The Calm Within the Storm: The Benefits of Floating for Anxiety Relief
In our fast paced world, anxiety has become an all too familiar companion for many of us.
Whether it’s the pressure of work, the chaos of daily life, or the weight of personal challenges, finding effective relief is essential. The purpose of this blog is to explore how floatation can help alleviate anxiety.
Justin Feinstein, a clinical neuropsychologist who has studied the effects of floatation on many individuals over the past 10 years, observed that “The float pool reduces external stimulation, and thus enhances internal sensations of a person’s world.” Throughout Justin’s work at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, he has been able to carry out various research projects which have concluded that floatation has the potential to help people deal with their varying anxieties.
According to Justin, “The level of relaxation achieved in a floatation pool is similar to what would be achieved with anti-anxiety drugs or meditation.” Therefore, even if you have found it almost impossible to tune into yourself previously, floatation can evoke a sense of stillness within you that could enable you to build a familiarity with the body that you have never experienced before, including awareness around the way in which your body interacts with and responds to anxiety.
How Does Floatation Help with Anxiety?
Floating can induce a state of deep relaxation and inner peace. When floating, the body enters a profound state of rest, allowing the mind to quieten. This relaxation response can lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and promote feelings of calmness.
Proven benefits
A study published in Biological Psychiatry in 2014 examined the effects floating had on individuals with high levels of stress and anxiety. The researchers found that participants reported significant reductions in stress and anxiety levels. The study highlighted the importance of deep relaxation achieved during floatation, which contributed towards enabling stresses and anxieties to simply melt away.
A more recent study was carried out by The Laureate Institute for Brain Research, where 50 participants who were diagnosed with varying types of anxiety and stress-related disorders were asked to float for 1 hour. Extraordinarily, every single participant reported a reduction in their anxiety following their float. Furthermore, the most common feeling expressed by those people after their float was one of serenity. This is incredible in the sense that after only 1 hour in a float environment, most participants were able to move from a state of stress or anxiety, to that of one of peace and serenity. Notably, there were also reports of significant reductions in stress, muscle tension, pain and depression too, whereby on the contrary, individuals were able to enter a state of increased relaxation, happiness and wellbeing.
The float environment is unique
When you enter the float pod, the unique environment helps trigger a relaxation response in the body. The brain can enter a Theta state that is normally only achieved as we prepare to shut the body off in preparation for sleep, or in experienced meditators. This leads to a decreased heart rate and lowered blood pressure, both of which can contribute to lower cortisol production, and therefore help alleviate day to day anxieties.
The isolation from external stimuli such as noise, light and physical discomfort, allows the mind to escape the usual stressors that elevate cortisol levels. This break can lead to a significant reduction in stress related hormones. The buoyancy of the water substantially reduces physical tension in and on the body. Muscles relax and the experience can sometimes bring a sense of awareness to where you may be holding certain pains and tension within the body, which is may be a physical manifestation of anxiety itself. The physical relaxation process can create a feedback loop, triggering and enhancing a state of mental calmness, which over time becomes easier to attune to and enter.
A mindful space
It is suggested that floating promotes a natural meditative state within the body and mind, allowing individuals to engage in mindfulness practices if they wish to. Mindfulness has been linked to lower cortisol levels, as it encourages individuals to focus on the present moment rather than on personal challenges, stressors and anxieties of day to day life. The deep relaxation that floating provides can lead to enhanced creativity.
Many people report having profound insights or solutions to problems during or after a float, which can be particularly beneficial for those whose anxiety stems from overwhelming challenges.
Reset your rhythms
Anxiety often disrupts natural sleep patterns. Floatation can help reset your body’s sleep rhythms leading to deeper, more restorative sleep. Better sleep can significantly impact overall mental health and resilience against anxiety.
Research published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine detailed a case study involving individuals diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The study reported that participants who engaged in regular floatation sessions experienced significant reductions in anxiety symptoms, along with improvements in sleep quality and overall mood.
Many individuals have reported feeling a state of serenity and peace that lasts for days after emerging from their float, some of whom may have initially entered the pod feeling considerably low. It is an incredibly special place where you are able to truly meet yourself and create a separation from what the world expects of you, providing a sense of total freedom and authenticity.
Float in the Forest
One of our goals here at Float in the Forest is to make a difference in people’s lives and the world. We promote the importance of knowing that you can find comfort in being able to naturally manage your own mental wellbeing. The environment of the float centre has been carefully planned out so that you are able to enter a profound state of complete relaxation, in a space where you feel safe, held and completely at ease to overcome whatever is personal to you, on each and every visit.
We’re looking forward to hosting your floats.
