When I mentioned to a friend that my baseline neurosis had evolved from daily stress into anxiety, her response was, "Go for a float!"
A float?
Yes â spend an hour in a dark, soundproof room floating in a salted, body-temperature warm pool. "You just lie there and meditate," my friend told me.
As a doctor wary of overprescribing medications, I was intrigued by the idea that floating could combat stress and anxiety. So, I looked to see if there was any science to back up this claim. I visited the lab of neuropsychologist Justin Feinstein at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, who is investigating float therapy as a nonpharmacological treatment for people with conditions like anxiety and depression.
Feinstein asked if I wanted to try it. So, after a quick shower, I jumped right in. It took a while to let my thoughts quiet down, but eventually I was so relaxed I fell asleep â while floating!
Though the treatment sounds promising, it's important to remember that this research is preliminary. While floating isn't a proven therapy, there's little harm in trying to float some of that stress away.
'Float tanks,' also known as 'isolation tanks' or 'sensory deprivation tanks,' block out ambient noise, light, and keep the surrounding water at a temperature matching human body temperature. This creates the illusion that the 'floater' has no senses. Many people experience a highly relaxed state; some also experience hallucinations, as the brain makes up for the lack of sensory information.
Encourage the student to mimic the article's conversational and relational tone. For example, get the student to pause before saying, 'A float?' and after 'Yes â.'
A float tank can be seen at this link, if students are curious to see one: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/I-sopod_Flotation_TâĤ
