Can Floating Help Reduce Anxiety and Substitute Several Hours of Sleep?

Although floating can ease both nervous and muscular tension, it is not a substitute for sleep. Nonetheless, it has been found to be a helpful relaxation technique for individuals with anxiety disorders. Furthermore, it is currently being tested as a potential treatment for insomnia and chronic pain that has a psychological component.

Additionally, floating sessions can serve as a way to unwind and reduce stress after a long day. They may also help alleviate discomfort in overused muscles following strenuous exercise.

What is floating?

Float therapy, also known as floatation reduced environmental stimulation therapy or floatation-REST, involves relaxing in a dark and quiet isolated tank while floating on your back.

The tank’s water is infused with Epsom salt, which increases the water’s specific gravity and allows a person to effortlessly float. As a result, half the body is submerged while the other half is on the surface, leading to minimal signals being sent to the brain from receptors responsible for body position in space and creating tactile sensations.

During a float therapy session, all sensory signals from the sense organs are reduced by various means. Earplugs are used to block out sounds, the lights are turned off, and the water temperature is adjusted to match the body’s temperature.

As a result, the brain receives minimal signals from the external environment. While float therapy was once referred to as sensory deprivation, this term is no longer in use.

Float therapy sessions typically take place in special tanks or small pools. After the procedure, individuals often experience a short-term reduction in anxiety, a disappearance of negative emotions, and a decrease in pain. They may also feel a sense of calm and relaxation, although this effect is usually short-lived.

Why floating helps to relax

Float therapy has been utilized for many years, but its exact mechanisms of action are not yet fully understood. It is believed that multiple factors are involved in its effectiveness.

Suppression of the default mode network (DMN)

Researchers have proposed one mechanism of action for float therapy, which involves the suppression of the default mode network (DMN) in the brain. Studies have utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brain activity of participants during float therapy sessions.

The results showed that the therapeutic benefits of floating may be related to alterations in the functioning of the DMN, which is a functional system comprising various regions of the cortex in the brain’s hemispheres.

The DMN plays a critical role in contemplation during a resting state, which often occurs unconsciously. It is responsible for our thoughts, even when we cannot articulate them clearly or feel like we are not thinking at all. The brain’s primary thinking activity occurs during these periods.

Many significant insights, dreams, and scientific discoveries are attributed to the DMN. However, chronic anxiety and depression are also associated with this system. During these states, the DMN is highly active, and the brain tends to contemplate negative thoughts repeatedly during free “wandering.”

The DMN is closely linked to the somatosensory cortex, which collects information about sensations throughout the body and forms a comprehensive image of the organism. The DMN aids in the creation of this image.

Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging have revealed that during a float therapy session, the activity of DMN zones associated with the somatosensory cortex diminishes. As a result, self-reflection processes related to the body’s state may be reduced in intensity.

The decrease in the intensity of the connection between the DMN and the somatosensory cortex can lead to a reduction in awareness of muscle tension, resulting in a calmer state. This effect may be attributed to a decrease in anxiety sensitivity, which involves fear and anxiety over bodily symptoms and sensations.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has demonstrated that the subjective relaxation effect is stronger during float therapy sessions when the connection between the DMN and the somatosensory cortex is reduced to a greater extent.

Reciprocal inhibition

One theory suggests that it is not possible for the nervous system to be in a state of both excitement and relaxation simultaneously.

Float therapy is a method that can help relax the body, even when the mind is under tension. This is achieved through the effect of the water’s density on the skeletal muscles, which causes them to relax. By suspending the body in a state of neutral buoyancy, with half of it floating on the surface of the liquid and the other half submerged, the specific gravity of the liquid helps reduce muscle tension.

Maintaining a water temperature of 35°C during float therapy promotes the dilation of peripheral blood vessels, resulting in a mild reduction in blood pressure and inducing an overall sense of relaxation.

The theory of reciprocal inhibition suggests that during a float therapy session, an anxious person cannot help but relax. Even if their mind is preoccupied with negative thoughts and remains tense, relaxation will still take place.

What clinical studies say about the benefits of floating

Conducting clinical research on float therapy can be challenging due to the difficulty in meeting modern quality standards. In order for the results of a drug or treatment method study to be deemed reliable, a control group is typically necessary, consisting of volunteers who receive either a placebo or a therapy method with a proven track record. Furthermore, study participants should not be aware of which group they belong to, whether it is the study group or the control group.

The unique nature of float therapy makes it challenging to design a control method and carry out a blind study. Often, relaxation techniques that are unable to accurately replicate the experience of floating are used as controls. For instance, a control group may be instructed to watch a calming video featuring nature scenes. Unfortunately, this experimental design is less reliable due to the inability of the control group to truly simulate the experience of float therapy.

Numerous clinical studies have been conducted on float therapy, and they have all demonstrated that floating can induce short-term relaxation. Nonetheless, many of these experiments require further testing to confirm their findings.

Floating during anxiety

One experiment showed that floating greatly decreased the symptoms of anxiety in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder. The control group in this trial received the same float therapy, but with fewer procedures. In another study, 50 volunteers with various anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety, and panic, took part.

Individuals with any form of anxiety disorder who underwent a one-hour float therapy session experienced a significant but temporary decrease in their anxiety levels. In contrast, the control group in the study watched a calming movie and reported less relaxation compared to the float therapy group.

Individuals with any form of anxiety disorder who underwent a one-hour float therapy session experienced a significant but temporary decrease in their anxiety levels. In contrast, the control group in the study watched a calming movie and reported less relaxation compared to the float therapy group.

Floating during insomnia

Numerous studies have examined the efficacy of float therapy in treating insomnia. A review of the majority of the data from these trials concluded that float therapy has a positive impact on sleep. However, the data collected cannot be considered entirely trustworthy as all the studies evaluated had methodological errors.

Another small study aimed to treat insomnia in six participants, each of whom underwent a series of individual float therapy sessions. There was no control group in this study. Only three of the six participants reported an improvement in the quality of their sleep.

Floating during chronic pain

In 2021, researchers conducted a floatation trial to study the treatment of chronic pain that had both physical and psychological causes. This was the only trial in which researchers were able to establish a reliable control group. The control group underwent treatment that was very similar to float therapy. They swam in the same pool as the therapy group, but the water density was reduced so that their bodies did not float but remained on the pool bottom. The pool bottom was heated to provide additional stimulation of skin receptors, and the chamber was not darkened, with background music playing.

Previous studies had examined floating as a means of treating pain and demonstrated that float therapy can relieve chronic pain syndrome. However, in all of these studies, either the control group was absent or it was subjected to conditions that differed significantly from float therapy.

The most recent study with a control group subjected to similar conditions showed pain relief, but only for a brief period, as the results disappeared after a week. Moreover, there was almost no difference in the effectiveness of the treatments between the therapeutic and control groups.

The authors of the study emphasized that their research involved participants with pain that had both physical and psychological components, unlike in all previous trials where only psychological pain was considered.

It is possible that float therapy may not be effective in treating chronic pain of mixed origin, but may be useful in treating psychogenic pain. Further studies with a reliable control group are needed to confirm this.

Is it worth undergoing float therapy?

Float therapy can be beneficial in terms of inducing relaxation and easing muscle tension, although the effects are short-lived and cannot replace a full night’s sleep.

For various anxiety disorders, float therapy may be a helpful treatment option. Additionally, it can serve as a means of relaxation after a stressful event or a long day at work. However, it should be noted that float sessions alone may not have a significant therapeutic effect and are primarily used to induce relaxation.

Float therapy may be worth trying as a potential treatment for insomnia or chronic pain, particularly if the pain has a psychogenic component. Nevertheless, there is currently no reliable clinical evidence to support the effectiveness of this method for these conditions.

Floating has a similar impact on the brain as progressive muscle relaxation or meditation. However, unlike these techniques, float therapy does not require training or focus on the practice.

Even individuals experiencing high levels of anxiety and intrusive thoughts can find relief through immersion in a float pool, inducing relaxation, albeit temporarily. To overcome anxiety in the long term, one must learn to manage it independently, and float therapy cannot teach this skill.