Earlier this week I spent an hour floating weightlessly in a sensory deprivation tank and it was quite the experience!The concept of sensory deprivation in the floatation format was first developed by neuroscientist Dr. John Lilly in the 1950s while attempting to isolate the mind from the body for the National Institute of Mental Health.Described as an escape from overstimulation and a rest from gravity; it's very rare, if ever, that the mind slows down to the frequency of theta brainwaves whilst still being conscious over a prolonged period of time.That's exactly what happens when soaking semi-submerged in the pitch-black extra-large bathtub filled with half a ton of magnesium sulphate, or Epsom salt as it's more commonly known. Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral that's important for many processes in the body like regulating muscle and nerve functions, controlling blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and producing proteins, bone and DNA.But even though magnesium is an abundant mineral in the body, it's been reported that over 75% of citizens in the US aren't meeting their recommended daily intake. And it might be surprising to hear that magnesium has been shown to be an effective anti-depressant (especially with treatment-resistant patients) and an analgesic for neurological conditions including migraines too.So when the mind slows down to theta frequency, the connections in the brain that 'light up' are those associated with creativity, learning, daydreaming and fantasising. They're the ones most active during times of intense meditation, deep prayer and spiritual awakening (Source).It's certainly why Aristotle, hailed by Britannica as one of the world's greatest philosophers and the first 'genuine scientist' in history, acclaimed the benefits of hypnagogic napping (the semi-lucid state between awake and asleep) for inspiration by saying: “For when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.” – Aristotle (~350 BC).The Float ExperienceWhen you first climb into the tank, because the water temperature is purposely preset to the temperature of our outer skin (about 35ºC similar to a warm bath) it creates this strange illusion that you can't really feel anything external, especially as the concentration of salt has added density to the water. Once the ripples of movement had minimised and the surface became still, the mind's focus was attuned to the binaural beats being played whilst the soft lighting slowly softened more.The six senses deprived of external stimuli in the tank were:Visual (seeing)Auditory (hearing)Tactile (touch)Gustatory (taste)Vestibular (movement)Proprioceptive (body awareness)After around ten minutes of acclimatising to the environment, the lights were turned off and the music silenced. The weightless float had begun and it was at that exact moment that the sound of my breath amplified to what felt like deafening decibels as my senses were deprived of all external stimuli, only internal awareness. What was most strange about the experience, which was misaligned with my expectations, was that as time went by I noticed there was very little thinking happening. Leading up to the float, I was worried that it wouldn't be a relaxing experience because all thoughts may surface when stimuli are reduced. But it was the exact opposite effect by naturally moving into theta frequency brainwaves, it reduces the beta brainwaves that are associated with active thought and overthinking. Knowing that exhaling longer than the inhale (Whisky breathing) would naturally slow my heart and respiratory rates, I tried to focus on the box breathing technique and by the end managed to get down to just over one breath per minute – which was pretty challenging considering the resting adult respiratory rate is on average twelve breaths per minute.The box breathing technique is usually practised as per the timings below which would already take the respiratory rate down by tw0-thirds to four breaths per minute:Inhaling x 4 secondsHolding x 4 secondsExhaling x 4 secondsHolding x 4 secondsWith enhanced relaxation, I managed:Inhaling x 12 secondsHolding x 12 secondsExhaling x 12 secondsHolding x 12 secondsThat was a near hypoxic state with a lowering amount of oxygen being fed to the brain and this process took around 20-30 minutes to achieve. Towards the end of the float, I started to feel that familiar lucid state of consciousness with some visual hallucinations appearing too. Nothing of spectacularity, just some random swirling colours and a feeling that I wasn't really physically present in body.Then nothing like a slight panic of claustrophobia to awaken the senses and regulate back to normal breathing again to spend the final ten minutes waiting patiently for the music to come back on!RecoveryOnce the experience was over, it didn't take too long to acclimatise back to normal but there was an overwhelming sense of contentment that I couldn't shake. One that can only be described as a mental refresh, likened to clearing the metaphorical cache.Preliminary brain scan data implies that flotation therapy has the same effect on the brain as anti-anxiety drugs. In his recent research, Neuropsychologist Justin Feinstein compared brain imaging samples of people given the anti-anxiety drug Ativan to people who had floated and found the same dampening effect on the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for fear and survival instincts that can often be impaired in those with Generalised Anxiety Disorder.I don't know about you but I've certainly felt the effects of a global pandemic playing out alongside the inescapable reporting of major catastrophes; so if nothing else, preventing a build up of stress or anxiety with therapy like this will be a regular occurrence for me. My question this week is:How are you preventing a build up?Charlie
Share this post
SUNDAY NIGHT SLIDES
Share this post
Earlier this week I spent an hour floating weightlessly in a sensory deprivation tank and it was quite the experience!The concept of sensory deprivation in the floatation format was first developed by neuroscientist Dr. John Lilly in the 1950s while attempting to isolate the mind from the body for the National Institute of Mental Health.Described as an escape from overstimulation and a rest from gravity; it's very rare, if ever, that the mind slows down to the frequency of theta brainwaves whilst still being conscious over a prolonged period of time.That's exactly what happens when soaking semi-submerged in the pitch-black extra-large bathtub filled with half a ton of magnesium sulphate, or Epsom salt as it's more commonly known. Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral that's important for many processes in the body like regulating muscle and nerve functions, controlling blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and producing proteins, bone and DNA.But even though magnesium is an abundant mineral in the body, it's been reported that over 75% of citizens in the US aren't meeting their recommended daily intake. And it might be surprising to hear that magnesium has been shown to be an effective anti-depressant (especially with treatment-resistant patients) and an analgesic for neurological conditions including migraines too.So when the mind slows down to theta frequency, the connections in the brain that 'light up' are those associated with creativity, learning, daydreaming and fantasising. They're the ones most active during times of intense meditation, deep prayer and spiritual awakening (Source).It's certainly why Aristotle, hailed by Britannica as one of the world's greatest philosophers and the first 'genuine scientist' in history, acclaimed the benefits of hypnagogic napping (the semi-lucid state between awake and asleep) for inspiration by saying: “For when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.” – Aristotle (~350 BC).The Float ExperienceWhen you first climb into the tank, because the water temperature is purposely preset to the temperature of our outer skin (about 35ºC similar to a warm bath) it creates this strange illusion that you can't really feel anything external, especially as the concentration of salt has added density to the water. Once the ripples of movement had minimised and the surface became still, the mind's focus was attuned to the binaural beats being played whilst the soft lighting slowly softened more.The six senses deprived of external stimuli in the tank were:Visual (seeing)Auditory (hearing)Tactile (touch)Gustatory (taste)Vestibular (movement)Proprioceptive (body awareness)After around ten minutes of acclimatising to the environment, the lights were turned off and the music silenced. The weightless float had begun and it was at that exact moment that the sound of my breath amplified to what felt like deafening decibels as my senses were deprived of all external stimuli, only internal awareness. What was most strange about the experience, which was misaligned with my expectations, was that as time went by I noticed there was very little thinking happening. Leading up to the float, I was worried that it wouldn't be a relaxing experience because all thoughts may surface when stimuli are reduced. But it was the exact opposite effect by naturally moving into theta frequency brainwaves, it reduces the beta brainwaves that are associated with active thought and overthinking. Knowing that exhaling longer than the inhale (Whisky breathing) would naturally slow my heart and respiratory rates, I tried to focus on the box breathing technique and by the end managed to get down to just over one breath per minute – which was pretty challenging considering the resting adult respiratory rate is on average twelve breaths per minute.The box breathing technique is usually practised as per the timings below which would already take the respiratory rate down by tw0-thirds to four breaths per minute:Inhaling x 4 secondsHolding x 4 secondsExhaling x 4 secondsHolding x 4 secondsWith enhanced relaxation, I managed:Inhaling x 12 secondsHolding x 12 secondsExhaling x 12 secondsHolding x 12 secondsThat was a near hypoxic state with a lowering amount of oxygen being fed to the brain and this process took around 20-30 minutes to achieve. Towards the end of the float, I started to feel that familiar lucid state of consciousness with some visual hallucinations appearing too. Nothing of spectacularity, just some random swirling colours and a feeling that I wasn't really physically present in body.Then nothing like a slight panic of claustrophobia to awaken the senses and regulate back to normal breathing again to spend the final ten minutes waiting patiently for the music to come back on!RecoveryOnce the experience was over, it didn't take too long to acclimatise back to normal but there was an overwhelming sense of contentment that I couldn't shake. One that can only be described as a mental refresh, likened to clearing the metaphorical cache.Preliminary brain scan data implies that flotation therapy has the same effect on the brain as anti-anxiety drugs. In his recent research, Neuropsychologist Justin Feinstein compared brain imaging samples of people given the anti-anxiety drug Ativan to people who had floated and found the same dampening effect on the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for fear and survival instincts that can often be impaired in those with Generalised Anxiety Disorder.I don't know about you but I've certainly felt the effects of a global pandemic playing out alongside the inescapable reporting of major catastrophes; so if nothing else, preventing a build up of stress or anxiety with therapy like this will be a regular occurrence for me. My question this week is:How are you preventing a build up?Charlie