Sensory deprivation: My Float Tank Experience

I recently took the advice of a colleague and spent 90 minutes in a sensory deprivation float tank to help myself relax better. Scary?! Absolutely not, it was amazing.

Preparation

I was a bit anxious about the experience overall. Being completed isolated from light, sound, etc. and in such a small enclosed tank. I’m not normally a claustrophobic person, so in general, I wasn’t worried about that part. But the “tank” itself had some how made it into my mind being like something out of the movies.

Like most things in my life, I did a ton of research. I watched YouTube videos, read blog posts, and talked to several people. All research concluded with the same experience:

“It was awesome.”

Ariving and Getting In

The whole experience was much like a spa.

Check-in. Get escorted to a private room with a lock on the door (several people have asked).

Shower. Get in the pod. Swimsuit optional.

In many ways, this part is very similar to a tanning experience, just in a MUCH bigger room. And, the tanning bed is more like a bathtub full of water.

First Impressions

The tank was a bit wider than a normal bath tub and much longer. It was covered, which allowed me to easily sit up inside. One end was sealed off and the other end was a lightweight door that didn’t have a lock on either side. (several people have asked)

The tank itself was not at all intimidating: much more spa-futuristic than I had imagined.

The water was about 1 ft deep and was saturated with 800 pounds of Epsom salt. It was a perfect 94 degrees F, which is the temperature of the surface of your skin. Literally, it was perfect.

The first thing I noticed (and expected) was the buoyancy of the water. Floating was effortless. In fact, it was quite challenging to make myself go below the surface.

“I spent the first 5 minutes wiggling around like a toddler in a kiddie pool.”

This was a whole new experience for me, and for whatever reason, there were a dozen things I felt I had to experiment with: swimming on my stomach, grabbing my kneels in the shape of a ball, etc. I spent the first 5 minutes like a toddler in a kiddie pool. I was just fascinated with this defeat of gravity.

I was floating.

Getting Comfortable

One thing that several people complained about was neck pain. I’ve read, this pain is almost always caused by people not truly relaxing in the tank. There is still a bit of “flexing” that your body is doing, thinking it is needed to support itself. It’s not required.

As a rookie, I experienced a little of this myself. My initial body position was like sleeping on your back with your arms at your side. I felt some subtle neck pain within about 5-10 minutes.

Following recommendations, I put my hands above my head, as if I was making a relaxed “touchdown” signal. Almost instantly, the neck pain disappeared.

Time to relax.

Trying Too Hard

In my research, many people talked about the ease of meditation in the float tank. I had went in with the expectation that removing all sensory inputs, my mind would just instantly relax.I was eager to get these relaxation benefits, so I tried to focus really hard on my breathing - somewhat “forcing” the process of relaxing.

After about 5 minutes, I realized I was working WAY too hard for me to ever relax.

The air was too warm and humid and my heightened awareness of getting value from the float was putting too much pressure on.

I decided to bring my arms back down to my sides and stop trying to do anything.

The moment I decided to stop was the true start of my float. By this point, I would say I wasted about 20-30 minutes. However, my neck pain was gone and I could tell I had actually started to really relax in my entire body.

What Just Happened?

Fast forward what I perceived was around 5 minutes. During this time, I had completely let go of any conscious thought or control of my body. In a similar way to accidentally falling asleep and then waking up. Except, completely void of any groggy or confused feelings.

I remember laying there thinking about what had happened. It was sort of like witnessing thought, but being active on it or controlling it. Similar to a dream, I guess.

I remember having a conversation with myself, something like:

“Whoa, what just happened?” Whew, I am… R E L A X E D!

“Wow, this is cool…” - “I should open my eyes.”

“Oh wait, I think they’ve been open the whole time…”

Crazy

Relaxed

In a difficult way to explain, I was no longer sensing my arms, fingers or legs. I mean, I could control them if I needed to (unlike when they “fall asleep” due to poor circulation), but I couldn’t really feel them or feel their contact with the water. Again, this wasn’t a scary thing, and I think it contributed to the overall “disconnect” the mind and body were making.

A few times during this period, my body would twitch. It reminded me of those hypnic jerks when you’re falling asleep.

The whole experience was a lot like sleeping while being awake.

This was by far the coolest, most relaxing experience I had ever had. It’s hard to compare with anything else. The closest analogy I could use to describe it would be saying it’s like sleeping while you’re awake.

Wrapping Up

As I exited the tank, showered and paid for my session. I recalled the feeling similar to what it feels like after getting a really good massage: total mind/body relaxed, mildly euphoric and definitely happy.

I was a bit surprised, after returning home, the feelings continued. In fact, usually feelings from a massage wear off after a few hours. For the next day or so, the happy/euphoric feeling continued. It was really fascinating to be lasting so long.

For anyone considering floating, I highly recommend it. Make sure to book 90 minutes if you can. The extra time will help you get comfortable and you can maximize your time actually relaxing.