would get hard, so she would visualize herself pushing through those hard points. And what happened? She beat her goal of four hours by a full ten minutes in her first marathon! Powerful stuff. 

So, whether you are looking for a supplementation to your yoga practice via mindfulness and meditation, or you’re looking for a girl’s day or a spa day, or you have an obstacle in front of you that you want to overcome, floatation therapy is a powerful tool that is worth exploring! Find us in Lawrenceville, just outside of downtown Pittsburgh for your first floatation therapy experience!