Top US Basketball player Steph Curry's Floatation Tank secret

Here’s a great opportunity to find out just how good floatation tanks are and how they work.

Featured in this clip from American sports show Hang Time in which EPSN – The Magazine’s journalist Sam Alipour visits a floatation centre with Stephen Curry (Warriors Guard) and Harrison Barnes (Warriors Forward) of the Golden State Warriors basketball squad.

We learn that one of the biggest trends in the sports science world is athletes using floatation tanks to protect and repair their bodies and minds.

In the clip, the two basketball players use i-sopod tanks, based at Reboot Spa in San Francisco. They go on to discuss the benefits of regular float sessions and they both agree that it’s good to let go of their thoughts and see where their mind takes them as they lay back in the Epsom salt solution.  They endorse the experience because it soothes their bodies as well as their minds. 

Stephen mentions that he begins the session by planning play strategies but within minutes he’s relaxed and it’s Russian roulette as to what his mind may turn up.

All in all, our i-sopod floatation tanks are certainly having a positive impact on these two player’s game. The team’s performances speak for themselves just as they are getting closer to the longest regular season winning streak in NBA history.

Coincidence? We don’t think so.

The Floatation tank and the Musician

Much has been written about the therapeutic qualities of using floatation pods. The isolation can centre the mind, induce deep relaxation and heighten the senses through reduced sensory stimulation. But why does it enhance creativity? 

Here’s what happened when some jazz musicians immersed themselves in the realms of the floatation pod to give themselves a creative boost and increase good technique use. But did it work?

Back in 2011 professors from the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia thought they’d find out if an hour in a floatation tank would have any effect on jazz students who had already spent a full day sweating lbs over their instruments.

The researchers found “a significant difference between the treatment and comparison groups on technical ability, but not on any other dimension”. Thanks to this enhancement of skill level, those who had floated “had significantly higher grades in their jazz improvisation class than the comparison group.”

The results of the studies led by Oshin Vartanian and Peter Suedfield found that one hour per week (over the test period of 4 weeks) boosted the technical agility and ability in the group.  The outcome suggested that limited periods of minimal sensory stimulation could well improve an individual’s skills.

So Epsom salts does mix with a good dose of saxophone noodling.

To read more about the study visit: http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/flotation-isolation-boosts-musicians-skill-level-31182

History of Floatation Tank Therapy – part 1

Although the Floatation Tank was not developed for therapy in the first instance, its current uses where discovered as a ‘by-product’ of experiments in sensory deprivation.

Originally invented by an American neuroscientist called Dr John C. Lilly in the 1950s. 

By the 1970s he had perfected the design of what was then known as the Sensory Deprivation Tank.

The tanks were developed to prove whether or not the brain needed external stimuli to keep its conscious states active. They needed a device that would essentially cut test subjects off from the outside world and limit sensations to the body.   

Early models of the device would see users submerged vertically in a large cylindrical chamber filled with water. 

Subjects were given breathing apparatus and were then suspended (with buoyancy aids) upright just atop of the surface.  The accessories proved to be too distracting so new designs that have much in common with today’s models were prototyped.

By the 1970s, he had developed a model in which users would lie horizontally in a high concentration Epsom salt laden water (which has super buoyant qualities).  Users would report its positive relaxation qualities, so beyond its origins in mental health exploration it began to find popularity as a well-being and health enhancement application.

Read more about the Floatation Tank’s development throughout the 1980s and 1990s in part two:

Please visit: www.floatworks.com to book your session in a i-sopod floatation tank today. 

i-sopod floatation tank

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.