Floating For Athletic Performance
Here’s a sports trivia question for all our athletically-inclined readers: What do the New England Patriots, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Cubs, Manchester United Football Club, and Michael Phelps all have in common?
You might see this lineup and think “well, the ‘New England Patriots have won the Superbowl more than any other NFL team in history, the Golden State Warriors won the NBA finals back to back in 2017 and 2018, the Cubs made history when they won the 2016 World Series, Manchester United is one of the most honored soccer clubs in the world, and Michael Phelps has won more gold medals than any other Olympian in history!
They’re all winners!
”But that’s not all they have in common: they also all have a floatation-REST practice.
They weren’t alone, either: UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, the Chicago Bulls, Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman, the Philadelphia Eagles, Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis, The Detroit Pistons, as well as literally hundreds of other professional athletes have incorporated floating into their training and recovery programs throughout the years. Floating is one of the best kept secrets to high-performing athletes and there’s some interesting research that helps explain why.
If someone told you that laying in the dark on a bed of salt water could give you super human strength or speed, would you believe them?
It may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. One study found that high-level athletes who have plateaued (those who don’t see any additional benefits from more training) would see an improvement in performance after floating in conjunction with visualization techniques, even without additional training. Put another way, athletes were able to increase their peak performance just by floating before competition. A follow up study not only confirmed this result but also showed that floating multiple times between games led to significant improvements over a single float! This demonstrates something that most floaters already know: the more you float, the better it is for you. Several studies tested how floating affects marksmanship. All 3 studies had a float group and a control group, with participants from all skill levels. In the rifle marksmanship study 75% had a statistically significant increase in accuracy pre-to post-float with no such increase found in the control group (relaxation without floating). A similar effect was found in the darts study, with 80% of participants seeing an improvement. It’s worth noting that in both studies, these improvements were seen regardless of skill level.
The research suggests that Floatation-REST boosts an athlete’s performance in three different ways: control over the negative effects of stress, the elevation of their mental training, and decreased recovery time after demanding workouts and races (Hutchinson 1984).
Stress Reduction
For athletes, stress management is of the utmost importance. When athletes experience an abnormal amount of stress they can suffer from depression, apathy, decreased self-esteem, irritability, weight loss, increased vulnerability to injuries, and impaired performance (Kellmann, 2010). Flotation therapy has been used successfully in clinical stress management and has been found to reduce blood pressure, cortisol levels, and other stress-related neurochemicals such as norepinephrine, adrenaline, and ACTH (Hutchinson, 1984; Kjellgren, 2003; Bood et al, 2006; Dierendonck, 2005).
These neuro-chemicals are known to trigger the fight-or-flight response, which as Hutchinson notes, is very good for “lifting a truck off a trapped body, tearing out someone’s liver, or running like hell in mindless terror, but not so hot for the kind of clearheaded strategy, pinpoint accuracy, total concentration, and perfectly coordinated finesse required in most sports”. By eliciting the relaxation response, flotation therapy puts the athlete in a calm, unshakable, steady, centered, alert, totally concentrated state of mind that allows them to work at peak efficiency.
Mental Training/Visualization
Researchers have known for quite a long time that an athlete’s mental game plays an extremely important role in their performance. A study by Richardson (1998) perfectly sums up why floating works so well to improve an athlete’s mental training. He writes: “Flotation-REST works to enhance athletic performance because it provides a profoundly relaxing experience in an environment conducive to greater amounts and better quality of sports-related imagery, planning strategic thought processes than possible in other environments”.
The tank allows the athlete to control every aspect of the desired athletic experience. They are able to walk through each step of the technique or match and fully focus on the visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory imagery. In the study Body Thinking: Psychology for Olympic Champs by Suinn (1976), it was found that the true key to effective imagery is deep relaxation. Suinn also found that float tanks are able to increase the production, intensity, clarity, and controllability of mental imagery. Clearly, flotation therapy has incredible benefits for athletes looking to step up their mental game.
Recovery Time
Building off of earlier research, scientists in recent years have started using biometrics to see what’s happening to athletes who float on a physiological level. A 2013 study looked at the effect floating has on lactic acid build-up. Lactic acid is associated with that post-workout feeling of tightness in your muscles that causes your body to stiffen and get sore. Professional athletes are always looking for new ways to reduce the amount it builds up during a workout to maximize performance. What they found was that floating after exercise showed a 62% reduction in lactic acid build up on average compared to the control group. Participants also reported feeling less pain and were back at peak performance sooner. A follow up study in 2016 was able to replicate this effect with a larger sample size over 9 different sports. Not only were they able to replicate the lactic acid reduction, they also found a significant reduction in muscle soreness and improved mood and reduced fatigue in those that floated.
Below are just a few teams and athletes who float:
Looking at the whole picture when you take all of these effects into consideration, you can start to see why floating has been one of the best kept secrets of successful athletes. When you take into account the stress reduction benefits as well, you can see how floating might help them be at the top of their mental game in addition to their professional one. What is the best part about all of this? Floating is helpful for athletes at every level. You don’t need to be an Olympian to see the benefits of floating in your exercise or sport. It can be a nice way to cool down after a jog or help you recover after playing in a local league game on the weekends. If you’re looking for a new and effective way to improve your performance on the field, track, rink, or court, book your session now!
References:
Bood, S.V., Sundequist, U., Kjellgren, A., Norlander, T., Nordstrom, L., Nordenstrom, K., Nordstrom, G. (2006). Eliciting the relaxation response with the help of flotation-rest (restricted environmental stimulation technique) in patients with stress-related ailments. International Journal of Stress Management. 13(2):154-175
Dierendonck, D.V., Nijenhuls, J.T. (2005). Floatation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) as a stress-management tool: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Health. 20(3):405-412
Hutchinson, M. (1984).The Book of Floating: Exploring the Private Sea. Quill Books, New York.
Kellmann, M. (2010) Preventing overtraining in athletes in high-intensity sports and stress/recovert monitoring. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. 20(2):95-102
Kjellgren, A. (2003) The experience of flotation-REST (restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique: Consciousness, Creativity, Subjective Stress and Pain (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from www.diva-portal.org
Rhea, M.R., Alvar, B.A., Burkett, L.N., & Ball, S.D. (2003). A meta-analysis to determine the dose response for strength development. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35(3):1601-1607
Richardson, S.O. (1998). Imagery, progressive muscle relation and restricted environmental stimulation: enhancing mental training and rowing ergometer performance through flotation REST (Masters dissertation). Retrieved from https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/id/20654/ubc_1998-0593.pdf
Suinn, R.M. (1976) Body Thinking: Psychology for Olympic Champs. Psychology Today. 38