Floating, floatation, float therapy...whatever you choose to call it, it is quite simply the most incredible means of stress relief and relaxation available. We will go into further detail on this page, but essentially the tank contains 10 inches of super-saturated salt solution, creating an environment similar to the Dead Sea which enables the individual to float effortlessly on the surface. The water is heated to skin temperature (93.5 degrees) so that once settled, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between parts of the body that are in contact with the water, and those that aren't, in effect "fooling" the brain into believing that the person is floating in mid-air.

Unless you are an astronaut, this is the only situation you will encounter where your body is completely free from the harmful forces of gravity...every single muscle in the body is allowed to totally relax. With ear plugs in and, if you wish, the tank's interior lights off, the quietness and the darkness allow the mind to drift into the deepest state of relaxation possible. The buoyancy created by the dense Epsom-salt solution effectively removes the effects of gravity on the body, and brings the individual close to an experience of total weightlessness. A massive amount of brain-power is used every second in order to deal with the huge strain that gravity places on one's body. As the body is now totally supported, there is little for the brain to do and every muscle is allowed to totally relax.

With no commands needing to be sent out, the logical side of the brain is rendered redundant, and its activity slows down until it synchronises with the creative side. This leaves the individual in a dream-like state, akin to the thoughts experienced just before you go to sleep. In this state, the brain releases vast amounts of endorphins.

While the state of relaxation may be deep and profound, the individual's brain stays dreamily alert. To get technical, the brain gradually shifts from its usual "alpha" state to generate theta waves, the state-of-mind that Buddhist monks try to reach through hours of meditation and years of training. You can achieve this in a matter of minutes just by lying down! Best of all, the effects of floatation are cumulative - the more regularly you float, the better it gets.

The Float Session

Each tank is situated in a lockable private room and changing area, equipped with an invigorating power shower for use before and after the session. There is a light inside the tank for beginners, or for those who may not feel secure in the dark although we have found that almost all users (even those who previously claimed to be claustrophobic) are floating with the light off within three sessions. As with the internal light, the door to the tank is fully controllable from within, allowing the individual to choose whether to float with the door open or closed.
After a quick shower, the individual enters the tank and ambient music is played for the first ten minutes. 50 minutes of golden silence follows, and as the session draws to a close, the music is played again to make the user aware that they should leave the tank. Another shower is now necessary to remove the salt from the skin. Shampoos & soaps are provided free of charge, and we provide a towel hire service for just £1. There is also a room set aside for hair drying. Because of the saline nature of the solution within the tank we advise that all clients should not shave on the day of their float session.

Who Uses Float Tanks?

There is no such thing as the stereotypical float tank user. Our customers range from 16 to 80 years old, and come from a wide range of social and professional backgrounds. On the whole, the vast majority of our customers use the floatation tank for relaxation and elimination of stress. However we are also visited by clients who use the tanks for many different purposes. We are particularly popular with heavily pregnant women, businessmen & women who regularly fly long-haul and sufferers of chronic back pain and migraine. We are also visited often by sportsmen from various fields (particularly runners) who use the tanks for the maximisation of training routines or for accelerated recovery from injuries. This is a relatively new innovation in floatation therapy and new data is being produced all the time, although the Australian Institute of Sports regard the use of the float tank as an integral part of the training regime for their sportsmen and women. As we know, when it comes to sports, the Aussies usually know what they’re talking about.

For several years float tanks were solely used by researchers in university laboratories or by private individuals. In 1983 however, Floating increased in popularity as more became known about Floatation and its effects. Today, floatation tanks can be found in health spas, beauty farms, bio-fitness institutes, hospitals, fitness centres & professional sports clubs, and are used for "super-learning" courses by some American Universities.

The Effects of Floating

Following is a short list of some of the effects, which have been reported by researchers and/or users:
Promotes total calm & peaceful relaxation; eliminates fatigue and jet lag; improves sleep; alleviates stress (mental and physical); energises, rejuvenates and revitalises.

Stimulates left/right brain synchronisation; shifts brain waves from Beta to lower frequency Alpha, Theta and even Delta; creates mental clarity, alertness; increases creativity, problem solving; heightens visualisation; deepens meditation; expands awareness, intensifies acuteness of all the senses, accelerates learning.
Enhances hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis; increases motivation, diminishes depression, anxiety and fear; facilitates freedom from habits, phobias and addictions.

Improves athletic performance and helps prevent sports injuries, speeds healing process.
Decreases the production of Cortisol, ACTH, Lactic Acid and Adrenaline; increases production of endorphins; quickens rehabilitation and recovery; relieves pain - arthritis, migraines, injuries etc.; boosts immune function.
Improves circulation and distribution of oxygen and nutrients; reduces blood pressure, pulse, heart rate and oxygen consumption.

Sportsmen and Sportswomen

Whilst in the tank, every single muscle is allowed to rest and recover. While you may think that lying on your bed or sofa would have a similar effect, even in these circumstances gravity is constantly applying vast amounts of stress on various parts of the body. In the tank, gravity is not a factor. As such this total relaxation gives all muscles a much-needed break, and the benefits can be startling. Rate of recovery after physical exercise is improved beyond recognition. What normally takes a long period of time - usually days for recovery from a marathon - the tank compresses into a number of hours. By relieving the stresses of gravity, floating takes the weight off strained bones, joints, and muscles and increases the efficiency of the blood circulating through the body. Recovery time after injury can also be much improved.

More recently, athletes using the tank in conjunction with visualisation techniques have found rapid improvement in their performances. As the individual enters the theta state, the brain becomes more open to suggestion. In effect the central nervous system can be trained to produce the "perfect performance". This technique has been used for many years in countries such as Australia and America, with names as widely recognised as Carl Lewis attributing part of their success to visualisation within the float tank. For example, after years of under-achievement, American football team the Philadelphia Eagles acquired a tank and went on to win the NFC championship. Their baseball-playing neighbours, The Phillies, noticed the tank in their dressing room. Many of their players began floating and the team went on to win its first world series for decades.

While we can't promise to make you a World Champion track athlete, or championship winning baseball player, we can provide a platform to maximise any training regime. This is not fuzzy logic. Experts from sporting and medical institutions such as Stanford and Yale have conducted hours of research in carefully controlled experiments. The results are quantifiable and indisputable, with some experts even claiming that an hour in the float tank using visualisation and imagery is superior to 10 hours of repetitive field practice.

Pain Control

As already discussed, Floating causes the body to release endorphins, (the body's own painkiller), in particular the beta-endorphin. Released in times of comfort as well as pain they are far more powerful than many prescription drugs. Sufferers of migraine, back pain, arthritis, skin disorders and many other ailments can find particular relief from regular floatation. There is also indisputable evidence that floating lowers blood pressure and heartbeat rate, and can minimise the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Migraine sufferers in particular can find solace and relief within the tank.

Business

Perhaps as a consequence to the get-rich-quick lifestyles of the mid-eighties, stress -related illness became a major factor affecting an ever-increasing number of businesses and their workforces. Today the problem has escalated to the extent that it costs British industry £3.7 billion annually. An incredible 10-13 billion working days are lost every year, and the courts have a backlog of 6400 individuals attempting to gain compensation from former employers for stress-related illness. Time Magazine recently ran a front page proclaiming stress to be the major epidemic of the modern day.

As such, many major companies are trying to head off such actions by seeking out remedies in order to maintain a healthy, happy productive workforce. Increasingly these companies are turning to floatation therapy for the solution.
While there are many alternatives for stress relief, such as Yoga and Tai Chi, these tend to demand a high level of commitment and dedication from the customer to achieve noticeable results, as the effects are not instant. It may be a matter of weeks or even months before any noticeable effect is attained. Floatation therapy offers an instant relief, and requires no skills from the user other than the ability to lie still for an hour.

A float session is guaranteed to eliminate stress, leaving you with a clear mind to concentrate 100% on the matter in hand. It increases creativity, the ability to solve problems, concentration span, personal motivation and energy levels.

Epsom Salt

Many years ago Epsom Salt was the most popular medical drug in England. The people who used it didn't know exactly why it was so beneficial. They knew nothing of its antiseptic and restorative qualities, but they did understand that in some way it was good for health and promoted longevity. They found by experience that not only did it keep away sclerosis, kidney diseases and rheumatism, but that it was also very useful in correcting any tendency to put on too much weight.

Epsom Salt is now made from a rock substance called Dolomite, which is found abundantly in, and derives its name from, a mountainous district in the South Tyrolean Alps called "The Dolomites". This Dolomite rock belongs to a very large group of substances known as 'salts', in which an alkaline base is combined with an acid radical to form a neutral substance (the 'salt'). It consists of two metals, calcium and magnesium, combined with two non-metallic elements, carbon and oxygen, and takes the form of a neutral double salt known as carbonate of calcium and magnesium. Epsom Salt is also a 'salt' but instead of being made of magnesium, oxygen and carbon, as is the case with the carbon salt, its constituents are magnesium, oxygen and sulphur. Chemically it is known as magnesium sulphate. Magnesium sulphate is not found in a natural state, so it has to be made artificially from some suitable magnesium containing substance. The substance best suited for this purpose is Dolomite, mentioned above.

The Secret of its Value

As mentioned earlier, in the process of manufacture the carbon ingredient of the magnesium carbonate has been replaced by another non-metallic element, namely sulphur, forming magnesium sulphate. The magnesium prefers carbon to sulphur and this sulphate readily gives up its sulphur and seizes upon carbon whenever a favourable opportunity for making the exchange presents itself. This strong affinity for carbon is the secret of its great value for medical purposes. Carbon, in one form or another, is the main constituent of the building materials which go to form our vegetation and so, in turn, to provide our foodstuffs, and it is in the crude form of carbon that the waste products of the human body are excreted. The magnesium draws out the carbon and renders the now inert residue soluble, thereby facilitating excretion.

The Remedial Action of Epsom Salt

It has already been pointed out that the distinguishing feature of the action of Epsom Salt is that it is constantly trying to revert to its original carbon state and that because of this affinity for carbon and carbon compounds it renders valuable aid in dealing with diseased conditions of the body.

As far as its medical action is concerned, the human body survives entirely on foods which contain carbon ingredients, and that the waste emanating from this food takes the form of carbon. This is the daily routine of a person in robust health. The greater part of this carbon waste passes out of the human body through the lungs or bronchial tubes in the form of carbon dioxide. The process whereby the carbon waste matter is converted into carbon dioxide is a form of combustion known as oxidation.

In order that the unused carbon of the food material should be disposed of in this way, it is necessary that the blood and the tissues should be supplied with sufficient oxygen to bring about this oxidation. If the required quantity of oxygen is not forthcoming to complete the process, retarded combustion ensues, and this results in the formation of partially oxidised forms of carbonaceous waste, such as uric acid, and other acids and toxins, which are the outcome of putrefaction.

The partially oxidised carbon compounds are apt to accumulate in the blood and in the tissues, thereby giving rise to ill-health and disease. It is here that Epsom Salt, rightly administered, proves great value. By its strong affinity for carbon and carbon compounds, it absorbs and nullifies this harmful waste in the manner already described, and acts as a beneficent remedial agent.

Taken internally in small doses, Epsom Salt acts on the kidneys, and by increasing the action of these organs, brings about a greater elimination of waste matter solution through these channels. Its chief value, however, lies in external application, because of its power of drawing stored tissue-wastes from the body through the skin. Magnesium sulphate paste is still widely recommended by doctors today to aid in drawing out impurities and poisons from the body.

The History & Development of the Floatation Tank

The first floatation tank was developed in 1950 by the American neurophysiologist Professor Dr John C. Lilly while working at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Together with his associate Dr. Jay Shirley, Dr. Lilly became intrigued by the question of the origins of conscious activity within the brain. The question was whether the brain needed external stimuli to keep its conscious states active. Lilly and his associate set to work trying to devise a system that would restrict environmental stimulation as much as was practical and feasible. Lilly's first tank was one in which the floater was suspended upright, entirely underwater, head completely covered by an underwater breathing apparatus and mask (now you know where the producers of "Altered States" got their ideas!). Over the years Lilly continued his experiments with floatation, simplifying and improving the general design of the tank. Dr. Lilly found that he could float in a more relaxing supine position, rather than suspended feet downward in fresh water, if more buoyant salt water was used. Other refinements, such as water heaters with thermostats sensitive enough to keep the water at perfect temperature, an air pump to keep the air in the tank fresh, and a water filter for the re-use of the Epsom salts, were added over the years. By the early 1970's, Lilly had perfected the floatation tank in much the design used today.

Research on Floating

There is a wealth of material available regarding floatation and its effectiveness in a wide range of applications, particularly in a sporting and medical context. The following is just a small selection of publications that reveal some highly interesting data (well, as interesting as research data gets!), and even if you're a regular float devotee, some of these results will startle you. All of the clinical trials have been conducted by eminent scholars in their respective fields, running control experiments in tandem to ensure the accuracy of the results. In every instance, no matter what the scenario, subjects who have used the floatation tank prior to these tests have shown vastly superior results to those who did not float.

Some of these titles can be hard to find, but Michael Hutchison's definitive "Book of Floating" is widely accepted as the best book ever written on the subject, and we always have copies in stock.
Should you require any data for a specific area, please feel free to contact us and we should be able to point you in the right direction.

R.E.S.T. (Restricted Environmental Stimulation) Research

In 1982, IRIS (International R.E.S.T. Investigators Society) was founded in order to give the increased number of R.E.S.T. researchers a platform to share their research findings. The goal of IRIS is to make a communication network available to R.E.S.T. researchers and those interested in R.E.S.T. and to organise an International R.E.S.T. conference every three years. The research papers which have been presented at these conferences have also been published in books. If you are interested in certain research topics concerning the effects of Floating (for example the effects of Floating on the enhancement of creativity, enhancement of sporting performance, stress management, biological effects, psycho physiological effects, hypnosis, skin disease, treatment of habit disorders or treatment of physical and psychological disorders such as anxiety, children with autism, pre-menstrual syndrome, chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis) feel free to e mail us to request the relevant research documents.

Available Literature on R.E.S.T. Research

The Book of Floating, exploring the private sea (1984) Reprinted (2003)
Gateway Books, Nevada City, California
First International Conference on REST and Self-Regulation. (1983)
T.H. Fine & J.W.Turner. IRIS Publications, Toledo, Ohio
Second International Conference on REST (1985)
T.H. Fine & J.W.Turner. IRIS Publications, Toledo, Ohio
Restricted Environmental Stimulation: Research and Commentary. (1990)
T.H. Fine & J.W.Turner. (Based on the 3rd International Conference on REST) Medical College of Ohio Press, Toledo, Ohio
Clinical and Experimental Restricted Environmental Stimulation: New Developments and Perspectives. (1993)
(Based on the 4th International Conference on REST) A.F. Barabasz & M. Barabasz. Springer-Verlag New York Inc.,

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I'm claustrophobic. How can I use the tank?
A. This is a common concern. You can choose to float with the door of the tank open and with the interior light on. Once we have explained to our customers that they are in charge of the whole procedure, their worries subside, and usually they go on to float with the door closed and the light off. Both of these functions are fully controllable from within the tank.

Q. How is hygiene maintained?
A. The high saline content of the floatation environment plus a tiny amount of disinfectant ensures that nothing harmful can survive within the tank. The water within the tank is automatically filtered between each customer, and further cleanliness is assured as we tell all customers to shower before and after each float session.

Q. Is there any risk of drowning?
A. The high buoyancy of the water makes it impossible for the individual to go beneath the surface. Once settled it is only possible to touch the bottom of the tank with a great deal of effort.

Q. Do I need to bring anything for the float session?
A. No. Everything you need is provided by us. You won't need a swimsuit as each tank is situated in its own private room. You can bring your own towel if you wish, but we provide big, fluffy clean ones for £1. All of our showers have shampoo and body-gel provided. You will only need to bring your usual post-shower products such as deodorant, skin creams etc.
If you use contact lenses, please remember to bring something to store them in while you float.

Q. Are their any side-effects?
A. Not in the true sense of the word. Some first-time floaters can emerge from the tank feeling slightly nauseous. This is actually a good sign as it indicates that built-up stress is in fact leaving the body. We very rarely experience any cases of nausea in subsequent visits.

Q. Do I need to prepare in any way?
A. No. Floating is perhaps the easiest pastime imaginable. The only precaution that you should take is that you should not shave at all on the day of your float session. The high salt content of the water is extremely irritating to freshly shaved skin. We provide Vaseline in every room for people to cover any small cuts and grazes, and this can be effective in covering shaved skin, but our advice is to avoid shaving altogether on the day of your float.

Q. I'm pregnant. Can floating harm my baby?
A. Absolutely not. In fact heavily pregnant women probably get more relief from the float tank than anyone else. Just lying on a bed can be extremely uncomfortable for women in the later stages of pregnancy due to the massive gravitational strain placed on the body. The float tank is a wonderful haven to which pregnant women can escape. We do however recommend that like most activities floating should be avoided in the first trimester.