The serene environment is set once you enter the doors of ZeroGravity Float Centre.
Calming music wafts through the rooms, you’ll be greeted by the uber-friendly Melissa, tea and comfy seats, as you settle down slowly into a more relaxed mindset, readying yourself for the float.
Benefits of Floating
I should have a disclaimer here that I’m not a scientist, so this won’t be super technical, but going through the research of others and with Melissa’s, the founder of ZeroGravity Float Centre explanation, here’s what I can surmise for you.
Contrary to what you may think, floating is a pretty old treatment that hasn’t changed for the past 60 years. It’s just that only now a lot of people are starting to realize its benefits.
It was firstly the American Air Force that used float tanks for their recovery research. And now, these deprivation tanks have been made for the masses because of its abundant benefits.
To understand why float tanks are good for you, first, you need to understand how our body works.
What is the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)?
In the most uncomplicated way, our body has this thing called the autonomic nervous system, in which there are two branches; the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). These two systems play a critical role in regulating processes required for maintaining physiological homeostasis and responding to acute stressors.
In layman’s terms, sympathetic is responsible for the response commonly referred to as “fight or flight,” while parasympathetic is referred to as “rest and digest”.
Now the important thing to note is that at any one point in time, you can only be in one state or the other. You CANNOT be in both. This is because if you’re stressed, your organs work one way, and when you’re relaxed, it works in the opposite direction. It’s surprisingly a very binary system.
In ancient times, it’s quite clear when we are resting and when we are stressed. But today, our sources of stress are becoming quite blurred. Being stuck in a jam, prepping for a presentation, and even a message pinging from your phone can cause our sympathetic system to kick in.
So if you’re having digestion problems, sleeping problems, it may be because your body has been working in overdrive, trying to response to the constant bombardment of stress surrounding you.
If your parasympathetic system is not working at its usual pace, you’re not digesting your food properly, your heart is beating in an accelerated manner which may lead to higher blood pressure and you may experience weight gain because your liver is constantly stimulating glucose release.
So now, what does floating do to combat this?
Why Everyone Should Float
Floating is the simplest way for your body to revert back and balance your autonomic processes.
Because everybody can float, doesn’t matter how young you are, how old you are, what is your size, how sick you are, if you’re on medications, doesn’t matter.
When we’re looking at benefit to risk ratio, with flotation it’s exceedingly in the benefit, there is essentially no risk. When people do a stack of floats, you’re stacking the benefits, you’re resetting the endocrine system. Your body reboots.
It’s also interesting to note that since you’re conceived till your first float, there’s always been environmental stimuli. There’s gravity, sight, sound, smell, taste. In the tank, all that goes away, it invites your body’s system to find its centre again, in a much more accelerated way.
Benefits of Floating on the Body
These are FOUR main benefits you may experience after floating:
Benefit #1: Relieve Physical Pain
Because the float tanks at ZeroGravity Float Centre contain a high concentration of magnesium (which is nature’s mind and muscle relaxant), they’ve been shown to help with physical health ailments, such as chronic pain, inflammation, migraines, hypertension, muscle tension, fibromyalgia, arthritis, migraines and psychological disorders.
If you’re an athlete or a bodybuilder, you can also reap the benefits of floating at ZeroGravity Float Centre because if its ability to ease muscle pain and tension. It actually helps you bounce back faster from workouts by reducing lactic acid in the blood. Because floating is free of gravity, lactic acid exits the muscles faster, which reduces overall muscle stiffness and pain.
Also, since floating oxygenates your body by promoting vasodilation it encourages better blood flow to the brain, organs, and limbs.
Not forgetting the benefits of the main components in the water, magnesium can also treat digestive issues, such as constipation because it draws water into the colon, which promotes bowel movements (Healthline.com). Because of this feature it has, it has also been known to reduce pain and swelling, so pregnant ladies have a tendency to see bloating and swelling decrease after coming out of the tank.
Benefit #2: Improve Cardiovascular Health
Due to floating’s ability to transition the central nervous system to a parasympathetic state (the rest and digest mode), the body is finally able to carry out repair and regeneration.
While this is beneficial to your entire body, it also improves the cardiovascular system by increasing circulation and decreasing high blood pressure and heart rate.
Because of the lack of gravitational pressure, none of your nerves are constricted and this promotes very good blood flow, hence the heart needn’t work as hard to get blood moving throughout the body.
Benefits #3: Reduce Stress and Anxiety
If you’re under duress, your hypothalamus (the almond-sized part of your brain just above your brainstem) signals your adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol, which are stress hormones. Prolonged periods of stress lead to an overactive hypothalamus, creating excess of these hormones, which may lead to depression. (Bulletproof.com)
Floating combats stress in two main ways. First, the water’s magnesium inhibits ACTH, a hormone that causes your adrenal glands to release the stress hormone cortisol. The Magnesium in the Epsom salts also improves sleep quality, which contributes to feelings of less stress.
The sensory deprivation component of floating also minimizes stress. In a recent study, people who floated eight times in two weeks found their cortisol decrease by 21.6%. They also showed a 50.5% decrease in cortisol variability, meaning, they handled stressful situations better without the cortisol spikes. https://blog.paleohacks.com/sensory-deprivation-tank/
Benefit #4: Improve Sleep Quality
The study mentioned above also reported a significant increase in sleep quality in participants, compared to a control group that did not receive a sensory deprivation tank session.
A suggested reason for that was due to a lack of external distractions, floating induces a deep state of relaxation that can be maintained even when not afloat.
Also, the Magnesium in the water may also help the body produce melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.
How Frequently Should I Float?
It is recommended to have an average of three floats as close together as possible, for your body to reset itself. Once it does that, you’re going to feel really good and this is called the post-float glow. And once you get to feel that good, you’ll realized that you SHOULD feel that good ALL the time! So every time that feeling of goodness dips, you can return for booster floats at ZeroGravity Float Centre once or twice a month.
Review of ZeroGravity Float Centre
Melissa, the friendly and enthusiastic founder of ZeroGravity Float Centre will lead you to a float room and she’ll patiently explain the steps you have to take before entering the tank.
Briefly, they are:
Put on your ear plugs
Turn off your cell phone
Turn off the air conditioning
Shower and soap your entire body
Towel off
Turn off the lights
Step into the tank slowly and shut the door over you
Lie gently on your back and find your comfortable spot.
Turn off the lights inside the tank
You’re ready for that 60-minute float!
After stepping into the tank, closing the top behind you, and laying down to float on your back, your senses will be immediately deprived. When your eyes adjust to the darkness, you’ll find that you still won’t be able to capture any visuals.
It’s pitch black especially when the lights outside of the tank are shut as well. You’ll feel a really eerie sensation of weighing nothing. This is because of the 500 kg of Epsom salts enabling you to experience that feeling of weightlessness whereby you don’t have to use a single muscle to stay afloat, very different from being in a regular pool. No kicking of feet or waving of arms to keep abreast.
Come to think of it, the tank, that is in the shape of an egg, makes you feel like you’re in one. A cocoon of darkness, where you’ll feel absolutely nothing if you remain motionless.
In the first ten minutes, you’ll feel a slight discomfort around your neck and shoulders because there is usually so much tension there. But once your posture is aligned by the floating, the pain will dissipate.
The first 15 minutes will be quite strange. You’ll hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing (if you choose not to mobilize any of your limbs).
Because we’ve been bombarded with external stimuli most of our waking moments, it’s vividly discomforting both physically and mentally that first few minutes.
But the floating and the Epsom salts will start to kick in after about 15 minutes. The effects will vary depending on the person.
For me, I dozed off without realizing, jolting slightly when I woke periodically for the length of the hour-long float. When the float was over, I awoke with the cue of the music and felt immediately refreshed and rejuvenated.
Got carefully out of the tank, took a shower to wash off the salt and came down ready to take on the next task of the day! If you have to head off for a meeting or an important event after, not to worry ZeroGravity Float Centre is equipped with all the facilities needed to get you looking presentable for your next appointment.
The sleep I had that night after visiting the ZeroGravity Float Centre was deep and long, but I woke up of it really tired still. I only felt the positive effects of the float after the second night of sleep where I woke up really clear-headed and refreshed. So, it was indicative of my body needing the sleep to heal and repair itself.
Also, after my float, I experienced a back ache that lasted for two days. According to Melissa, it was because of an old injury. If you have a problem, your body will compensate to relieve the pain over time. With the float, your muscles will decompress and try to realign itself to its natural position.
The second time I went, I had about the same experience, but I woke from the float exhausted. It might be because of lack of sleep the days before, and my body was telling me that I needed it badly. It’s quite amazing how the body adapts and how because it adapts to well, we abuse this awesome feature by not addressing the problems it hides.
Note to first time floaters, do NOT rub your eyes during your float because they WILL sting! It’s salt after all! Also, post float, you might feel very sleepy and won’t seem to be able to keep your eyes open. Don’t worry, it’s normal, it’s just your body telling you that you need the rest. Just sleep it off and listen to your body for a change, it’ll do you good.
It was a really refreshing experience trying out the deprivation tanks at ZeroGravity Float Centre and I highly recommend it to those seeking a natural way to repair and heal either the body or the mind in a very non-intrusive and side effect-free way. If you do drop by to give it a go, do let me know about your experience in the comments below!
If you guys have further questions on ZeroGravity Float Centre any of these , do let me know in the comments below. Also, keep in mind that diet and exercise is still essential to your healthy lifestyles. If you’re looking for other Here are some brilliant suggestions on holistic wellness centers in KL, you’re in luck! We have them right here.
I’m glad you’re taking the initiative to look out for your body in advance. The aim of this game is to age vibrantly! Take care of your body now, and in the future, you’ll see its effects when you’re moving faster and feeling healthier than most of your friends! That’s when you’ll reap the fruitful benefits of your current investments. Here’s to healthy living in KL!
3 Comments
Ron LK · February 13, 2019 at 12:58 pm
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Stella · August 7, 2019 at 3:03 pm
I have heard about floating before. This is the first time I have learned about its benefits though. I think it’s worth a try!
fitoru · February 24, 2020 at 3:25 pm
thanks for the round up. It’s great to be informed