If you’re feeling stressed or having trouble sleeping because you’ve hit a creative block, maybe its time to try a Float Tank. Also known as floatation therapy, REST therapy (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique) or sensory deprivation, floating involves lying in a pitch-black tank containing a salt-water solution.

The water temperature matches your own skin—about 37 °C—with a higher concentrate of Epsom salt than the Dead Sea. You see nothing. You hear nothing. Heck, you might not feel nothing.

Inspired by a practice from the 1950s, these float pods are now used as a form of modern day meditation. The pods are becoming increasingly popular on the West Coast of the United States, especially with celebrites. The meditation pods have been known to help increase creativity, alleviate body aches, and reduce depression and anxiety.

Effects of meditation pods

If you’ve never done sensory deprivation, claustrophobia is a common fear. In a 2008 Swedish study, researchers interviewed people post-float session. Some reported hearing voices, seeing light phenomena or feeling as if they were soaring. According to Discover Magazine, this sensation happens when the brain is cut off from external stimuli, creating its own.

Float tanks cost upwards of $10,000 and sessions can start around $60. Regular maintenance of hydrogen peroxide cleaning, as well as constant refilling of the tanks are needed. People who use the meditation pods, however, typically spend an hour in the tank, but some stay overnight for a full eight hours.

If this sounds like something of interest to you, read more about the benefits of the Float Pods here. Or find other ways to boost your creativity.

Source: http://mashable.com/2015/03/03/flotation-therapy/
Images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54683323@N07/