How Sensory Deprivation and Float Tanks Impact the Brain
Some ideas to get started from Amina Dehbi, a biomedical scientist and blogger:
Sensory deprivation is a type of therapy that involves limiting the number of external stimuli on the brain and body.
Pain reduction, enhanced creativity, happiness, lower anxiety, reduced stress, and improved athletic performance are all benefits of sensory deprivation.
Sensory deprivation can be experienced in float tanks, which involves floating in salt water in a dark, soundproof chamber.er it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
*Keep in mind floating, flotation therapy, and sensory deprivation or sensory deprivation tanks are all the same thing.
Society, at least in America, feels tense. Politics, social norms, work/life “balance,” illness, self care - all feel more present and more pressing than ever.
Family budgets are stretched thin - gas, groceries, child care - costs continue to go up.
Politics feel hopeless and divisive.
Work has invaded the home with the lap top and smart phone - leaving ‘good’ employees feeling like they always need to be on or to be available in order to get ahead.
Leaving the pandemic we are slated for a tough flu season, or maybe two years of bad flu seasons.
You feel guilty for not doing enough self care, or not doing any at all. But how can you even fit that into your packed schedule?
After reading this list, it’s easy to understand how our time, our attention, our emotional and mental resources can feel completely drained almost all the time. Our brain’s are seeing threats everywhere - some real and some imagined. And having the ability to sense threats is essential - it’s maybe our single greatest ability as human beings, but has also become our crutch.
It can be difficult to tap into our software and let the brain and body together know “hey, I don’t think I need to be stressed about XYZ.” But to do that, we have to disconnect from the threat, or the input of the world.
This is where the float tank comes in.
To quote Dehbi, “The water in a sensory deprivation tank is kept at skin temperature and is nearly saturated with Epsom salt, making floating effortless. When the tank lid closes, all external stimulation is cut off, including light, sound, and gravity. The silence and darkness are meant to induce a state of deep relaxation.” (Keep in mind with our tanks you have the ability to control the lights and sound throughout your entire float session.)
We explain to people that floating is for your brain and body what a hard restart is for a computer’s software and hardware. It gives it a clean slate, or a fresh start, wiping away any problematic programs that you were unable to diagnose while in Run Mode.
There have been plenty of studies to describe and calculate the benefits of floating - and fortunately there are more on the way. We’ll note these studies at the end, but to summarize Dehbi:
“The effects of sensory deprivation on the brain were noted when brain-imaging studies indicated that sensory deprivation seems to regulate the over-activity seen in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls feelings of fear and anxiety. These preliminary findings led to the speculation that sensory deprivation can reduce symptoms of anxiety and other stress-related disorders [R].
A recent study observed the effects of sensory deprivation in a group of 50 patients with a range of different anxiety and stress-related disorders. The researchers found that a single hour-long session of flotation led to a substantial reduction in anxiety and a significant improvement in mood [R].
Researchers also found that floatation therapy induces a sense of deep relaxation and significantly reduces stress [R]. One way in which it does so is through the significant reduction in cortisol, the hormone involved in the stress response [R].”
To get technical about what exactly is happening to the brain during a floatation therapy session - the brain enters THETA state. If you’re unfamiliar with brain waves, this is the brain wave associated with, “sleep but are also dominant in deep meditation. Theta is our gateway to learning, memory, and intuition. In theta, our senses are withdrawn from the external world and focused on signals originating from within. It is that twilight state which we normally only experience fleetingly as we wake or drift off to sleep. In theta we are in a dream; vivid imagery, intuition and information beyond our normal conscious awareness.” (According to Brainworks)
You know what THETA state feels like, although you might not realize it. Imagine a Saturday morning with no alarm - you wake up slowly, naturally, with nothing on your mind. Your brain is at ease, although maybe playful. You are slightly aware or maybe totally unaware of your body. It’s a calm state of bliss.
This is the most restful brain wave available to the human mind. And in that state, we’re able to reconnect with ourselves while we disconnect from all of the aforementioned stressors that daily life throws our way. And the most wonderful part of all - you can access this anytime during a float session.
If you have any questions or concerns, stop by your local float studio to see what all the hype is about. We are located in Sewickley and Lawrenceville!
Sources:
https://keepmeprime.com/sensory-deprivation-effects/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796691/
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1991.70.5.2010
