Float away the stresses of the day by lying on your back
From The Independent, Thursday 18 January 2001

Suspended in a dark, small enclosed space surrounded by water is not just relaxing by is also and effective therapy. It certainly feels good, says Susannah Prain.

These days it seems that hardly a week goes by when we are not urged to rediscover another ancient Eastern therapy promising rejuvenation, relaxation and even miracle cures. But unlike other alternative treatments, floatation in a simulated environment is a relatively modern practice. It was developed in the fifties in the US by LSD guru Timothy Leary, who was studying the effects of weightlessness on astronauts. But it wasn't introduced into this country until the early eighties, with the first floatation tank opening in Clapham, London (now known as the London Floatation Centre). Floatation has since become increasingly popular as a pampering treat, but is now also gaining status as an effective therapy for a wide range of ailments.

Being enclosed alone in a darkened room, deprived of stimuli is a much more pleasurable experience than it sounds. Organising a float is easy. You can book a session at any health club that offers floatation or at a floatation centre. After a quick shower, you step into a floatation tank containing 10 inches of condensed Epsom salt solution and upon lying down, you will be suspended in the solution like a cork. You have control of your environment and can decide whether you want to be in complete darkness or not; with the light off you experience sensory deprivation and you soon after a short time begin to realise that you are alone with your thoughts. My main fear at the outset was boredom, and for the first 20 minutes I lay there wondering what I should be feeling. But quite suddenly, I found myself in a deep state of contemplation, as though my thoughts were controlling me, rather than me controlling my thoughts. It was as if my mind had been set free.

Research conducted at Texas A & M and the University of Colorado suggests that during a float, your brain produces theta waves, which are usually produced during deep meditation or when falling asleep. The brain also produces endorphins, the body relaxes and blood pressure is reduced. In The Book of Floating, author Michael Hutchinson identifies seven theories of floating.

First, he suggests that as a result of buoyancy and, therefore, the elimination of the body's gravity, the floater is brought to a state of 'total weightlessness'. He explains that gravity contributes to '90 per cent of all central nervous system activity' and is 'probably the single largest cause of human health problems - bad backs, sagging abdomens, aching feet, painful joints and muscular tension'. He asserts that 'freeing our brain and musculoskeletal system from gravity, floating liberates energy and large areas of the brain to deal with the matter of mind, spirit and enhanced awareness of mental states.

For this reason, floating is recommended for pregnant women and those suffering from arthritis. Hutchinson also identifies changes in both hemispheres of the brain which are identical to those experienced during meditation.

Floatation is also recognised as a highly beneficial therapy for addiction. An important part of any treatment for addicts is helping them to obtain an inner state of psychological or emotional pain relief, which induces a state of well being. This effect can be produced naturally through the experience of floating.

Behavioural and cognitive psychologists, as well as neuroscientists, recognise that floatation is a powerful therapy for reforming addicts. Conclusive evidence states that through floatation, addicts can experience, on the physical side, changes in human biochemistry and, on the mental side, changes to their addictive tendencies.

Research suggests that an hour's float in a state of complete isolation, without external stimuli, is the equivalent of four hours uninterrupted sleep. Personally, although I emerged feeling deeply rested, the extraordinary heightening of the senses remained with me for many days.