We All Float Down Here

Imagine being shut in a room, with no light, no sound, and it's wet. Sounds pretty creepy? It's actually called floating and is so cool! I have been wanting to try this for a pretty long time. I think I first read about them in one of the Dan Brown books (Not the DaVinci code, but the other one with Tom Hanks on a treasure hunt. Oh, they are all like that?). I never realized they were actually available for normal people to use though. I was a little nervous about it. I am not claustrophobic, but being locked in a small container seems like a perfect target for a serial killer.

What is it?
A sensory deprivation chamber (or float tank, it's easier to type) is a tank filled with about 8-12 inches of water and 1,100 pounds of epsom salt. Yeah, it's twice the salinity of the Dead Sea, so you definitely float inside. The tanks are sound proof and light proof. Because water is heated to body tempurature of 98.6 degrees, you can't feel where the water ends and your body begins. The only thing I don't think they can control is the smell. It wasn't awful, but epsom salt has a distinct odor. Taste isn't an issue since you don't drink the water (obvi).   

Why would you do this?
Research on this began back in the 1950's by a gentleman named Dr. John C. Lilly, a neuroscientist. He was looking for the origins of conciousness. He eventually tried LSD and ketamine while in the tanks, which I do not recommend (obvi).

There was a study done with 65 participants divided into two groups, the "waitlisted" (or control) group and the group who got to float. After 12 sessions over 7 weeks, the floating group reported increased quality of sleep and optimism as well as decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and pain.

Another benefit of floating is soothing your sore muscles. Epsom salt is a compound of magnesium and sulfate. And, we know from this post that magnesium is an electrolyte.

My Float

That door is the portal to relaxation

I arrived at glowspa here in Mount Pleasant, SC (link is below) about 10 minutes before my scheduled time. I was given a tour of the spa and my little room for the next 90 minutes. The room is about the size of a small bathroom, with room for the float tank and space for you to step in and out. There is a separate door to the room. The float tank was different than I expected. I was kind of nervous that it would be an actual tank and I could get locked in. But, the "tank" looked like an enclosed bathtub. It is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and tall enough that even someone less vertically challenged than I could stand up without hitting their head.

 At the beginning of the float, they asked that I shower to remove any lotion, deodorant, etc. They also asked that all guests float au naturale as detergent can also affect the water. And, the waiver that I signed said that if they have to drain and refill the tank because of me, I owe them $1000. I made sure to follow all of the rules. After my shower, I took out my contacts, watch, and jewelry. I was also given earplugs for the sound and to keep the water from getting in my ears.

Better than wine

From the shower, I walked back to my little room, disrobed, and climbed in. It was surreal at first. I just floated. I didn't try to float, I didn't have to doggy paddle or anything, I just floated. In the tank, there is a switch for the light. When on, it glows a soothing blue, but I wanted the full experience and flipped that off. And it was dark, so dark I forgot if my eyes were open or closed. I spent some of the time pushing myself back and forth in the tank. As I did this, it started to feel as though the tank was being stretched. It took was taking longer to reach the other side. I tried to relax my mind as much as I could, but I am so Type A, it was really difficult at first. Eventually, I was able to turn off my brain. I had a couple of lucid dreams. I was given a ring to lay my head on, which inspired a dream about me being the planet Saturn floating around space waving to my other planet friends on our journey around the sun (it was pretty cool).

Just as I thought to myself, okay, this is long enough, I began to hear the music that meant my time was up. I got out of the float, (rerobed) and went back to the shower to rinse off the salt. I washed my hair twice, to get the salt out, but also because the shampoo smelled really good! I was feeling dreamy and relaxed as I headed back to my car for the drive home.

Overall, it was the coolest experience. I highly recommend this for anyone. I signed up for 90 minutes, which may be too long for some people, but since I am always tightly wound, this was the right amount for me to be able to really enjoy the float. My body felt more relaxed than with a massage (I like massages, but I don't like people touching me, so this is better). My brain got to shut down for a little bit, which doesn't happen. I can see where doing this multiple times would help with mental health. Having that time to shut down and reset is beneficial. I would do this again in a heartbeat and think you should too.

And We'll All Float On

Check it out: https://www.glowspa.net/
https://www.healthline.com/health/sensory-deprivation-tank#1
https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-14-417

Photo Credits
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmberLamoreauxArt?ref=pexels
https://isabellamariana.46graus.com/