The Benefits of Floatation Therapy
The benefits of floatation therapy seem too good
to be true. Scientific research has validated
the health giving and performance enhancing effects
of floating.
 It
is well known that relaxing sleep in bed is essential
to good health and often the best way to recover
from stress and illness. Our bodies have amazing
powers of recuperation and we just need the chance
to relax to let these powers work.
Floating in a floatation tank is even more relaxing.
The deep relaxation state achieved allows the
body to recover from stress. Pain is then relieved
and blood flow is stimulated through all the tissues.
Endorphins are released, which are the body's
natural painkiller and the brain then gives out
alpha waves associated with relaxation and meditation.
Usually it takes perhaps fifteen minutes to enter
the first deep stage of relaxation, and the remaining
45 minutes of an hour-long session seem to pass
quickly and effortlessly. The benefits begin during
this stage but continue after you leave the float
tank and for the rest of the day, and the next
day, your body and mind feel refreshed.
Controlled tests have shown that athletic performance
is improved by floating before an event. The quality
of creative work is improved by floating before
working. Students are able to remember facts and
to concentrate better after floating. Chronic
joint pain such as in arthritis is often relieved
for prolonged periods after floating. People with
"jet-lag" and stress or anxiety, express
feelings of relief and improvement. They state
that three hours in a float tank is worth a whole
night's sleep. These are not isolated individual
cases, almost everyone finds floating to be a
marvellous experience. Here's just one example
of a controlled experiment.
At Ohio State University in the USA, Professor
T. Fine has been assessing floatation tanks for
many years. He took a group of postgraduate students
who were all expert competitive rifle target shooters.
Their performance was measured by their target
scores. Randomly divided, one half of the group
floated for one hour before an event while the
other half enjoyed quiet, dark, bed rest for the
same period. The floaters performed significantly
better both when compared with the bed rest group
and with their own previous scores.
Many such studies have shown that floating is
more effective than bed rest and "dry-floating"
in such direct comparisons. It has also been found
that it is possible to learn effectively while
floating. Positive suggestion using tapes designed
to help people give up smoking, or to become more
confident at work, give better results when played
to floaters. Language learning and general problem
solving are performed better while floating.
Detailed work on brain waves and body chemistry
confirm that these are real physiological effects,
due to the floating experience. Some people take
the chance to day dream and can enter wonderful
vivid dream states in the same way as adept mediators
with many years experience. The development of
the floatation tank allows a simpler and much
quicker technique to relaxation.
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