Science of floating

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There’s a wealth of scientific evidence on the benefits of floating on the body and mind. Here are some key points from decades of research

A recent meta-analysis of 27 scientific studies by scientists Dierendonck and Nijenhuis showed that floating:

• Reduces cortisol levels (when high, cortisol can lower our immunity and leads to prolonged stress)

• Lowers blood pressure (a symptom of stress that compromises our health. Lower blood pressure allows us to feel relaxed)

• Increases overall wellbeing

• Boosts cognitive performance

• Improves symptoms of chronic fatigue and burnout

• Improves sleep

Floating and the brain

Justin Feinstein, head neurophysicist at Ohio’s Laureate Institute for Brain Research, the leading authority on floating and the brain, discovered that floating decreases activity in the brain’s salience network, which:

• Reduces anxiety

• Reduces negative emotions

• Reduces the perception of pain

• Reduces confusion,

• Reduces the impact of many serious mental health issues.

The Institute’s latest study on floating also found that:

“Participants reported significant reductions in stress, muscle tension, pain, depression and negative affect, accompanied by a significant improvement in mood characterised by increases in serenity, relaxation, happiness and overall well-being.”

Find Feinstein’s work in full on his website, and watch him speak about his findings at the 2016 Float Conference.

Floating for stress and pain reduction

The Human Performance Laboratory at Sweden’s Karlstad University has been studying the effects of floating for three decades, finding that floating:

Improves sleep
Increases energy (not only through better sleep, but also by increasing production of the hormone prolactin)
Increases optimism and mindfulness
Decreases anxiety and stress
Decreases depression
Decreases the perception of pain

They also found that after floating, people were less likely to consume alcohol.