SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Flotation tanks are dark, soundproof pods in which people float in warm water for hours at a time. They have been a niche interest of various new-age and hippy communities for decades [bbc.com], but in recent years the number of people using them in the UK has grown, writes Tom Ireland.

"The sensation is one of no sensation - your mind becomes untethered from your body. There's nowhere like it on the planet."

Gary Mossman is a 26-year-old tattoo artist in Basingstoke.

He has started to use flotation tanks to explore what he refers to as the "theta-state", a drowsy or trance-like state which he hopes will help him be more creative with his tattoo designs.

"It's about making a blank canvas in your mind so you can then picture something completely original. It's a little like the stage just before falling asleep, where you have a really vivid imagination and things just appear in your head."
...
Now a growing number of researchers are studying sensory deprivation's effects again. In 2015 a laboratory dedicated to studying flotation tanks was set up at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Early work has suggested that floating - referred to as Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy - could be useful in treating stress and anxiety-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. In Sweden, where patients can be referred to a float tank centre by their GP or employer, there are more tanks per person than anywhere else in the world.

Have any Soylentils done this?

Original Submission