What Science Tells about Floating

Research has been going on for years at floatation laboratories to investigate floating’s effects. A complete guide to floating has been written by Michael Hutchinson. The following theories are taken from The Book of Floating - Exploring the Private Sea.

 

The Seven Theories of Floating

1

Antigravity

The buoyancy provided by the dense Epsom salt solution eliminates the body's specific gravity and brings the floater close to an experience of total weightlessness. Gravity, which has been estimated to be related to 90 percent of all central nervous system activity, is probably the single largest cause of human health problems. Bad backs, sagging abdomens, aching feet, painful joints, and muscular tension result from our unique, but unnatural, upright posture. This theory asserts that—by freeing our brain and skeletal system from gravity—floating liberates vast amounts of energy and allows large areas of the brain to deal with matters of the mind, spirit, and enhanced awareness of internal states.

 

2

Brain Wave

More interesting than the well-known alpha waves generated by the brain in moments of relaxation are the slower theta waves. Theta waves are accompanied by vivid memories, free association, sudden insights, creative inspiration, and feelings of serenity and oneness with the universe. It is a mysterious, elusive state—potentially highly productive and enlightening. However, experimenters have had a difficult time studying theta waves, and this state is hard to maintain, as people tend to fall asleep once they begin generating theta waves. One way to produce theta waves is through the art of meditation. Akira Kazamatsu and Tomio Hirai conducted a study of Zen monks conducted where they charted the monks' brainwaves as they entered meditative states. This research indicated that the four meditative plateaus (from alpha to the more sublime theta) paralleled their mental states and the number of years spent in Zen training. Those monks with over twenty years of meditative experience generated the greatest amount of theta; they also were not asleep, but rather were mentally alert. Most of us are not able to spend two decades learning ways to generate theta waves. Several recent studies (at Texas A&M and the University at Colorado) have shown that floating increases the production of theta waves. Floaters quickly enter the theta state while remaining awake, consciously aware of all the vivid imagery and creative thoughts that pass through their minds. After leaving the floatation environment, floaters continue to generate more creativity-promoting theta waves for up to three weeks.

 

3

Left Brain/Right Brain

The two hemispheres or the neocortex operate in fundamentally different modes. The left hemisphere excels at detail by processing information that is small-scale and requires fine resolution. It operates analytically by splitting or dissection. On the other hand, the right hemisphere is good at putting all the pieces together. It operates by pattern recognition and by visually, intuitively, and rapidly absorbing large-scale information. In the sunshine of a bright day, a person cannot see the stars. Similarly, the noisy chattering of the dominant verbal/analytical left brain, whose qualities are the more cultivated and valued in our culture, drown out the subtle contents of the right hemisphere. Recent research indicates that floating increases right-brain (or minor hemisphere) function. Floating tunes out the external stimuli and plunges us into literal and figurative darkness. Suddenly the entire universe of stars and galaxies is spread out before our eyes. Or, as brain researcher Dr. Thomas Budzynski of the University of Colorado put it, "In a floatation environment, the right hemisphere comes out and says, ‘Whoopee.’”

 

4

Three Brain

In a series of seminal studies produced over the last twenty-five years, Paul MacLean, chief brain researcher at the National Institute for Mental Health, has presented convincing evidence that the human brain has three separate physiological layers, each corresponding to a stage in our evolutionary history. In this "Triune Brain Theory," the most ancient layer is called the reptile brain; it controls basic, self-preservative reproductive and life sustaining functions. Sitting atop the reptile brain is the iambic system, which MacLean had dubbed the visceral brain because it generates all our emotions. The most recent part of the brain to develop is the "thinking cap" of convoluted gray matter called the neocortex. This is the seat of our abstract, cognitive functions: memory, intellect, language, and consciousness. While these three separate brains have overlapping functions, they are all quite different in chemistry, structure, action, and style. Three brains should be better than one, but there is insufficient communication and coordination between the neocortex and the two older levels due to a design error. This lack of communication results in a chronic dissociation between the higher and lower brains, what MacLean calls schizaphysiology, and which we experience in the form of conflicting drives: unconscious and conscious, savage and civilized, lusty and loving, ritualistic and symbolic, rational and verbal. There are times when the levels do act in harmony, as in peak experiences when body and mind unite in exhilarating moments of vitality and our actions come effortlessly and spontaneously. However, it's difficult to predict when these perfect moments will occur. Now there is evidence that suggests that, due to heightened internal awareness and decreased physical arousal, floating increases the vertical organization of the brain, enhancing communication and harmony between the separate levels. Floating, it has been hypothesized, can provide us with peak experiences almost at will.

 

5

Neurochemical

Neuroscientists have recently discovered that the brain is an endocrine organ secreting numerous neurochemicals, which influence our behavior. Our brains secrete hormones that make us feel happy, anxious, depressed, shy, sleepy, or sexy. Each of us creates different amounts of these various neurochemicals. For example, those who create more endorphins (natural opiates) experience more pleasure as a result of a given experience than those who create fewer endorphins. Tests indicate that floating increased the secretion of endorphins at the same time it reduces the levels of a number of stress-related neurochemicals, such as adrenaline, nordpinephrine, ACTH, and cortisol. These substances can cause tension, anxiety, and irritability, and are related to ailments such as heart disease, hypertension, and high levels of cholesterol. One other neurochemical theory is the “return of the womb” explanation. Since pregnant women produce up to eight times the normal endorphin levels, the fetus experiences true prenatal bliss. When a floater is suspended in the dense, warm solution and enclosed in darkness with her body pulsing rhythmically and her brain pumping out endorphins, the experience possibly stirs up subconscious memories and calls up profoundly deep associations. It is no coincidence that at least one commercial float center is named “The Womb Room.”

 

6

Biofeedback

Because of biofeedback research (including Johns Hopkins researcher John Basmajian’s conclusive study of subjects consciously firing off single motor-unit neurons), we now know that humans can learn to exercise conscious control over virtually every cell in their bodies. Processes long thought to be involuntary—such as the rhythm and amplitude of our brain waves, healing, blood pressure, the rate or force of heart contractions, respiratory rates, smooth-muscle tension, and the secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters—are now thought to be controllable. Biofeedback machines enhance concentration by focusing on a single, subtle change in the body. When the machine amplifies this change, we are able to shut off our awareness of the external environment. This shutting-off of external stimuli is exactly what the floatation environment does. The tank magnifies every physical sensation and acts almost as an “organic” biofeedback machine. Because there is no possibility of outside distraction, we are able to relax deeply and focus at will upon any part or system of the body.

 

7

Homeostasis

The human body has an exquisitely sensitive self-monitoring and self-regulating system that is constantly working to maintain the body in homeostasis—an optimal state of balance, harmony, equilibrium, and stability. Considered in these terms, we can define stress as a disruption of our internal equilibrium and a disturbance to our natural homeostasis. Research now indicates that many of floating’s most powerful effects come from its tendency to return the body to a state of homeostasis. When we view the mind and body as a single system, it becomes clear that external stimuli are constantly affecting the system’s equilibrium where every noise, every degree of temperature above or below the body's optimal level, every encounter with other people, and everything we see and feel can disrupt our homeostasis. When we enter the tank, however, we abruptly stop making constant adjustments to counter outside stimuli. With no external threats and no pressure to adapt to these events, the system can devote all its energy to restoring itself to its normal state. This state, of course, includes feelings of health, vigor, enthusiasm, and immense pleasure in being alive.