🧠 “The Neuroscience of Float Therapy: How Your Brain Responds in the Tank. Float Therapy vs. Meditation: Whats the Difference"

Ever wonder about Float Therapy vs. Meditation: Whats the Difference.

Float therapy might feel magical, but the profound mental benefits are rooted in neuroscience. When you step into a float tank, also known as a sensory deprivation tank, your brain is no longer bombarded with stimuli. This shift in environment leads to measurable changes in brain activity, hormone levels, and nervous system regulation.

In this article, we’ll explore what actually happens in your brain during float therapy and how that supports emotional healing, stress relief, creativity, and more.

1. Reduced Sensory Input = Nervous System Reset

Your brain is constantly processing thousands of sensory signals, light, sound, temperature, pressure, etc. This creates a state of near-constant alertness, especially in people with chronic stress or trauma.

In a float tank:

    •    Visual input is eliminated (pitch dark)

    •    Auditory input is minimal to none (soundproof or with optional gentle music)

    •    Tactile input is neutralized (skin-temp water + zero gravity effect)

This lack of sensory input allows the nervous system to down-regulate, shifting from the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state to the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state.

👉 This shift is measurable through reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels.

Study Note: A 2018 study published in PLOS ONE by Feinstein et al. found that a single 60-minute float reduced anxiety and muscle tension while increasing serenity and relaxation in patients with high anxiety.

2. Brainwave Shift: From Beta to Theta

Your brain operates on electrical frequencies called brainwaves. In daily life, you’re typically in Beta state, a high-frequency, task-focused mode. While useful, it also corresponds with stress and mental chatter.

In float therapy, the brain transitions into:

    •    Alpha waves (8–12 Hz): Calm, reflective, meditative

    •    Theta waves (4–7 Hz): Deep meditation, dreamlike states, heightened creativity

Why this matters: Theta is rarely accessed consciously without extensive meditation training, but floats can reliably induce this state in as little as 15–30 minutes.

Research Insight: Theta states are associated with enhanced neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to rewire itself), which may support emotional healing and improved learning.

3. Decreased Default Mode Network (DMN) Activity

The Default Mode Network is a brain system associated with mind-wandering, self-criticism, and ruminative thinking, commonly overactive in people with anxiety or depression.

Floating has been shown to quiet the DMN, which:

    •    Enhances present-moment awareness

    •    Reduces mental noise and negative self-talk

    •    Mirrors what happens in deep meditation or during psychedelic therapy

Interesting Parallel: Both floating and psilocybin (in clinical trials) show similar reductions in DMN activity, suggesting floating may offer non-pharmacological access to introspective calm.

4. Increased Dopamine & Endorphins

Several studies and anecdotal reports suggest that floating can increase dopamine and endorphins, the brain’s natural “feel good” chemicals. This is likely due to a combination of:

    •    Parasympathetic activation

    •    Pain relief from magnesium and muscle relaxation

    •    Mental quiet and emotional regulation

This neurochemical shift helps explain the “post-float glow” many clients report, lingering feelings of peace, joy, or mental clarity that last for hours or even days.

5. Potential for Trauma & Stress Processing

When the nervous system feels safe and the brain enters a calm, alert state (especially in theta), people may experience:

    •    Spontaneous memory processing

    •    Emotional integration

    •    Creative insights

This makes float therapy a potentially powerful adjunct to trauma-informed care, therapy, or creative work.

✨ Conclusion: Floating Changes the Way Your Brain Feels the World

The benefits of float therapy are not just experiential, they’re observable in your brainwaves, neurochemistry, and nervous system patterns. With repeated sessions, clients often report sustained improvements in:

    •    Anxiety and depression symptoms

    •    Creativity and focus

    •    Emotional regulation

    •    Sleep quality

Whether you’re a wellness seeker, a creative, or simply overstimulated by life, float therapy offers a science-backed way to press reset on your mind and body.

Ready to float your brain into a better state?

Try our Elemental Reset or Lunar Soak packages at Soul Soak and discover what silence can do for your mind. First-time floaters welcome, your nervous system will thank you.

60 Min Salt Float Therapy

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Citations & Scientific References

    1.    Feinstein, J. S., Khalsa, S. S., Yeh, H., Wohlrab, C., Simmons, W. K., Stein, M. B., & Paulus, M. P. (2018).

Examining the short-term anxiolytic and antidepressant effect of Floatation-REST.

PLOS ONE, 13(2), e0190292.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190292

— Found that a single 60-minute float significantly reduced anxiety, depression, muscle tension, and stress.

    2.    Norlander, T., Kjellgren, A., & Archer, T. (2001).

The experience of floatation REST as a function of setting and previous experience of altered states of consciousness.

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 20(2), 161–178.

https://doi.org/10.2190/Y2KU-N0TF-VHPK-8YVF

— Observed increased theta brainwaves during floatation, associated with deep meditative states.

    3.    Van Dierendonck, D., & Te Nijenhuis, J. (2005).

Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) as a stress-management tool: A meta-analysis.

Psychology & Health, 20(3), 405–412.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440412331337093

— Meta-analysis confirmed significant reductions in anxiety, stress, and blood pressure.

    4.    Kjellgren, A., & Westman, J. (2014).

Beneficial effects of treatment with sensory isolation in flotation-tank as a preventive health-care intervention – a randomized controlled pilot trial.

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14, 417.

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-14-417

— Participants reported higher optimism, reduced pain, and improved mindfulness post-float.

    5.    Bood, S. Å., Sundequist, U., Kjellgren, A., Nordström, G., & Norlander, T. (2006).

Eliciting the relaxation response with the help of flotation-REST: Are comparisons with meditation justified?

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 25(2), 143–161.

https://doi.org/10.2190/IC.25.2.d

— Found that regular floatation significantly improved sleep quality and reduced fatigue symptoms.

    6.    Carhart-Harris, R. L., et al. (2012).

Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin.

PNAS, 109(6), 2138–2143.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1119598109

— Included here for its reference to the default mode network (DMN), often suppressed during both psychedelic therapy and float-induced introspective states.