It’s Purely About Meditation

Perhaps your major hesitation about float tank therapy is that you’re just not into new agey meditation thing. I get it. As much as a I know that regular meditation comes with a whole slew of health benefits, I’ve just never been good at letting my brain wind down enough to actually feel relaxed.

But while sensory deprivation DOES promise a ton of mental health benefits—including stress relief and improved cognitive function—it boasts just as many physical benefits. Because the epsom-salt infused water allows you to float effortlessly, being in a float tank is one of the only opportunities your body has to experience total weightlessness, which can be a major relief to your hard working joints and muscles. Some of the reported benefits include reduced inflammation, pain relief, and improved athletic performance.

Personal side note: I once spent an absurd amount of money to swim in the pool of a fancy German hotel, where the spa-fed pool offered a similar slew of benefits. Floating in a float tank was a lot like that, albeit without the plane ticket and blow to my savings account. Just sayin’.

It’s Unhygienic

So you’ve heard that people float naked in sensory deprivation tanks and it kind of skeeves you out a little? Fair! Except that you should know that these tanks are probably much, much cleaner than your own home bathtub.

For starters, the water itself is saturated with hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of epsom salt, which creates an environment that is inhospitable to bacteria. But besides this, most tanks are constantly filtered and cleaned using some combination of UV light, Ozonators, and/or hydrogen peroxide. If you’re curious about how the specific float tank you’re about to use is cleaned and sanitized, just ask the staff!

You’ll Love It on the First Try

Real talk time: I didn’t love, love, love my first-ever float. Even with the spa-like environs of the place, I was still nervous about feeling claustrophobic and it look my body a long time to fully relax and accept the fact that I could float without trying. By the time I actually started to embrace the experience and let myself totally relax, my hour in the float tank was almost up.

This doesn’t mean the benefits weren’t readily apparent to me tough. My back and neck definitely felt better than they have in years in the hours following my time in the tank, and I could see how, with a little practice, I could get comfortable enough with the experience to love it as much as the other floaters I encountered in the waiting room did.

In fact, the real ringing endorsement for the benefits of floating were the people in that waiting room who were eager to tell me how much floating had improved their chronic pain, their sleep problems, their stress levels, etc. Of the 5 or 6 others who were there, I was the only first-timer. Everyone else was an enthusiastic regular.

My advice? Plan to try floating at least twice, and expect that your first time might be spent awkwardly trying to get the hang of things. Especially if you have any of the misconceptions listed above. It might just take a little more practice for you to feel at home in the tank and decide whether floating is right for you or not.

Still curious? Check out our video on sensory deprivation below!