The Benefits of Floatation Therapy

Floatation therapy is been proven to induce strong effects upon the brain since the first modern studies began in the 1970's. Recently the focus has shifted to see whether floating actually induces physiological changes within the brain to improve mental performance, and most results show that this is indeed the case. Floating and Vasodilation Floatation increases circulation within the body, along with boosting oxygen delivery in cells, these two effects directly aid the brains ability to enter a level of higher mental performance. Sessions in a floatation tank promotes vasodilation, improving the flow of blood to the entire body along with the brain. This is also known to induce a healing effect on both the mind and body. Improved oxygen delivery and circulation provides an array of highly beneficial health improvements, such as reducing hypertension, which further assists in reducing the chances of heart failure or angina attacks. In terms of mental functioning, floating produces an effect on the brain similar superior to effects created by taking common supplements used to assist in a healthy mind. A floatation session can be considered superior to a mixture of popular brain enhancing supplements at once. With the high price of these supplements, floatation becomes the cheaper and more superior option. Some of the most common brain enhancing supplements are:

• Coenzyme Q10
• Ginkgo biloba
• Lipoic acid
• Creatine

These supplements are vasodilators, which assist to increase oxygen and blood flow throughout the brain. Floatation sessions provide superior comparative effects and can be achieved in a natural non invasive manner, without the need to take pills and have the liver process supplements, it also means there is no chance for side effects. Stress has significant effects on mental health, as well as physical benefits to the body Stress has an often overlooked strong physiological effect – the release and increase in the blood of corticosteroids (stress hormones). Cortisol hormones are associated with declines in cognitive ability, often a common effect of ageing. Stress increases the speed of degradation in cognitive functioning. Below are some of the negative effects associated with a high level of stress hormones circulating within the body, and links to studies completed where by floatation has been proven to assist in all these conditions:

• Neuropsychiatric: Sleep disorders, depression and anxiety.
• Cardiovascular: Fluid retention, hypertension and kidney dysfunction.
• Metabolic: A decrease in the utilisation and body fat conversion into fuel, the conversion of freely available amino acids into glucose.
• Endocrine: Insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, diabetes, hypogonadism.
• Skeletal: Pain and inflamation associated with osteoporosis.
• Immune: Decreases in the ability for the body to fight infection.

Floatation unfortunately is not an absolute cure all for these conditions, however regular floating sessions are a proven method of significantly reducing stress signals, which are often an issue with the above health conditions. The Theta Brainwave State The main attraction towards partaking in float tank sessions is inducing a change in brainwave patterns, with the final pattern known as the theta brainwave state. This is a much lower frequency of the brains functionality, experienced in daily life only from a high level of meditation ability or just before you fall asleep at night, just before waking and when in a deep sleep, where it appears in stages before each REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep stage. The theta state is known to elicit various effects on the mind not normally experienced in everyday life, such as extremely vivid imagery in both closed eye and open eye situations, extremely clear and highly creative thought processes, sudden insights and problem solving, more originality and inspiration, along with a wide range of stress shedding and stress protective effects on the mind.