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Isolation tank

Isolation tank is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Isolation tank rather than just read about it. In short: An isolation tank, sensory deprivation tank, float tank, float pod, float cabin, flotation tank, or sensory attenuation tank is a water filled, pitch-black, light-proof, soundproof environment heated to the same temperature as the skin. Method The tank is filled with 25 centimeters (10 in) of water which contains enough dissolved Epsom salt to create a specific gravity of approximately 1.25–1.26, enabling a person t…

Isolation tank — main illustration
Isolation tank — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Isolation tank belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Isolation tank to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Isolation tank from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An isolation tank, sensory deprivation tank, float tank, float pod, float cabin, flotation tank, or sensory attenuation tank is a water filled, pitch-black, light-proof, soundproof environment heated to the same temperature as the skin.

Method

The tank is filled with 25 centimeters (10 in) of water which contains enough dissolved Epsom salt to create a specific gravity of approximately 1.25–1.26, enabling a person to float freely with their face above the water. In order to reduce thermal sensations, the water in the float tank is maintained at approximately skin temperature, around 35 °C. One typically floats without clothing to minimize tactile sensations, and earplugs are worn during floating both to minimize auditory sensations and to keep Epsom salt out of the ear canal.

Several different tank designs exist. Pod and cabin designs utilize enclosures with doors to enter or exit the tank, whereas pool designs are built from circular fiberglass and lack an enclosure to reduce the risk of claustrophobia. The pool design is housed in a room that is soundproof and lightproof, with tightly controlled ambient air temperature and humidity.

History The isolation tank was developed in 1954 by John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and neuropsychiatrist. During his training in psychoanalysis at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Lilly experimented with sensory deprivation. Widespread commercial interest and use of the isolation tank did not occur until 1972, when Glenn Perry, a computer systems programmer, began selling the first commercial tanks after he attended a five-day workshop by Lilly. In 1981, there were about $4 million in sales and rentals in the industry, and expectations were that the market would grow, spurred by the film Altered States (a film starring William Hurt as a psychopathologist experimenting with a flotation tank), which came out in 1980. According to one source in the industry, in the 1980s the rise of AIDS and the fear of shared water reduced demand for flotation centers. By 2013, flotation was more popular in Europe than the US, but had undergone some growth in the area around San Francisco; at that time a low-end tank cost about $10,000, and an hour-long flotation session cost about $70.

Alternative medicine Use of the float tank has roots in alternative medicine, where its use and promotion occurred largely outside of a scientific framework. Early scientific research on the use of float tanks was stalled by "political activists [who] viewed sensory deprivation as analogous to solitary confinement and torture", thus leading to "hostile publications in the popular media and in professional journals [and] to actual physical violence against researchers." Flotation has been widely advertised as a form of alternative medicine that has a number of health benefits, but the claims are often exaggerated and poorly evidenced. Despite the lack of scientific support, people have sought treatment from flotation for many conditions including muscle tension, chronic pain, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis to PMS.

Research A 2005 meta-analysis of clinical trials that had been conducted at that time, found that the trials were generally small and highly prone to error, but given that limitation, use of isolation tanks, (called "flotation REST" or "restricted environmental stimulation therapy" in the literature) shows a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.02) for stress reduction. A 2018 review described flotation-REST as one of "[s]everal emerging technologies [which] may have relevance for interoception and mental health" as it "appears to noninvasively enhance exposure to interoceptive sensations such as the breath and heartbeat".

Flotation-REST Scientific research with float tank therapy generally uses the term "flotation-REST" (reduced environmental stimulation therapy) to refer to the technique. This term is preferred over "sensory deprivation" due to the fact that 1) the float tank experience actually enhanced sensory input from the body (e.g., cardiorespiratory sensations) and can also be conceptualized as a form of sensory enhancement and 2) the term "sensory deprivation" carries negative connotations of torture and hallucinations that have likely impeded legitimate research in this field.

Notable users Aaron Traywick, an American businessman and life extension activist, drowned in an isolation tank in 2018. An autopsy found evidence of Ketamine in his system. Carl Lawson, football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and formerly the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, uses the tank for muscle recovery and visual training. Carl Lewis, track and field athlete, used in-tank visualization techniques to prepare himself for his gold medal long jump at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. During Super Bowl XLIX, both NFL teams (the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks) rented out a local float spa during the week of the event. One team would float in the morning and the other would float in the afternoon. Christof Koch, a neuroscientist known for his work on consciousness, states that he had "what some people call a mystical experience" in a float tank in Singapore. Joe Rogan has stated in his podcast on numerous occasions that he owns an isolation tank and credits it for allowing a state of deeper meditation. John Lennon treated his heroin addiction in 1979 with the help of 90-minute floats in a cedar-wood box. Marvin Jones, wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars and formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions, began using flotation therapy to help him in his recovery from an ankle injury while in Cincinnati. Phil Lester visited a flotation center for a YouTube video on his channel "AmazingPhil" on February 17, 2020. Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, discussed his experiences with isolation tanks in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Several NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints reportedly use floating as a way to increase players' quality of sleep as well as help with recovery. In 2015 two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry reportedly used a sensory-deprivation tank every two weeks.

See also Dark retreat Mindfulness Prisoner's cinema Psychedelic experience Sleep pod

References

Illustrations

Isolation tank: Example of a float tank using a pod design
Example of a float tank using a pod design
Isolation tank illustration
Isolation tank: An open fiberglass float pool at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA allows subjects with clinical anxiety to float comfortably, without the apprehension one might encounter in an enclosed float environment.
An open fiberglass float pool at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA allows subjects with clinical anxiety to float comfortably, without the apprehension one might encounter in an enclosed float environment.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Isolation tank

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Isolation tank claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Isolation tank before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Isolation tank ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Isolation tank

In research
Isolation tank appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Isolation tank in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Isolation tank is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alternative medical treatments, Devices to alter consciousness, Experimental psychology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Isolation tank outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Isolation tank in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Isolation tank means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Isolation tank out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Isolation tank in simple terms?

An isolation tank, sensory deprivation tank, float tank, float pod, float cabin, flotation tank, or sensory attenuation tank is a water filled, pitch-black, light-proof, soundproof environment heated to the same temperature as the skin. Method The tank is filled with 25 centimeters (10 in) of water…

Why does Isolation tank matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Isolation tank?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Isolation tank.

Tags

  • Alternative medical treatments
  • Devices to alter consciousness
  • Experimental psychology

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