Floating for the soul and the body

Lie in a salt water pool, enjoy music and simply let yourself drift. What sounds like wellness at first is also used as a treatment method against back pain or sore muscles. In addition, it can strengthen the immune system – we are talking about floating.

Floating means floating in warm salt water. The high salt content of the brine (a salt solution), enables effortless floating on the surface – similar to the Dead Sea. The brine has between 34.8 and 35.2 degrees Celsius and thus ideally adapts to the body temperature. The floating pools are about 25 cm deep, but vary from studio to studio and are refilled before each patient.

During floating, all external stimuli are reduced to a minimum. Depending on the studio, there is relaxing music or absolute silence. The additional darkness causes the brain waves to change into the theta range, which people otherwise only reach during deep sleep or mediation. This leads to a deep relaxation of the muscles, relief of the joints and spine, and a transition into a meditative half-sleep state. Furthermore, floating in salt water is effective for strengthening the immune system and as a treatment against sore muscles and back pain.

Humans are exposed to an overload of stimuli every day. For a long time, researchers believed that the brain loses activity when it is deprived of stimuli. The brain researcher John C. Lilly was of the opposite opinion and proved this with various experiments. He built the first isolation tank in 1954 and publicized its positive effect. Even today, this is the subject of various studies in brain research. Meanwhile, it is known that the float tank has other positive effects on the human body besides relaxation. 

Stress has an effect on the immune system. While floating reduces the state of over-excitement and thus activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxation, stress and everyday hectic ness are reduced. Repeated floating shows a lasting learning effect in dealing with and feeling stressful situations. This promotes resilience to depression, anxiety, stress and sleep disorders. Of course, floating does not cure mental illnesses, but it does promote basic relaxation in the body.

Floating also has a healing effect on other ailments, as studies have recently shown. These confirmed the positive effect of floating on chronic and stress-related muscle pain. The effect can already occur after a few floating units and last for several months. As a result, experts recommend the method in many publications as a suitable or complementary pain treatment, also for athletes. In professional sports, however, it has been known for years. For example, the French football team took its own floatation tank to the 2018 World Cup to help players recover mentally and physically between matches. Complementary to physiotherapy and recovery training, floating is very effective for recovery. Many other benefits of floating happen automatically and have a relaxing effect on the body. These include, for example, the position of the spine, which is completely straight during floating. Other positive aspects are caused by the fact that the individual vertebrae are not twisted when lying in the water and muscle groups are relaxed. This particularly affects the neck muscles, joints, intervertebral discs, ligaments and bones. In this way, both acute and chronic tension can be relieved, as well as contributing to an improvement in slipped discs, joint pain, sciatica, lumbago, strains and sprains.

“Studies have shown that floating has an effect on the sensory-motor aspects of creativity, so that “creative activities” such as movement improvisations come more easily. In addition, during floating, one sinks into the tub while imagining movement sequences. This form of imaginary “training” can significantly improve motor skills," says Andreas Huber from the health and floating centre [schwerelos] in Vienna.

The frequency of how often floating should be done is individual: for acute pain or slipped discs, it is recommended to go floating two or even three times a week. “Many of our guests prefer the late afternoon hours for a float, to “wind down” from the day and relax into the evening. But these are preferences,” Andreas Huber tells us. He reports that some clients use floating as a form of meditation and come every few weeks. Caution is advised, however, in the case of an infectious illness such as a flu-like infection, gastrointestinal complaints or athlete's foot. In this case, swimming should not be done. In addition, patients with skin injuries such as abrasions or cuts, burns, skin diseases or open wounds should wait until they have healed. Floating is not suitable for people with untreated epilepsy, patients with heart muscle diseases, low blood pressure and a tendency to thrombosis, or people undergoing psychiatric treatment for the time being. In all cases, it is advisable to consult the doctor in charge.

Floating not only offers the possibility to relax in general, but also brings an additional added value, especially for athletes and professional sportsmen. Particularly during a competition or in preparation, floating can support their regeneration processes and thus help them to compete more relaxed.

Interested in floating? Here is more information: https://www.schwerelos.wien/floating