Float First, Then Decide
Life is filled with decisions – some simple, others significant. The big ones, like choosing whether to change jobs, relocate, or navigate relationship challenges can often feel overwhelming. Floatation therapy can effectively reduce stress, quiet your mind, and foster greater creativity and clarity, empowering you to approach difficult choices with confidence.
When facing these major decisions, stress and anxiety significantly impact our thinking. The body’s stress response includes releasing cortisol, a hormone that triggers the “fight-or-flight” mechanism. While helpful in emergency situations, elevated cortisol can negatively affect everyday decision-making, often resulting in impulsive or overly cautious choice, or in general indecision.
Research highlights the negative effects of anxiety on cognitive functions essential for clear and strategic thinking. Hartley and Phelps (2012) reviewed literature demonstrating that anxiety leads to heightened risk-aversion, causing individuals to focus disproportionately on potential negative outcomes. Similarly, Paulus and Yu (2012) illustrated that anxiety disrupts the brain’s rational decision-making processes, causing choices that often prioritize short-term relief over long-term benefits.
Moreover, studies by Starcke and Brand (2012, 2016) underline cortisol's role in impairing judgment during stress. Elevated cortisol has been consistently linked to increased risk-taking behaviors, compromised reward assessment, and diminished cognitive flexibility – particularly under pressure (Maier et al., 2015; Pabst, 2013).
This is where floatation therapy comes in. Floating significantly reduces sensory input to induce deep relaxation. Inside a float tank filled with warm, Epsom salt-rich water, your body floats effortlessly, removing nearly all sensory stimulation. This environment prompts a profound relaxation response, leading to measurable reductions in stress hormones.
A significant study out of LIBR (Laureate Institute for Brain Research) by Feinstein et al. (2018) demonstrated that even a single floating session could significantly lower anxiety and improve mood among participants with anxiety and stress-related disorders. Similarly, earlier studies out of Sweden, including Bood et al. (2006) showed floatation therapy’s substantial anxiolytic effects, indicating its potential for ongoing anxiety management. These benefits are likely related to floating’s ability to decrease cortisol levels, enabling cognitive recovery from stress and anxiety-induced impairments.
Floating doesn’t simply reduce stress; it actively enhances key cognitive abilities required for decision-making such as creativity, focus, and problem-solving. Early evidence from van Dierendonck and te Nijenhuis in their 2005 meta-analysis demonstrates that floating not only reduced stress and enhanced feelings of well-being, they also increased performance across a range of physical and mental tasks. These cognitive enhancements suggest that floatation therapy indirectly supports better decision-making by fostering clearer, calmer, and more creative thinking.
Another study involved jazz musicians who regularly used floatation therapy, finding significant improvements in their improvisational performance – a skill inherently dependent on rapid, intuitive, and creative decision-making (Vartanian & Suedfeld, 2011). This enhancement in spontaneous creative expression parallels the cognitive flexibility and adaptive decision-making floating can foster.
Floating becomes especially beneficial when approached intentionally. Here are a few practical strategies to optimize your floatation sessions for decision-making:
- Define Your Intentions Clearly: Before your float, consciously outline the issue or decision you wish to address. Clearly articulating your intention prepares your subconscious mind to explore it deeply during the float session. Writing down these intentions beforehand can further solidify your focus.
- Embrace Mental Flexibility: Rather than actively forcing solutions during your float, allow thoughts and ideas to flow naturally. This gentle approach often reveals unexpected insights and creative solutions. Practice mindfulness by observing your thoughts without judgment or immediate analysis.
- Immediate Post-Float Reflection: Directly after exiting the float tank, spend 10-15 minutes quietly journaling or reflecting on thoughts or insights from your session. Capturing these immediate impressions helps solidify and clarify your initial reactions and feelings.
- Delayed Decision-Making: Research suggests a post-float refractory period – a time when your mind remains deeply relaxed and somewhat 'floaty.' During this period, it's beneficial to avoid making major life decisions immediately. Wait at least an hour or two, or even better, sleep on it. Allowing your mind extra time helps integrate insights gained from floating, ensuring you make decisions with clarity rather than impulse.
- Consider Regular Sessions: While a single float session offers significant benefits, regular floating can provide sustained improvements in anxiety reduction, cognitive clarity, and creative thinking, offering long-term support for navigating complex life decisions.
Significant life decisions can become clearer and less overwhelming when approached from a place of calm and focus. Floatation therapy provides a proven method to reduce anxiety, boost creativity, and sharpen cognitive clarity, empowering you to make choices with greater confidence.
If you're facing important decisions or simply seeking greater clarity, scheduling a float session could be a valuable step forward.
