Benefits of Float Therapy: Why People Float

Why would someone spend 60 or 90 minutes floating in skin temperature Epsom salt water with no light, no sound, and almost no outside stimulation?

Until you've experienced float therapy, it can be difficult to understand just how different it feels from simply lying down or relaxing in a bathtub.

Modern life rarely gives your mind and body an opportunity to experience true stillness. Even when we're supposedly relaxing, we're usually watching television, scrolling through our phones, listening to music, answering messages, or thinking about what we need to do next.

Float therapy creates something completely different.

At Blissful Relaxation Float Spa in Louisville, Kentucky, our private float rooms are designed to remove as many outside distractions as possible.

No light. No sound. No gravity.

Here are some of the reasons people choose to float.

1. Deep Relaxation

Relaxation sounds simple, but completely disconnecting from outside stimulation can be surprisingly difficult in everyday life.

During a float, your body is supported by extremely buoyant Epsom salt water maintained around skin temperature.

There's no need to hold yourself up.

There's nowhere to go.

There's nothing you need to accomplish.

Once the lights fade and the music disappears, many of the sensations you're accustomed to processing are dramatically reduced.

For many guests, this creates a level of relaxation that feels very different from simply sitting on the couch or taking a nap.

2. A Break From

​Constant Stimulation

​Think about everything your brain processes during an ordinary day.

Phones. Screens. Traffic. Conversations. Notifications. Music. Work. Family. Lights. Noise.

Even when you aren't consciously paying attention to all of it, your brain is still receiving information from the environment around you.

Floating intentionally reduces that input.

When you remove the light, sound, screens, conversations and many of the physical sensations normally surrounding you, you're left with an unusually peaceful environment.

Sometimes doing absolutely nothing is exactly what you need.

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3. Stress Reduction

One of the most common reasons people try float therapy is simply because they're stressed.

Research into Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) has examined how floating may affect anxiety, stress, mood and physiological measures associated with relaxation.

Research continues, and float therapy shouldn't be viewed as a replacement for medical or mental-health treatment.

But you don't need a scientific paper to understand why people might enjoy spending uninterrupted time away from ringing phones, deadlines, screens and everyday responsibilities.

For the duration of your float, the outside world can wait.

4. Physical Recovery

Float therapy isn't only about mental relaxation.

Athletes, active people and those who simply spend long days on their feet often use floating as part of their recovery routine.

The highly concentrated Epsom salt water supports your body at the surface without requiring you to swim or tread water.

Because you're floating effortlessly, the normal pressure of supporting your body against gravity is dramatically reduced.

Your muscles aren't working to hold you upright.

You can simply let go.

That's one reason floating can feel so different from lying in a bed, sitting in a chair, or soaking in a regular bathtub.

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5. Time Without Pressure on

​Your Body

Gravity is something most of us never think about because we've experienced it every second of our lives.

Whether you're standing, sitting or lying down, some part of your body is supporting your weight against another surface.

Floating changes that sensation.

The dense Epsom salt solution distributes support across your body and allows you to remain effortlessly at the surface.

Many first-time guests are surprised by just how unusual—and comfortable—that sensation can feel.

6. Meditation Without the Usual

Distractions

Meditation can be difficult when you're surrounded by distractions.

A phone buzzes.

Someone walks into the room.

A car drives past.

You hear the television in another room.

In a float room, many of those distractions disappear.

Some guests intentionally meditate during their float. Others find themselves entering a deeply peaceful state without actively trying to meditate at all.

There's no correct way to do it.

At Blissful Relaxation, you can float in complete silence or choose relaxation music, ocean waves, classical music, or even a guided meditation.

Your float is yours.

7. An Opportunity to Disconnect

​ From Technology

When was the last time you spent an entire hour without looking at a screen?

For many of us, it's difficult to remember.

Phones have become alarm clocks, calendars, cameras, televisions, newspapers, workstations and entertainment devices.

That makes completely disconnecting increasingly rare.

You aren't scrolling through your phone inside a float room.

You aren't checking email.

You're not watching the clock.

For a little while, you can simply disconnect.

8. Quiet Time to Think—or Not

​Think at All

Some people use their float as uninterrupted thinking time.

Without everyday distractions competing for attention, ideas can sometimes seem clearer.

Other people experience exactly the opposite.

They don't want to think about anything.

They simply want quiet.

Both experiences are perfectly fine.

There's no goal you have to reach during a float and nothing you're supposed to accomplish.

9. Preparing for Better Rest

People frequently associate floating with deep relaxation, which is why some guests prefer to schedule their floats later in the day.

Others enjoy floating earlier because they like the calm feeling they experience afterward.

Everyone responds differently.

Some people even fall asleep while floating.

And that's okay.

If your mind and body decide that sleep is what you need, you can simply let yourself rest. The extremely buoyant water continues supporting you at the surface.

10. Having 60 or 90 Minutes That

​Are Completely Yours

This may be one of the most overlooked benefits of floating.

For once, nobody needs anything from you.

You don't need to answer your phone.

You don't need to respond to an email.

You don't need to cook dinner, finish a project, clean the house, drive somewhere, or solve somebody else's problem.

You have permission to do absolutely nothing.

In today's world, that can be incredibly valuable.

Why the Float

​Environment Matters

Not every float experience takes place in the same type of equipment.

Some float centers use smaller enclosed pods or orbs.

Wondering about the difference between float tanks, pods and rooms? Read our guide to Float Tanks vs. Float Pods vs. Float Rooms.

​At Blissful Relaxation, we chose king-sized Ocean Float Rooms imported from England.

Each Ocean Float Room measures 8 feet × 7 feet, giving you enough room to stand comfortably inside before entering the water and enough space to stretch your arms out while floating.

You aren't climbing into a small pod and closing a lid over your head.

Instead, you walk into a spacious private float room.

Each float room is also located inside its own private suite with a private shower.

We designed Blissful Relaxation around privacy and comfort because we believe your surroundings are an important part of your ability to truly relax.

Float Therapy in Louisville, Kentucky

Blissful Relaxation opened in Louisville in 2018, and since then more than 52,000 guests have floated with us.

We have four king-sized Ocean Float Rooms—the largest collection of king-sized Ocean Float Rooms in the world.

Our involvement in the float industry also extends beyond our own center. In 2023, Blissful Relaxation was one of three Louisville float centers that helped host the Float Conference when more than 1,000 members of the float community came to Louisville.

During that conference, Blissful Relaxation was the only Louisville float center selected for an exclusive professional Art of the Float photo shoot, which took place inside one of our Ocean Float Rooms.

We're proud to be family owned and operated and Louisville's longest continuously operating float spa.

New to floating? Read our Beginner's Guide to Float Therapy to learn what to expect during your first float.
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How Often Should You Float?

There isn't one schedule that's right for everyone.

Some people float occasionally when they feel like they need to disconnect and reset. Others incorporate floating into a regular wellness or recovery routine.

Your first float is also just that—your first experience.

Many people find that subsequent floats feel different because they already know what to expect and may become comfortable with the environment more quickly.

Ultimately, the right frequency is the one that works for you.

Experience the Benefits of Floating for Yourself

We can explain the mechanics of float therapy.

We can tell you about the Epsom salt, skin-temperature water, reduced stimulation, spacious rooms and incredible buoyancy.

But describing the actual feeling of floating is much harder.

You have to experience it.

If you're looking for float therapy in Louisville, Kentucky, come experience one of our private 8-foot × 7-foot king-sized Ocean Float Rooms at Blissful Relaxation Float Spa.

Leave the phone behind.

Let the music disappear.

Let the lights fade away.

Let the water support you.

And just float.

No light. No sound. No gravity. Just float.

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