Float Your Boat

The best bath you’ve ever had or the gateway to the Upside Down? Stranger things have happened. Jessica Howley dives into flotation therapy...

When astronauts talk about space, they always seem to come back to the floating thing. There’s something special, they say, about being alone with your thoughts in a body that feels weightless. I haven’t been to space, but I do feel like I’ve done the next best thing.

The idea of floating in an isolation tank is nothing new. If Ab Fab made it cool the first time around (the ISO Tank ep – enjoy), Stranger Things is responsible for the second coming of this trend. But even though floating in a tank won’t transport you to the Upside Down, when it comes to floating and mental health, it’s not all science fiction.

Until fairly recently, its stress-relieving benefits were purely anecdotal. But groundbreaking research from neuropsychologists at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in the US has shown that something special happens in the brain when the body floats. The research is ongoing, but early studies suggest that it dims anxiety in the brain in a way that could rival prescription drugs and meditation.

I’m intrigued. After a period of anxiety attacks a couple of years ago, I was referred to a mindfulness course by my doctor. While it made a huge difference, I’ve been on the lookout for anxiety-easing techniques ever since – and I’m yet to find one that’s stuck.