STRESS
For athletes, stress management is of the utmost importance. Floatation therapy has been
used successfully in clinical stress management and has been found to reduce blood
pressure, cortisol levels and other stress related neurochemicals such as norepinephrine,
adrenaline and adrenocorticotropic hormone.
These neuro-chemicals are known to trigger the fight-or-flight response which is very good
for lifting a truck off a trapped body or tearing out someone’s liver or running like hell in
mindless terror. But they are not so hot for the kind of clear-headed strategy and perfect-
ly coordinated finesse required in most sports. Float therapy puts the athlete in a calm,
centered state of mind that allows them to work at peak efficiency.
RECOVERY TIME, LACTATE PRODUCTION AND, PAIN RELIEF
When the athlete is in the float pod, the actual rate of recovery post-physical exercise is
enhanced. Recovery that would generally take a very long time gets compressed into just
a few hours. Since floating in water that has high concentrations of epsom salt reduces the
gravitational pressure on the body, pressure is taken off strained muscles, joints and bones.
Blood is now able to circulate more freely and reach joints, tendons, muscles and ligaments
that may be sore or injured. This increased circulation allows your body to carry away waste
and biochemicals such as lactic acid, cortisol and adrenaline. Lactate production can se-
riously impede the ability of the athlete to think clearly. It is especially difficult to remain
calm and concentrated in the final phases of a game or competition. By reducing lactate
levels, floating has an extremely positive impact on strength of mind, strategic thinking, and
mental clarity.
By reducing the amount of negative neurochemicals and increasing the beneficial ones,
floating can also provide athletes with pain relief. The relaxation response created while
floating increases the body’s production of beneficial hormones such as dopamine and en-
dorphins, eliciting the body’s natural pain relief response. The release of endorphins cou-
pled with the ability to become extremely aware of knots, tensions, and painful spots allows
for athletes to heal faster and overcome fatigue.
SPORTS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT AND MENTAL TRAINING
AND VISUALIZATION
Athletes that use float therapy in combination with visualization techniques experience a
very significant improvement in their performances. As the person’s brain transitions into
a theta state, it becomes much more open to suggestion. The central nervous system can
essentially be trained to produce “perfect performance”. Today a number of athletes across
the world use this technique to relax and up their performance in their chosen sport. Most
recently basketball player Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors spoke of his perfor-
mance increase due to floating.
Researchers have known for quite some time that an athlete's mental game plays an ex-
tremely important role in their performance. A 1998 study perfectly sums up why floating
works so well to improve an athlete’s mental training suggesting that Floatation REST works
to enhance athletic performance because it provides a profoundly relaxing experience in
an environment conducive to greater amounts and better quality of sport related imagery,
planning strategic thought processes than possible in other environments. The athlete is
able to walk through each step of the technique, play, or game and fully focus on the visual,
auditory, tactile and olfactory imagery.
INJURY PREVENTION
Most sports injuries do not occur through direct physical contact, but by incorrect muscle
tension, overstretching or pulled muscles. The best way to prevent injuries like this is to
loosen muscles prior to exercise. In a floatation pod, general muscle tension is reduced
significantly, even after just short periods of time floating. This can lead to substantially
reducing the risk of such injuries.