I've had a few floatation tank sessions. Not really total sensory deprivation though.
Pros: Everytime I leave the tank I'm deeply relaxed and not tired. I would be walking and talking afterwards deeply, calmly and feel good. The floating is easy, and it's in shallow water.
Cons: One thing for me is that it made my neck hurt. I usually use a pillow to support my head in bed, but that not an option in the water. I don't have neck issues normally but the tank brought out this. I've the usual bad geek posture I guess. Any minor pain quickly went though.
The place I went supplied little floating pillows for just this reason. For people that haven't done this, the issue is that you have to tip your head farther back then is comfortable before the water starts supporting it.
Same thing happens to me, I do blame myself for not exercising more and being more flexible.
Once this happens, just move your hands above your head and lock fingers, you can continue float, your neck will not hurt you.
When I am doing longer 90 mins sessions and after some time, your neck starts hurting and this prevents neck hurting and I can have my full session. If I did yoga, I wouldn't have this problem, but I am wimpy and lazy.
I've tried sensory deprivation tanks twice and fell asleep instantly both times, though my goal was to hallucinate. It was really restful, pleasant sleep. Probably means my normal sleep is low quality, which makes sense since I have sleep apnea.
My anecdote: a friend of mine gave me a ticket for a float tank in London for free. Decided to try.
As others mention in this thread, it was not completely depriving of stimuli, but close enough. The air felt a bit colder than the water, so I definitely felt where one ends and the other begins. It was a 60 mins session, first 10-15 mins with relaxing music.
What was immediately noticeable to me is that I initially had incredible back pain. I realized this was just tight muscles. After some 20mins this went away and I actually felt like after a massage. Very interesting and I was almost disorientingly calm.
On out of body experiences and other magic: At around 45 mins I had slight hallucinations. A weird colorful line appeared on the horizon and I started hearing some of the best drum and bass I have ever heard (was not an existing song). Probably a flashback from my youth when I was in the scene.
All in all very interesting and I thought about buying a float tank at home (they cost 10-15k-ish). I was renting at the time however so it was not an option otherwise I would have definitely done it. It' on par or better than a massage for me when it comes to the aftereffects. The process itself is less enjoyable though than a massage.
Edit: one of the commenters asked about a bad experience.
I was actually fairly scared to try it, although I have relatively extensive experience with meditation at the time I was suffering from pretty bad anxiety and I was afraid to both meditate or try float tanks in case it makes it worse. I can say it provided a short term (hours to days) noticeable calm, so it definitely did not make it worse. YMMV
Same here. I had bad neck and back pain, and it was relieved after a few minutes in the tank.
I love massages (which are probably better on the muscles due to increasing circulation), but I feel that tanks are better for the mind. Although floating would relieve strain on the back and neck!
People who haven't had true out-of-body experiences use the term without realizing what it is to have one. To be honest, it's the most fucked up experience of my life... I have done floating in the sensory depriv tanks but it takes something on the order of ayahuasca to actually leave your body.
Playing a concert very important to me, I experienced my first out of body experience during the entire first number. I remember floating about 1 meter above my head and looking down on the piano and watching me play. Curious.
What I do not completely understand here, or seems counter-intuitive to me: it's called sensory deprivation, but you're floating in water. To me that sounds like a sensory impulse (to the skin, possibly vestibular system to a lesser extent), at least that is what it feels like when I'm floating with eyes closed and fingers in my ears trying to block sound (which might not be perfect though - also I've never done this in water which was almost completely still). Yet in these reports I don't read much about how that floating feels, or whether that feeling is even present. Would be great if someone who tried this could comment on this aspect.
Once the water settles and you’re completely still, it feels like absolutely nothing on your skin. Zero change from moment to moment in any kind of signal. Sensory deprivation is apt. When you move slightly, you can feel the water.
I’ve been in a sensory deprivation tank. To your question, the first thing you realize is that there’s no chance of drowning so it’s easier to let go. It’s not like you’re into a pool or out in the sea where it’s harder to relax because you’re exposed to externalities or you’re afraid that you might drown. You can’t drown in a tank because there’s like 20 cm of water in there. Once you let go you don’t feel anything. Everything is pitch black, you can’t hear sounds, and of course you don’t feel the water because there’s no movement on the water. You’re inside a controlled environment. It’s also easy to panic and a lot of people do which makes the whole experience extremely uncomfortable, especially if the water gets in your eyes because it’s highly salinated and hurts like a motherf*cker.
Aside from that it’s like meditation once you get the grip of it. But it’s easier than meditation because it doesn’t require a lot of exercise to make it work.
Maybe depends on the tank, but when I was floating I was motionless and after 3-5 minutes the water gets still and you stop feeling it.
Until you do some movement you don't feel your limbs.
I was mostly concentrating on my thoughts, so maybe that impacted my experience.
The temperature has to be perfectly matched between air and water - the water has so much salt in it you really are floating (like dead sea ++); it's pitch dark and perfectly still.... you really are "sensory deprived"... it's up to you to calm your mind.
Somebody who really enjoys it gave me a trial package once and I did a few sessions. You're absolutely right, I mostly had the sensation of floating in water.
In the end I determined this isn't useful for me, but there's probably people who are less sensitive to this kind of sensation.
The topic of this post is covered in an interesting book by John C. Gowan, called Trance, Art, and Creativity[0] which was brought to mind by another recent submission, "What it means to teach gifted learners well"[1] (Gowan was founder of the National Association of Gifted Children in 1958)[2]. I first stumbled on his work (which spans a wide range from educational psychology to esoteric parapsychology) in a bookstore in Ithaca, NY and have always been curious if others are familiar with it.
Richard Feynman describes his own experience of sensory deprivation tank in "Altered States" chapter of his "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" memoir.
He had interesting experiences. The best is to realize you can have them without requiring any infrastructure other than a comfortable safe environment, a bed and uninterrupted silence.
My firsts lucid OBEs were not even voluntarily produced but "emergent" from taking a random nap.
> a comfortable safe environment, a bed and uninterrupted silence.
Luxurious!
No but seriously, a lot of people don't even have access to a quiet and dark bedroom. It was only when I bought my house some years ago that I had that, and it's not even perfect - I prefer to sleep with the window open, frequently there's background noise from the nearby highway (white noise). But depending on wind and atmospheric conditions it can also be deathly silent. Until I start snoring anyway.
Same. I'm convinced OBEs are a form of dreaming, especially when comparing the techniques used for initiating wake-back-to-bed lucid dreaming (relaxing the body & mind, feeling vibrations, being amazed how "real" it is, etc).
My personal experience—I've done it about 4 times. The first time was pretty incredible. Not OBE or anything, but it was one of the few times I've experienced the detachment from self I hear regular meditators talk about so much. The world seemed bright and harsh afterward—I felt like a newborn. The other three times felt like nice epsom salt soaks, sometimes with sleeping.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm always skeptical of reasoning that runs, "This spiritual practice, which requires long learning and dedicated practice, has been shown to offer these benefits. You can get them now using this one weird trick!" It sounds Calvinist and curmudgeonly, but I really don't think there's a shortcut to spiritual improvement: you get what you work for.
You know when you wake from a dream by hitting the bed from falling? That happened to me in the tank. It was either that, or I felt like I started spinning. Was like my gyros were being re-calibrated or something.
If you mean one of those short dreams when you're just about falling asleep (you fall off a bike, you trip, whatever) - it's called a hypnic jerk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk
If you're talking about something else (full on sleep and waking up startled, then ignore me)
Serious question. Is there any chance of ear infection due to the common water, rude people who have urinated in the tank, and the fact that your head is partially submersed?
The saline solution is basically very harsh to bacteria and other microbes. Besides that, UV cleaning is typically used on those kind of floating tanks.
If you wanted to try out such an experience, any recommendations on what makes a good vs. a bad place ? A lot of the websites I found are not very engaging to say the least
After reading the original article I did a quick web search and was surprised to find many places offering isolation tanks or rooms. Reading through the Yelp reviews of many of these places was interesting and you quickly spot trends in treatment by staff, cleanliness, facility layout, etc. I always make sure to read the negative reviews too - even though (unless a place is truly awful) they tend to be dominated by people with self-inflicted problems they can still be a great guide of what not to do :)
I had my first sensory deprivation tank experience about a month ago and I gotta wonder what kind of drugs you all are doing before hand to have these experiences you're describing.
I had heard a lot of stories and I was looking forward to seeing something. All I saw was the same shit I've ever seen behind my eyelids when laying down in bed at night: random retinal ghosting. I didn't feel anything. There wasn't anything special about it. It was exactly the sum of all the parts: like taking a warm bath and having some peace and quiet for a change.
It was nice, but not in any way approaching anything that could be life changing. Go sit in a hot tub with ear plugs and a sleep mask and you're 99% there at a fraction of the cost and without the bullshit "healing crystals" upsell.
Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe y'all got some serious problems of being way too high-strung in your daily life.
It sounds like the author and many of the commenters here (who claim benefits) didn’t go into it blind. They began their mindfulness journey by practicing meditation, and then after a while got into a tank. Thus they were predisposed to having a useful experience, bec they’d done a lot of the mindfulness work already. The float tank just makes reaching a mindfulness state easier, if you already have some of “the tools”.
You sound like someone who hasn’t done any of the work to reach a mindful state and thus had a terrible experience more akin to solitary confinement.
I actually wholeheartedly disagree with the author’s conclusion that a SDtank is a shortcut. He’s using his own experience and the results of one or two studies in a field fraught with badly managed studies that can rarely be replicated. That is, I don’t believe the studies can be taken at face value.
I have floated regularly for the past several years. It's very beneficial. All of this "out of body experience" type talk is unhelpful, IMO. It's not thst common of an experience with the tank, and may deter ppl who could benefit from it.
It doesn't have to be a person sized tank. If you are on the claustrophobic side there appear to be facilities that have entire rooms with a tank in the middle - no close walls. And you don't have to be completely silent or dark in your experience; they all appear to let you select your preference for lighting and sound. Many have underwater speakers if you prefer to have music or something like white noise.
Like with many things, there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way :)
I've always been curious, but never thought to see if there were isolation tanks out there you could just rent on demand - and it turns out there are several places quite close to me - with a variety of options for types, styles and sizes of tanks/rooms. I may have to give it a try.
reminds me of hemi sync back in the days and that was wild.
When I saw myself snoring after listening for like 2 hours though, I quickly decided this is not for me and actually have never touched it again.
I came to the conclusion that since there was no way to prove me right, that this is how people go insane.
The biggest tell for me is that none of the people of reddit that tell you they are floating around the city at night actually know the lottery numbers or anything the like....
If they could actually leave their body to check out things, these people would rule the world.
I don't think the author actually believe to physically be leaving their body. You are not going to gain any additionally information that you do not already have. But, having experienced it, the sensation does feel exactly like getting ripped out of your body and leaving it behind.
The first time definitely has a novelty to the experience of getting in the tank, settling, then floating. Then towards the end of the first session you really start to feel comfortable. Second time around you really get the max relaxation. Floating like that really lets your muscles settle in a way that they never have before - usually I carry that relaxation for a week afterwards. I never was much for massage but floating is amazing.
I did it a few times. Was interesting, but not what I’ve read. No out of body experiences, or other stuff like that. I took no substances, though, maybe they are necessary.
Maybe it’s also a question of quality of the tanks themselves, as I cannot say I was totally sensory-deprived during my time in the tank.
Many of my friends highly recommend it too so I've been debating it!
One of my friends is super attached to his phones and notifications (he has two, one personal and one for work). He said it was a good experience, but weird because he kept feeling the buzz of phone notifications even though they weren't with it. I thought that was pretty interesting.
I found it very relaxing, which I attribute mainly to absorption of magnesium. I usually had a “good” meditation session, but never any experience of non-ordinary consciousness. I stopped going for sessions after contracting a serious case of bacterial dermatitis.
[+] [-] thinkingemote|4 years ago|reply
Pros: Everytime I leave the tank I'm deeply relaxed and not tired. I would be walking and talking afterwards deeply, calmly and feel good. The floating is easy, and it's in shallow water.
Cons: One thing for me is that it made my neck hurt. I usually use a pillow to support my head in bed, but that not an option in the water. I don't have neck issues normally but the tank brought out this. I've the usual bad geek posture I guess. Any minor pain quickly went though.
[+] [-] sopooneo|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] desireco42|4 years ago|reply
Once this happens, just move your hands above your head and lock fingers, you can continue float, your neck will not hurt you.
When I am doing longer 90 mins sessions and after some time, your neck starts hurting and this prevents neck hurting and I can have my full session. If I did yoga, I wouldn't have this problem, but I am wimpy and lazy.
[+] [-] fouc|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cm2012|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] friendly_chap|4 years ago|reply
As others mention in this thread, it was not completely depriving of stimuli, but close enough. The air felt a bit colder than the water, so I definitely felt where one ends and the other begins. It was a 60 mins session, first 10-15 mins with relaxing music.
What was immediately noticeable to me is that I initially had incredible back pain. I realized this was just tight muscles. After some 20mins this went away and I actually felt like after a massage. Very interesting and I was almost disorientingly calm.
On out of body experiences and other magic: At around 45 mins I had slight hallucinations. A weird colorful line appeared on the horizon and I started hearing some of the best drum and bass I have ever heard (was not an existing song). Probably a flashback from my youth when I was in the scene.
All in all very interesting and I thought about buying a float tank at home (they cost 10-15k-ish). I was renting at the time however so it was not an option otherwise I would have definitely done it. It' on par or better than a massage for me when it comes to the aftereffects. The process itself is less enjoyable though than a massage.
Edit: one of the commenters asked about a bad experience. I was actually fairly scared to try it, although I have relatively extensive experience with meditation at the time I was suffering from pretty bad anxiety and I was afraid to both meditate or try float tanks in case it makes it worse. I can say it provided a short term (hours to days) noticeable calm, so it definitely did not make it worse. YMMV
[+] [-] alfiedotwtf|4 years ago|reply
I love massages (which are probably better on the muscles due to increasing circulation), but I feel that tanks are better for the mind. Although floating would relieve strain on the back and neck!
[+] [-] openfuture|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 692|4 years ago|reply
describes it very well. I was so freaked out by the thought of not getting back into my body, I panicked and woke my self up.
I believe/ heard that it can can recreated at will
[+] [-] runekaagaard|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] yanslookup|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] udbhavs|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stinos|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] playpause|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] elorant|4 years ago|reply
Aside from that it’s like meditation once you get the grip of it. But it’s easier than meditation because it doesn’t require a lot of exercise to make it work.
[+] [-] throwxxxaway|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ra|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Tepix|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tazjin|4 years ago|reply
In the end I determined this isn't useful for me, but there's probably people who are less sensitive to this kind of sensation.
[+] [-] dwringer|4 years ago|reply
[0] http://web.archive.org/web/20090101190837/http://www.csun.ed...
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30002087
[2] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-14-mn-3024-s...
[+] [-] pretext|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sebastianconcpt|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sebastianconcpt|4 years ago|reply
My firsts lucid OBEs were not even voluntarily produced but "emergent" from taking a random nap.
[+] [-] Cthulhu_|4 years ago|reply
Luxurious!
No but seriously, a lot of people don't even have access to a quiet and dark bedroom. It was only when I bought my house some years ago that I had that, and it's not even perfect - I prefer to sleep with the window open, frequently there's background noise from the nearby highway (white noise). But depending on wind and atmospheric conditions it can also be deathly silent. Until I start snoring anyway.
[+] [-] odiroot|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hashberry|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thomasqbrady|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ospohngellert|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JasonFruit|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] post_break|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] avh02|4 years ago|reply
If you're talking about something else (full on sleep and waking up startled, then ignore me)
[+] [-] whoomp12342|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] motoboi|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kryptn|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Sebastian_09|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] EricE|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moron4hire|4 years ago|reply
I had heard a lot of stories and I was looking forward to seeing something. All I saw was the same shit I've ever seen behind my eyelids when laying down in bed at night: random retinal ghosting. I didn't feel anything. There wasn't anything special about it. It was exactly the sum of all the parts: like taking a warm bath and having some peace and quiet for a change.
It was nice, but not in any way approaching anything that could be life changing. Go sit in a hot tub with ear plugs and a sleep mask and you're 99% there at a fraction of the cost and without the bullshit "healing crystals" upsell.
Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe y'all got some serious problems of being way too high-strung in your daily life.
[+] [-] vxNsr|4 years ago|reply
You sound like someone who hasn’t done any of the work to reach a mindful state and thus had a terrible experience more akin to solitary confinement.
I actually wholeheartedly disagree with the author’s conclusion that a SDtank is a shortcut. He’s using his own experience and the results of one or two studies in a field fraught with badly managed studies that can rarely be replicated. That is, I don’t believe the studies can be taken at face value.
[+] [-] ss108|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] skc|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] EricE|4 years ago|reply
Like with many things, there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way :)
I've always been curious, but never thought to see if there were isolation tanks out there you could just rent on demand - and it turns out there are several places quite close to me - with a variety of options for types, styles and sizes of tanks/rooms. I may have to give it a try.
[+] [-] LucyToDance|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jhoelzel|4 years ago|reply
I came to the conclusion that since there was no way to prove me right, that this is how people go insane.
The biggest tell for me is that none of the people of reddit that tell you they are floating around the city at night actually know the lottery numbers or anything the like....
If they could actually leave their body to check out things, these people would rule the world.
[+] [-] gpderetta|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mxstbr|4 years ago|reply
Has anybody here done it before? How did it go for you? Any bad experiences in particular?
[+] [-] masona|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] akvadrako|4 years ago|reply
Definitely don't see the appeal, though I would be interested to try it I'm zero gravity.
[+] [-] WesolyKubeczek|4 years ago|reply
Maybe it’s also a question of quality of the tanks themselves, as I cannot say I was totally sensory-deprived during my time in the tank.
Still a nifty way to rest, I’d say.
[+] [-] sugaroverflow|4 years ago|reply
One of my friends is super attached to his phones and notifications (he has two, one personal and one for work). He said it was a good experience, but weird because he kept feeling the buzz of phone notifications even though they weren't with it. I thought that was pretty interesting.
[+] [-] getpost|4 years ago|reply