By Dr. Geno Mayes, PT, DPT

In case you missed my first blog on Wim Hof breathing and cold therapy, click here to see how our little book club of three came together earlier this year.

After kicking things off by reading What Doesn’t Kills Us, our crew was ready to read about some other wellness trends and put them to the test.

Salt Float / Floatation Therapy / Sensory Deprivation

After reading Carney’s book The Wedge, we were most interested in testing out what it might be like to experience a float tank. To experience complete isolation and sensory deprivation in a tank filled with about 1000 pounds of Epsom salts and 10 inches of body temperature water. Once you lay down and that lid closes, all light and noise disappears.

It all sounded a little intimidating, but who wouldn’t want to experience something that might relieve stress, improve sleep, stimulate creativity & mental clarity, reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system?

Here’s what happened when we gave this health hack a try:

👍👎 Geno - floatation Therapy mixed review

Imagine being in a dark 8’x5’ room, floating in silence for 90 mins…

We had read about transformative experiences that happen when you dull the senses and remove all the distracting stimuli in life. Well I can’t say I had a life-altering experience, but I did find it to be peaceful and relaxing overall. I think I semi-dosed off to sleep for a few minutes. I personally found it a little challenging to totally quiet my mind. I think if the place had set more of a meditative environment prior to entering, I may have enjoyed it more. While some swear by this, I can’t say that I’ll be racing back to do it again. 

👍👎Carlos - Mixed review

I was hoping for a serious meditative experience, but I found that I was not able to shut off the chattering of my mind. The sensation of floating and the dark was pleasant, but I got bored toward the end of the 90 mins. If I were going to do something like this again, I would spend a few weeks practicing meditation first to help get me in the right frame of mind before getting in the tank.

👎Brian - salt float fail

I was so pumped for this. I thought it would be the closest thing I'd feel to zero gravity. Maybe it was, and I just have absolutely no business going to space! 

It felt awesome for a few minutes after I initially closed the hatch and laid down. But the combination of the water being a little warm and my body slowly moving around the tank in complete darkness started to make me feel a little nauseous. At first I wasn't sure so I tried to ignore it and just enjoy the experience. A few minutes later though, I realized I was in a bad place. I opened the hatch and sat there for a minute, then realized I had to call it quits or I would have made a terrible mess in the tank! 

After waiting in the lobby where the manager told me that people who easily get vertigo sometimes have issues like this (thanks for telling me AFTER!!), I went to my car with the windows open for a bit and then decided I needed to get home to throw up. I do wonder whether the bowl of lentils I ate for lunch that day was too close in time to the float. Either way, the nausea didn't end until the following day. 

Since I was hoping to completely let go and explore some deep parts of my mind, this was a terrible and truly disappointing experience. 

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