American chef, author and television personality known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential talks fondly of using floatation tanks

"Back in the late 80’s my kitchen crew and I used to float all the time. There used to be lots of 24-hour sensory deprivation centers and we'd generally go after work, when we were bone tired but still flying on adrenaline. An hour in the float tank and I'd come out relaxed, rested, my back feeling amazing and in good shape to interact with normal, non-restaurant people.

Interestingly, I found that for a day or two after floating, my experience of colours and flavours would be much more acute and intense. Reds were redder, blues brighter and the taste of food more explosive.

Lying in the tank, I'd feel like I was moving through space, my brain speaking to itself in an unfamiliar language. I miss the tanks!" ~ Anthony Bourdain

Why floatation tanks use Epsom salts

Why floatation tanks use Epsom salts 

Epsom Salt Floatation tanks are an excellent way of combating stress, alleviating muscular aches and pains and for reaching Zen like states of relaxation. 

The buoyancy in a floattank is provided by creating a super saturated mixture of Epsom salts and water, allowing the user to float effortlessly on top of the skin temperature solution.

Epsom salts / Magnesium Sulphate / Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO₄·7H₂O) has been used for centuries as an effective cure all.

Soaking in Epsom salts has been found to stimulate lymph drainage, and promote the absorption of Magnesium and Sulphates.

Magnesium is the second-most abundant element in human cells and the fourth-most important positively charged ion in the body, so it is little wonder this low-profile mineral is so vital to good health and well being. Magnesium, a major component of Epsom Salt, also helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins. 

Magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted Magnesium from soil and the typical diet contains much less Magnesium than that of our forefathers. In fact, the modern diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of Magnesium from our bodies. 

57% of the US population does not meet the US Recommended Dietary Allowance for dietary intake of magnesium.

Researchers and physicians report that raising your magnesium and sulphate levels may:

• Improve heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

• Improve the body's ability to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

• Flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

• Improve nerve function by regulating electrolytes. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

• Relieve stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

• Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

When using a float tank Magnesium is absorbed through the skin due to natural molecular diffusion, the body optimizes the levels of Magnesium, so there is no overload effect from floating in the salts for extended periods.

While increasing your Magnesium levels, Epsom Salt also delivers sulphates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulphates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the Mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulphates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. 

Float tanks are becoming more popular with many multi tank facilities opening around the globe. Why not book a session today? 

Try searching the following terms; float tank, floatation tank, flotation tank, isolation tank, sensory deprivation tank to find your nearest float centre. 

Hollywood Actress Naomie Harris loves floatation tanks

28 Days Later, Pirates of the Caribbean and Sky Fall actress Naomie Harris loves to get away from it all in a floatation tank. 

"I’m obsessed with floating because it’s a bit like being back in the womb and is also a good way of getting over jet lag".

Huffington Posts My Daily Reviews float tanks

How do you switch off, kick back and really relax?’ a question that I, as a busy technology-addicted Londoner, had been struggling with for a while. I’d found myself when I wasn’t in the office, or on a train, or squeezing a spot of socialising into my jam-packed schedule, constantly on my phone or my laptop (I’d have been on my iPad too if I had one). I could never just sit down and do, well, nothing. This had to stop.

I’d heard about floatation therapy from a friend, who more or less said, “It’s like a coffin filled with water. You lie in it and like float and you like totally forget about everything and it’s, like, really amazing.” After that, I had to find out for myself what this off-the-wall relaxation method was all about.

When I arrived at Floatworks Wellness Centre for my one-hour float session I was a little anxious at the prospect of being detached from my iPhone (and my Blackberry – yup, I’m one of those people) and left alone in a watery coffin-like tank with just my thoughts for company, but I put on a brave face. I’d prepared for the occasion, no caffeine, no alcohol, I’d been to the loo, I’d eaten but I wasn’t too full, I was ready.

I was shown to my private room by Floatworks manager Peter, and upon seeing the Fiat Punto-sized tank with its soft glowing neon lights I couldn’t help but excitedly exclaim, “Oh my days. That is SO cool,” to which Peter laughed and I cringed inside. All my preconceptions had vanished in a flash and I couldn’t wait to climb in and shut the lid.

After a quick shower and inserting a pair of earplugs I took a dip in the Epsom salts. Peter had warned me that I might end up with super-salty water in my eye during my first float… He was right. Upon discovering that I could actually float in this silky water without any effort, I sat up in shock and splashed myself in the face (schoolboy error), fortunately for me the tanks are kitted out with a fresh water spray bottle for mishaps such as these.

I spent the first few minutes playing about in the water, pushing myself off the sides and giggling, but soon turned off the lights and tried to relax. Now, I’m a real sceptic and was utterly convinced I wouldn’t ‘switch off’, but lying there completely still in water tempered to match the human body I felt like I was drifting through space. I forgot it was a Monday, forgot I had to go back to the office, forgot I even owned a mobile phone – it was brilliant.

I felt the real effects of the treatment once I was back to reality at the tube station wearing a massive grin on my face feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world. The shoulder and neck pain a lot of office workers suffer with was alleviated and in sum I was a new woman. I floated home (sorry) without a care in the world.

A single one-hour float session at Floatworks is £45. 

©Huffington Post, My Daily, Ellen Stewart Celebrity Writer. 
10 Feb 2013.

See original article  http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2013/02/10/float-therapy-floatworks-review_n_2637920.html?utm_hp_ref=tw