In this edition of the Girl’s Club, FOX 10’s Alexis DelChiaro shows us how a soak in a salt water pod may help your body feel more rested!

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Conclusion:

In summary, I am very confident that your Flotation Spas are well protected with regard to their water quality. Threefold protection is provided by standard chemical disinfection with hypochlorite, high turnover filtration and the added effect of the high salt concentration all working together to provide a clean and safe environment for your clientele. Changing the water and magnesium sulfate every 6 to 12 months will also insure an esthetically pleasing experience.

Floating was a fantastic experience, which I must admit I totally underestimated. As a runner I found the time to relax and concentrate on my goals particularly beneficial. My race performance the next day was excellent, not only did I beat my personal best for the course by 30 seconds but I also finished ahead of a rival and training companion that had beat me by 5 seconds in the race two weeks previously, (who hadn’t had the benefit of floating prior to race day). I found that my quality of sleep was also better in the two days after floating. I would definitely recommend this to other runners. Although my muscles didn’t noticeably feel immediately relaxed I felt positive effects over the next few days and am considering returning before and after my next big race! Thanks very much floatworks!

A. (University of London Cross Country League)
The environment was extremely relaxing from the moment I walked in (I was also impressed by the fact that Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left was playing on the stereo!). All the staff were very friendly which contributed to the relaxing experience. The fact that floating was so different to any normal leisure activity made it fun as well as relaxing. Afterward I felt refreshed and much of the tension in my shoulders had disappeared. I did feel it took me a while to switch off (I was warned this is often the case by a member of staff beforehand), but by the time the music came on the second time I could hardly believe the hour was up and wanted to stay in there longer!
R.B. (Committee member and Runner University of London Cross Country League)

Personally, I found the floating a highly enjoyable experience. I’m studying for a PhD, a time consuming activity, and when I add in all my running, social life and general chores there’s little time left for me to relax; when I am relaxing there’s normally music or TV and I always have to make cups of tea. I therefore found having an hour where there was absolutely nothing for my brain to do blissful. That night I slept like a baby (and it wasn’t until the next day I read the leaflet we were given which said I would) and for the next couple of days I was particularly peppy. Some of my friends even commented on it without me saying I’d been floating. As for the race we had after floating I did particularly well, despite adverse conditions (it was snowing and freezing cold). I beat my personal best time for ten kilometres by two minutes and though I don’t attribute all of this to floating (I’ve done an awful lot of training since I last ran a measured 10K) I do think the positive it had given me helped with the frustration of the days conditions.
G.S. (University Of London Cross Country League)

Floatation therapy is making a comeback in spas across the globe, but these days, it’s all about sending stress and aches down the river.

In the 1970s, isolation tanks became a trendy way to go beyond the conscious mind to another dimension in time and space. There was just one problem: The coffinlike chambers made people feel claustrophobic. Instead of floating into a world of enlightenment, many were clawing their way out.

Over the decades, the flotation fad drifted in and out of consumers’ consciousness. Sensory deprivation got some notoriety from the 1980 sci-fi flick Altered States, but isolation tanks never gained widespread acceptance.

Then flotation got a facelift. Instead of being enclosed, some were designed to be open, with less emphasis on total sensory deprivation and more on relaxation. Flotation therapy spread across Europe, and more than 50 facilities popped up across the United States.

In Colleyville, former Texas Rangers first baseman Pete O’Brien had long been intrigued by flotation as a way to relieve stress and improve well-being. After investigating the psychological and physiological benefits, Pete and Donna O’Brien opened At Peace Floatation Spa this summer.

Pete O’Brien found that floating in a zero-gravity environment left him feeling relaxed and that the anti-inflammatory effects of Epsom salts eased the pain of past sports injuries.
“You come out much more at ease and at peace,” he said.

Dr. Jeff Connors, a Colleyville chiropractor, said floating can speed healing and “reset the body’s circuit breaker.” He recommends flotation to athletes and does it himself. “To me, I felt like I was walking on clouds,” Connors said.

Dr. Scott Stoll, a professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, remembers using his father’s isolation tank when he was growing up. Anything that helps people relax is beneficial, he said.

“You can sit at home in your easy chair, you can get a massage, you can learn to meditate or you can lie in one of these isolation chambers,” Stoll said.
For Type A personalities who have a tough time unwinding, floating is a way to shut down the brain, Pete O’Brien said. Some people experience a heightened awareness of color, sound and clarity of mind.

Without the distractions of light or sound, the body naturally relaxes, he said. “When you are in that restful place, you don’t move; you don’t even know you’re in water,” Donna O’Brien said. “You lose all concept of time.”

Here are the flotation facts:
The environment: Temperature-controlled suites contain a spa about the size of a twin bed with 10 inches of Epsom salt water warmed to body temperature. Spa users must shower before and after use. Many choose to float wearing bathing suits or swim trunks. Buttons in the spa control music and lighting. The user can float in silence or can select from meditation music or guided imagery — a gentle voice from the sound system that guides you through relaxation techniques. There’s an intercom that can be used if needed.

The experience: The salt water is so dense that any body, regardless of size, floats effortlessly. Some people feel as if their body is drifting away into a dreamlike state. It is common to fall asleep. A one-hour session is said to have the restorative effect of four hours of sleep.

The hygiene: The idea of soaking in someone else’s water might turn some people off, but a filtering and sterilization process is used to keep the spa as clean as possible. Epsom salts also kill bacteria.

The benefits: Floating is said to boost immunity, reduce high blood pressure, diminish depression, speed the healing process and promote circulation. It also is said to reduce symptoms associated with asthma, insomnia, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. It has been used to improve concentration and creativity.

The proof: Since the 1950s, when sensory deprivation isolation tanks were introduced, more than 100 universities have studied flotation. Numerous athletic teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, have used tanks. Carl Lewis used it to prepare for the 1988 Olympics. At the 2000 Olympics, more than 200 flotation tanks were available for athletes.

The downside: Epsom salt water leaves the skin feeling soft, but it can also sting where there are minor cuts. To eliminate this problem, shave at least four hours in advance. A gel is provided to cover any cuts.

The quest for human potential has been going on for ‘eons’. Some argue that Cro-Magnon people isolated themselves from their outside world by entering caves and eventually producing pre-historic cave art. The great religious leaders often promoted meditation and introspection as a means of gaining greater understanding and ultimately arriving at a higher level of potential and production.

Today we try to get away to isolated vacation spots, stress-reducing spas and use New and Old Age methods of turning off the outside world. The premise is that by shutting down the barrage of outside stimuli we can allow ourselves to develop internally. And of course in the Modern Era we use technology to help us with our quest.

One such technological innovation is the flotation tank. No one knows when the idea for sensory reduction started but the first scientific experiments began in the early 1950s. The original premise was that by shutting down outside stimuli one could shut down brain function. The initial surprise was that the brain did not shut down but instead became more active in different ways.

A flotation tank has been described as a portable closet turned on its side and filled with about ten inches of concentrated Epsom salts dissolved in water. The typical tank will have between 800 and 1000 pounds of concentrated Epsom. Newer tanks have an air supply and a temperature regulator that keeps the solution a constant 93.5 degrees F. or skin temperature and a door that essentially shuts out all light. Earplugs are often worn and most tanks have very little or ‘no’ sound.

The floater enters the tank, closes the door and with it blocks out most external stimuli. The floating experience comes close to no gravity — one floats and physically cannot sink in the tank. There are no rules — no set procedures, no instructions, no agenda. Each floater takes into the tank what they bring with themselves. Some meditate, others work on business problems, and others let their minds go and try to enter a creative state. Many, though not all, go into a brainwave state known as the ‘theta zone’ — a brainwave pattern similar to sleep. There are no drugs, massages, or therapy processes. In short, there is no intervention of any kind — only the floater and the tank.

“Floaters” report many different types of experiences and many of these experiences are perceived as profound. I recently conducted a series of interviews with floaters and was told the following: A systems analyst uses the tank to reduce stress and become ‘less of an nerd’; a research scientist visualizes molecules and protein structures; a banker uses the tank to work on difficult projects by isolating each component of a project and visualizing how these components can come together. Athletes use floating for optimal performance, visualization and injury healing. Doctors and chiropractors recommend floating as a way to reduce pain, especially back pain. Psychologists recommend floating as a way to reduce levels of depression. Writers and inventors use floating as a way to create and innovate. Why does floating work? There are a number of theories: the anti-gravity effect, the increase of left brain activity as right brain activity is decreased, endorphin production, integration of the primitive and modern brain layers, brain waves (theta), biofeedback and homeostasis of the human brain.

But most floaters do not care so much how it works but that it works. They report that old ways of thinking simply ‘melt away’ and do not have to be ’strategically broken down’. They report a greater sense of well being and an enhanced sense of creativity and innovation. Many report that floating has significantly changed their lives. The effects can last for days, weeks, years or a lifetime.

As a matter of curiosity I tried floating. The immediate effect I noted was a sense of well being that lasted for weeks. I cannot say whether is was cause and effect, but after floating regularly for several months, I started a new business venture that I had been contemplating for over a year. As a true skeptic I cannot say what is going on but I can say that something is going on. My wild guess is that it has something to do with endorphin production but admittedly that is a wild guess.

For those of us that constantly deal with human potential in the workplace we cannot ignore the human mind. Although we do not fully understand how the mind works, we do know some of the basics. We now know that constant stimuli bombardment can lead to high levels of stress, which in turn can cause mental and physical maladies. These maladies can lead to lower production and a reduced potential.

The Brave New World of the future may not have our minds hooked up to stimuli producing machines. The Brave New World may have us float in a tank and ‘regress’ to some primordial state where we can shut out the modern world and realize ourselves and our own potential.
In a true sense, we may be returning to the cave to find ourselves.

This article was written by Jack D. Deal