Invented to facilitate some of the weirder scientific research of the last few decades, sensory deprivation tanks are beginning to filter into the mainstream. Most recently, and notably, sensory deprivation tanks ,also called float tanks, made an appearance in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. In that series the young protagonist named Eleven uses the tank to enhance her psychokinetic powers to battle an inter-dimensional monster. While that is obviously a break from reality, isolation tanks are used for float therapy and have many reported benefits. Comedian and cannabis enthusiast, Joe Rogan often talks about the benefits of float therapy, especially under the effects of edibles on his hit podcast the Joe Rogan Experience. This intrigued us at Stinky Leaf so we decided to take a look at what all the fuss is about.
What is float therapy?
Float therapy is a form of sensory deprivation using what is often called a float tank or isolation chamber. The tank is pitch black and filled with just enough water that you can comfortably float lying down. Nearly a thousand pounds of Epsom salt is dissolved into the water, which makes your body much more buoyant, making it effortless to float in the water and providing the feeling of weightlessness while floating. A pump runs constantly in the tank to maintain the temperature of both the air and water within a few degrees of skin temperature. After a short time floating in the tank this plays tricks on your skin, making it hard to tell where your body ends and the air and water begins. Between that, and the complete lack of light the tank is able to artificially deprive your body of its senses. Deprived of any sensory input, the mind is freed from distractions and able to reach altered states of cognition with some users reporting visual and auditory hallucinations. You might be wondering why anyone would want to do that and the simple answer is it’s good for you.
What are the benefits of floating?
Sensory deprivation provides a unique therapy by removing all sensory input. In our hectic world of traffic jams, smart phones and multitasking our senses are constantly bombarded by stimuli. Reducing, or eliminating stimulus can help the brain to relax, de-stress and reset. In addition, unloading all of your weight from your back, hips and shoulders is powerful way to relieve the stress we accumulate from hours spent hunched over keyboards in an office setting. This also makes the tank great for sport and workout recovery! Another physical benefit comes from the salt added to the tank which contains large amounts of magnesium that you absorb through the skin which then helps to fix mineral imbalances and relax sore muscles. This mental and physical de-load leaves users feeling recharged after float sessions as short as an hour.
Where does cannabis fit in?
Cannabis has been used by various groups to enhance meditation and introspection for hundreds, if not thousands of years. If you’ve ever eaten a little bit more of an edible than you intended, you may be well aware of the potent introspection that cannabis can facilitate. This is further heightened when you enter a sensory deprivation tank and have nothing there but your own mind. For some, this may seem intimidating or overwhelming ,but, for the more adventurous it offers a chance at focus and introspection that you can’t get anywhere else. Hyper successful comedian and stoner Joe Rogan has stated multiple times on his podcast that the sensory deprivation tank has been the single most powerful tool in his personal evolution. Rogan states that the focus provided by the tank allows him to review his life and make adjustments to help him achieve his goals.
Putting it to practice
If you’re intrigued by the idea of sensory deprivation we recommend trying it once or twice without any cannabis in your system to get a feel for the tank. Once you’ve done that, give it a shot with any of our delicious high quality edibles allowing these treats a good thirty minutes to an hour to set in before getting into the tank. The enhanced relaxation, introspection and creativity of floating and edibles might be just the thing to help you bust your normal patterns and take your life to the next level!