Dr. Suedfeld focused on keeping subjects at ease and making the process simple for anyone participating. What his  research found was that instead of feeling like it was torture,  people actually enjoyed the sensory deprivation experience!  The subjects felt it was relaxing and beneficial. One participant even tried to sneak in multiple times under different  names to repeat the experience!

Over the years, he found out that there was a positive potential benefit to REST in many areas:  addiction treatment, helping people with autism, enhancing creativity, and, of course,  reducing stress. It shouldn’t be surprising, then,  that there are entire groups of people who choose to live in total darkness for months at a time and say they find it  peaceful.

This research was foundational for the future of float tanks,  and helped to key in early on to the benefits of floating and reducing stress. In fact, back in the 80s and 90s,  scientists started calling it “Floatation REST” and referring to the dark rooms that Dr. Suedfeld used as “Chamber  REST”.


Since then, scientific understanding of sensory reduced environments has only grown, and in the age of information,  the benefits of isolation run in stark contrast to how we live our day-to-day lives. Luckily,  you don’t need to spend a day in the dark to experience the benefits — we’re learning now that Float REST can provide  similar benefits in just a single session (though of course, the longer you can float, the better).

In his talk, Dr. Feinstein notes how we aren’t designed to be constantly plugged in and looking at screens all day,  listening to cars driving by,  or dealing with the glare of fluorescent lights non-stop. Neither were we supposed to be constantly thinking about what  we have to do next, fit a full 8 hour workday on top of raising families, going to school,  and being a part of our communities.

Even when we enjoy these things,  they can wear us out and add to the stress of our daily lives. Taking a break can give us a reset button,  and floating has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to do that.