The 1980s were an exciting time for float research. Word-of-mouth had grown stronger about this crazy new experience,  and more people across the world were searching for and stepping into tanks near them. Early studies had also begun to  show that floating had actual, science-backed benefits, and wasn’t just an idea born from unbacked,  new-age beliefs. New technology was allowing a wide range of deeper studies to be done,  looking to show evidence for the benefits of floating that people were reporting.

In the 1970s and 1980s,  Tom Fine was part of a team of researchers at the Medical College of Ohio. It was there he met John Turner,  and the two of them soon began conducting a series of studies on the effects of floatation REST on a variety of physical  and mental health conditions, especially surrounding stress.

We recently got a chance to interview Tom Fine,  and he reflected on how he entered the float world. He first came to know of Dr. John C. Lilly,  the inventor of the float tank, from reading The Center of the Cyclone,  which ignited an interest in exploring the practice of floating for himself. Fine was researching substance abuse when  he read The Deep Self and began to think about how floating could benefit the people he was aiming to help with his  research. At the time,  he was looking into relaxation training and how that could help those suffering from various addictions.