How I Discovered Floatation Therapy for Insomnia from Anxiety

It turns out there is a strong relationship between anxiety and insomnia. 2022 clinical review¹ It’s estimated that half of people with anxiety disorders also struggle with sleep disorders, and conditions like insomnia can in turn make anxiety disorders worse (it’s a vicious cycle).

What’s more, double board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert Alex Dimitriu, M.D., says the type of polyphasic sleep I rely on (i.e., short sleeps throughout the day, rather than long sleeps each night) may be causing the sleepiness. Symptoms of deficiencies include decreased memory and impulse control and increased anxiety. Additionally, he noted that rapid eye movement, or rapid eye movement, sleep—which is critical to overall health and well-being—doesn’t occur during shorter sleep windows or naps.

Hit my breaking point

I did as many treatments as I could to cope with the situation and got some temporary relief on the appointment day. Although I was encouraged to try traditional meditation, I could never quiet my mind enough to feel its benefits. I ate melatonin gummies like my daily (well, every night) bread until they no longer had even the slightest effect.

After a few years of this, when the impact of anxiety-induced insomnia on my personal and professional life became too great to ignore, I decided to leave the city I’d always lived in and return to my island home in the hope of finding some A breather.

Related stories

But changing my position isn’t a panacea. That first night in Antigua, I lay in bed and realized I was in a different place. The oppressive air of the concrete jungle, the constant traffic noise and sirens are replaced by the trade wind blowing through the open blinds, rustling the curtains, and a nighttime symphony of chirping crickets and frogs. But I was still me, and my tortured mind kept racing all night long.

How I Discovered the Healing Powers of Floating

In the Caribbean, seawater is widely believed to have healing properties. Growing up, trips to the beach were no longer strictly about swimming, but rather opportunities for sea bathing, which was widely regarded as a cure-all activity.

On my first day at the beach, I entered the calm waters and allowed my body to adjust to the slightly cooler temperatures. Then, like I had done many times as a child, I leaned back and let the water lift me up, covering my entire body except for my face and the tips of my toes. In the silence, I stared at the blue sky above, noting the changing clouds and the occasional seagull flitting across the sky. Every inhale and exhale felt like a conscious but natural effort, and I had the impression that I was breathing easy for the first time in years.

Like most beaches in Antigua, this one was very calm, so the only touch I had was the gentle rocking of the waves caressing my face. While my constant anxiety made me feel alienated from myself, the act of floating, and the confidence required to surrender to weightlessness, brought me back to myself.

That night, I slept peacefully and had a good dream. My REM cycle is back! I returned to the beach every day that week and enjoyed the weightless feeling of floating freely, falling asleep easily and waking up refreshed every night.

Have I stumbled upon a cure for anxiety-induced insomnia? As I often do when trying to make sense of an experience, I turned to the Internet to find online testimonials similar to my own. That’s when I discovered that what I’d been doing had a name: flotation therapy, also known as Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST).

Explore the break

Rest is a therapeutic technique that limits sensory input, reducing brain stimulation and leading to a state of deep relaxation. Float breaks are the most common method and involve floating freely in a pool of Epsom salt saturated water heated to body temperature (or in my case, naturally salty warm ocean water).

Although research on flotation REST is limited, Learning in 2018² The study found that a single one-hour session reduced anxiety and improved mood in 50 people with a range of anxiety and stress disorders.

Justin Feinstein, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist and lead researcher on the 2018 study, said floating environments naturally induce a state of relaxation. “This happens both in the physiology of the body and in the brain itself,” he said. “Often, when you talk to people who try to meditate outside of a float tank, they talk about how the mind races. We found that a floating environment naturally slows down the brain, so it allows you to focus on what it’s like to be in the moment.

This explanation helped me understand why, during my most anxious moments, I could never sit down to fully appreciate the benefits of silent meditation. However, as I floated on the beach, my mind was at peace.

Because Feinstein’s research on flotation therapy was conducted in controlled environments (also known as floatation tanks), I asked him what he thought of my improved calmness and sleep after beach flotation sessions. He mentioned Blue Mind, a concept developed by his friend, the late Wallace J. Nichols. “The whole premise of Blue Mind is that water has inherent healing properties,” Feinstein explains. “It can be anything from just looking at the water to immersing yourself in the water, whether that’s swimming, surfing or floating.”

This reminds me of the Caribbean proverb: sea bathing is the ultimate elixir. Could it be that islanders have long understood the power of buoyancy, and researchers are just now catching up?

“I definitely think it makes sense,” said Feinstein, who lives on Maui. “On this island, people have used the ocean as a tool for healing, and that goes back generations.”

In the course of her work, Feinstein met with Hawaiian cultural practitioners who shared that the use of salt water to cleanse nervous system trauma dates back hundreds of years. “I think these ancient practices have been lost over time,” he said, “but there are a lot of people who intrinsically understand that, and I think those who go out to sea certainly understand that as well.”

Recreate the experience of mindfulness

Of course, not everyone has ready access to a body of water due to its simple location. But a floating spa can offer a similar experience. Shavon Muse, a wellness and marketing expert in Philadelphia, said she is a member of a nearby flotation center where she goes for a 60-minute session every other month.

“Daily life can be overloading,” Muse said. “Floating gave me a chance to get away from it all. I slept better after the session and had some whimsical dreams, which provided a great reset point for my personal consciousness.

However, these sessions can be expensive. That’s part of the reason why Feinstein started the nonprofit Flotation Research Collective a few years ago, with the primary goal of getting flotation therapy approved as a medical treatment that can be prescribed by doctors and covered by insurance plans. The group recently received a grant that allows them to provide flotation therapy to survivors of Maui’s devastating 2023 wildfires who still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In the meantime, taking advantage of the benefits of rest at home comes down to finding mindfulness activities that work for you, Dr. Dimitriu said. “Any mindful activity, or just slow down Being present in the body rather than in the mind can help relieve anxiety and subsequently improve sleep,” he says.

In addition to floating, mindfulness activities include body scan meditation, deep breathing exercises, movement-based meditation (such as maze walking or silence walking), progressive muscle relaxation, and even mindful coloring.

Feinstein says it’s important to give the nervous system a chance to rest. “I think a big part of what people need to do in their daily lives is create breaks where you’re not doing anything in particular,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re lying on … a really comfortable bed or in a pool or a bathtub or a flotation tank.”

What will my future be like?

My stay at my island home will soon come to an end. While I look forward to returning to city life with lower anxiety levels, better sleep habits, and a renewed sense of self, I know that recovering from a traumatic experience can be a lifelong endeavor.

My organic floatation therapy put me on the path to reconnecting with aspects of my personality that I thought were forever lost, namely my creativity and general optimism. I look forward to recreating and continuing this therapeutic floating meditation and incorporating other mindfulness practices into my life.

—Expert review by Brooke Schwartz, LCSW