Menu
Menu
The benefits of floating (also called float therapy or flotation-REST) have been the subject of more than 40 years of scientific research, including clinical trials and reviews. Studies suggest floating may help reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, lift your mood and aid muscle recovery. Below we’ve summarised the evidence for each benefit, with links to the original studies.
Floating isn’t a substitute for medical treatment. If you have a health condition, please speak to your GP.
Floating may lower stress hormones and help you reach a deep state of relaxation.
LEARN MORE
Research suggests floating may help calm an anxious mind, even after a single session.
LEARN MORE
Floating has been linked to better sleep, and many people sleep especially well after a float.
Athletes use floating to reduce muscle soreness and fatigue after hard exercise.
With your weight fully supported, many people find their aches ease while they float.
Most of the studies on this page used a course of floats, usually around 12 sessions over a few weeks, and in several the benefits were still there months later. A single float can leave you feeling wonderful, but regular floating is where the research shows the biggest difference.
In a randomised trial of 70 people with stress-related pain, a course of 12 floats reduced stress, anxiety, depression and pain, and improved sleep. Most benefits were still present four months later. (Bood et al., 2006)
In people with generalised anxiety, improvements in anxiety and sleep after a course of floats lasted six months. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2016)
By contrast, in a trial where people with chronic pain had only 5 floats, the benefits didn’t last. The researchers note that studies with lasting effects used more sessions. (Loose et al., 2021)
Floating is one of the most researched ways to switch off. Studies show it can lower stress hormones such as cortisol and help you reach a deep state of relaxation. In one trial, the benefits were still there four months later.
A meta-analysis of 27 studies (449 participants) found floating reduced physical signs of stress, including cortisol and blood pressure, and improved wellbeing. The authors concluded it “can be a useful stress management tool”. (van Dierendonck & te Nijenhuis, 2005, Psychology & Health)
In a randomised trial of 70 people with stress-related pain, a course of 12 floats reduced stress, anxiety and pain, and improved sleep and optimism. Most benefits lasted at the 4-month follow-up. (Bood et al., 2006, International Journal of Stress Management)
In a randomised trial of 65 healthy employees, 12 floats over 7 weeks reduced stress compared with a waiting-list group. (Kjellgren & Westman, 2014, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Many people find floating calms an anxious mind. Research suggests it may help reduce feelings of anxiety. In one study a single float led to a large drop in anxiety, and the most anxious people benefited the most.
In a randomised pilot trial, people with generalised anxiety disorder had a course of floats or joined a waiting list. Afterwards, 37% of the float group no longer met the criteria for the condition, compared with 14% of the waiting list, and the improvements lasted six months. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2016, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
50 people with anxiety and stress-related conditions each had a single 1-hour float. Their anxiety dropped substantially, along with stress and muscle tension, and the most anxious people saw the largest effects. This was an early study with no comparison group, and the effects measured were short-term. (Feinstein et al., 2018, PLOS ONE)
31 adults with high anxiety compared a float with watching a nature documentary. Floating reduced anxiety and muscle tension more, and increased feelings of serenity and relaxation. (Feinstein et al., 2018, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging)
In a randomised trial of 65 healthy employees, a course of 12 floats over 7 weeks reduced anxiety compared with a waiting-list group. (Kjellgren & Westman, 2014, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Floating isn’t a treatment for anxiety disorders. If you’re receiving treatment, please continue it and speak to your GP.
People often leave a float feeling calmer, happier and more positive. Studies have found improvements in mood, optimism and wellbeing after floating, both after a single session and after a course of floats.
After a single float, 50 people with anxiety and stress-related conditions (most also with depression) reported increased serenity, relaxation, happiness and overall wellbeing, and lower levels of depression. (Feinstein et al., 2018, PLOS ONE)
In a randomised trial of 65 healthy employees, a course of 12 floats reduced depression scores and increased optimism compared with a waiting-list group. (Kjellgren & Westman, 2014, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
In a randomised trial of 70 people with stress-related pain, 12 floats reduced depression and increased optimism, with most benefits still present four months later. (Bood et al., 2006, International Journal of Stress Management)
In people with generalised anxiety, depression scores improved after a course of floats compared with a waiting list, but this improvement wasn’t maintained at six months. That suggests regular floating may help keep the benefits going. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2016, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Floating is not a substitute for treatment for depression. If you’re struggling with your mood, please speak to your GP.
Many people tell us they sleep especially well after a float. A 2020 review of the research found floating improved sleep in every study it looked at, and in some studies the benefits lasted for months.
A systematic review of 9 studies found that floating had beneficial effects on sleep in every one, in people with and without sleep problems, and in two studies the effects lasted 4–6 months. The authors note that most studies used simple self-report measures, and describe floating as “a promising treatment for insomnia symptoms” that needs more research. (Kjellgren et al., 2020, European Journal of Integrative Medicine)
Trained athletes floated for an hour after evening exercise, and on another occasion rested for an hour instead. They had significantly better sleep quality on the nights after floating, measured with sleep-tracking wristbands as well as questionnaires. (Broderick et al., 2019, Performance Enhancement & Health)
In people with generalised anxiety, 43% of the float group became “good sleepers” after a course of floats, compared with 27% of a waiting-list group, and the improvement lasted six months. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2016, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
In a randomised trial of 70 people with stress-related pain, 12 floats improved sleep quality, with most benefits still present four months later. (Bood et al., 2006, International Journal of Stress Management)
Floating is used by athletes as part of their recovery. In studies of trained athletes, an hour’s float after hard exercise reduced muscle soreness and fatigue compared with resting, and in one study it also led to better sleep and sprint performance the next day.
19 trained team-sport athletes (football, rugby and basketball players) compared an hour’s float after hard exercise with an hour of passive rest. After floating they had less muscle soreness and fatigue, higher pain thresholds, better sleep quality, and slightly better sprint and jump performance the next morning. (Broderick et al., 2019, Performance Enhancement & Health)
11 resistance-trained men did a heavy squat session followed by either a one-hour float or a control session. Floating reduced muscle soreness and fatigue over the following 48 hours, with no adverse effects. (Caldwell et al., 2022, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
60 elite athletes from 9 sports floated after training. Afterwards their muscle soreness was significantly lower, and 15 of 16 measures of mood had improved. (Driller & Argus, 2016, Performance Enhancement & Health)
After muscle-damaging exercise, 24 men either floated or rested for an hour. Floating led to lower blood lactate and less muscle soreness, although muscle strength recovered at the same rate in both. (Morgan et al., 2013, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research)
With your body fully supported by the water, there’s no pressure on your joints and muscles, and many people find their aches ease while they float. Studies have found reductions in muscle tension and pain after floating, including in people living with long-term pain.
In a randomised trial, 99 people with chronic pain had 5 floats, 5 sessions in a “placebo” tank (less buoyant, with more light and sound), or no extra treatment. Pain intensity fell significantly straight after each float, and relaxation and anxiety improved too. The placebo sessions gave similar short-term relief, and neither had lasting effects after 5 sessions. (Loose et al., 2021, JAMA Network Open)
37 people with muscle tension pain in the neck and back were randomly assigned to 9 floats over three weeks or a waiting list. In the float group, “worst pain” fell from 62 to 37 on a 100-point scale, and anxiety and depression also decreased. (Kjellgren et al., 2001, Pain Research & Management)
In a randomised trial of 70 people with stress-related pain, 12 floats reduced the number of painful areas, with most benefits still present four months later. (Bood et al., 2006, International Journal of Stress Management)
In healthy employees, a course of 12 floats reduced “worst pain” ratings compared with a waiting-list group. (Kjellgren & Westman, 2014, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Floating isn’t a treatment for any medical condition. If you have a health condition, please speak to your GP before floating.
With no distractions and nothing to respond to, your mind is free to wander. Several studies have found people score higher on tests of originality and creative thinking after floating, which is why some writers, artists and musicians use it.
Researchers tested whether floating could help people think more creatively about scientific problems, and found it enhanced creative thinking. (Suedfeld, Metcalfe & Bluck, 1987, Journal of Environmental Psychology)
Studies have found increased originality after floating, and improvements in some aspects of creative problem-solving. (Forgays & Forgays, 1992; Norlander, Bergman & Archer, 1998, Journal of Environmental Psychology)
One explanation is that reducing outside stimulation quietens analytical, everyday thinking, and gives more room to intuition, imagination and focus on the “here and now”. (Bood, 2007, doctoral thesis, Karlstad University)
A 2014 review of float research described claims of increased creativity as “relatively truthful”, while noting that effects vary and won’t happen for everyone. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2014, European Journal of Integrative Medicine)
The float tank is a quiet space to switch off, meditate or simply be. Many people describe a calm, dreamlike, “here and now” state, and you don’t need any meditation experience to reach it.
Researchers describe floating as an effective way to bring on the body’s relaxation response, even in people with severe stress. Unlike many relaxation techniques, it seems to work without any effort or practice. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2014, European Journal of Integrative Medicine)
After a single float, people reported large increases in serenity and relaxation. (Feinstein et al., 2018, PLOS ONE)
Compared with watching a relaxing nature documentary, floating produced greater increases in relaxation and serenity, and a drop in blood pressure that was largest in the first 15 minutes of the float. (Feinstein et al., 2018, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging)
Floating shares some qualities with meditation, such as a mindful, “here and now” state. In healthy employees who floated regularly, people with higher mindfulness tended to report deeper relaxed and dreamlike experiences in the tank. (Jonsson & Kjellgren, 2014; Kjellgren & Westman, 2014, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Floating isn’t a treatment for any medical condition. If you have a health condition, please speak to your GP before floating.
Floating is very well tolerated. In a 2024 clinical trial, adults with anxiety and depression floated once a week for six weeks with no serious side effects from floating, and most people kept coming back. Earlier studies found the same.
If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or aren’t sure whether floating is right for you, please read our FAQs or speak to your GP before booking.
75 adults with anxiety and depression were randomly assigned to six weekly floats, flexible floats, or sessions in a reclining chair. There were no serious side effects linked to floating, and 85–89% of people in the float groups attended their sessions. The most common minor effects were itchiness and a dry mouth. (Garland et al., 2024, PLOS ONE)
In 50 people with anxiety and stress-related conditions, a single float was well tolerated, with no major safety concerns. (Feinstein et al., 2018, PLOS ONE)
In an early clinical trial of people with anorexia nervosa, floating caused no falls, no problems with blood pressure on standing, and no serious adverse events. (Khalsa et al., 2020, Frontiers in Psychology)
Blood pressure fell during floating, most in the first 15 minutes. (Feinstein et al., 2018, Biological Psychiatry: CNNI)
Whether you’re looking to unwind, sleep better or recover after training, your first float is the best way to find out what it can do for you.
The research summarised on this page is for general information only and isn’t medical advice. Floating is not a substitute for medical treatment. If you have a health condition, please speak to your GP before floating. Some publishers only show a summary of each study free of charge.
