Float Therapy: Worth the Hype?

If you could relax your worries away, relieve the pain that you may be feeling, and enjoy a fuller night’s sleep; would you do it? There is a new type of therapy that promises to do just that. It is fun, it is relaxing, and it is effortless. This therapy is called floatation therapy and many people wonder if it is truly worth the hype.

What is Float Therapy?

Float therapy is a type relaxation therapy that uses a sensory deprivation tank. In the tank, you will be floating in a lightless, soundproof space that is filled with salt water. The water is kept at skin temperature. It is said that some people get into the tank and at first hate it. However, as they adjust, they start to realize that they have no clue where their body begins or ends, nor where the water that they are floating in begins. Some people may even feel a little nauseous at first. However, as you begin to focus on your breathing, you start to feel as though you are drifting on a weightless cloud. Your tension melts away and you just enjoy being there. There are people who say that time has no meaning and when they step out of the pod; they feel refreshed.

Where to Find Float Pods

Float pods are the tanks that allow you to relax in complete nothingness. They hold only about ten inches of salt water, so many people can go to sleep in the tank. The temperature of the water is maintained and the same temperature as your body. In fact, the air and water around you are all the same temperature so that you feel no discomfort at all when you are inside. Many spas offer them and there are places you can go that are devoted to float therapy. These dark, soundless chambers have begun to show up all over the world in the last five years, so you can find them anywhere. They aren’t much to look at though, because they are supposed to be simply you and nothing but your mind. They are simply rounded pods that have a door. On the outside, you may have an outdoor towel holder and dim lights to prepare your eyes for total darkness inside the pod.

Can You Float Anywhere?

Most people ask whether float therapy can be effective in their pool, a lake, or even a bathtub. The answer to this question is, “not really”. You can float outside of the pod and it can be relaxing. You can allow the water to cover your ears and you can listen to the sound of your breathing, but the overall experience is not the same. You will have sunlight on your face, a temperature variation, and you will not be able to get into the same deeply relaxed state. In those areas, you must stay alert enough to keep yourself on the top of the water. In a pod, you will never go under water, there will never be waves to disturb you, and you will feel nothing but a peaceful nothingness.