Floatation Therapy as a Fertility Treatment

Floatation therapy is an alternative fertility treatment and natural method using a sensory deprivation tank or floating tank. Floating tanks date back to the 1970s, when the products hit the commercial world. People began using them mainly to relieve stress and to improve health. In recent years, women started using floatation therapy to improve their chances of conception. The information provided in this guide will inform you if the therapy is safe, effective and beneficial for fertility and other uses.

What Is Floating or Floatation Therapy?

Floating therapy is a sensory deprivation tank or floatation tank used to provide an enclosed environment for therapeutic stimulation. It is available as an egg-shaped tank, bathtub, pod or pool with a door or lid, and it is filled with approximately 12 inches of water or less. Once the door closes, the environment is dark, and the tank is completely soundproof. You float weightlessly, activating the brain for a relaxing state of mind.

What to Expect From the First Treatment Session

You can find floatation therapy tanks at health spas and wellness centers offering services for thirty-minute to one-hour sessions. Most of the establishments require you to schedule an appointment, though some might accept walk-ins. During your first session, a consultant or specialist will direct you to a private room and review how the therapy works. Each session requires you to shower before the treatment and once again after the session is over to remove the Epsom saltwater solution.

After the door closes, you are in complete darkness to clear unwanted thoughts and relax from the invigorating floatation. Most participants in research studies noted they experienced relaxation, and some of them even fell asleep peacefully during the treatments.

Safety of Floatation Therapy Tanks

Research on floating tanks’ health and mental benefits began in the 1970s and continues today. Although there are limited reports on the risks of sensory deprivation therapy, participants in research studies reported no risks. Some participants noted, however, that they experienced hallucinations and were scared inside the tanks.

It is highly unlikely that a person will drown in the tank because of the depth of the water. To avoid the possibility of drowning and hallucinations, people are advised to enter the tank sober. Researchers note that more research needs to be performed to further measure risks.

How Do Floatation Therapy Tanks Work?

A major feature of the floating tank is shutting off external gravity, sounds and view after closing the lid or door. Floatation tanks contain magnesium sulfate or Epsom salt water, allowing you to easily float with no distractions. The heat of the water is set to the temperature of your skin to promote relaxation and relieve stress, one of the contributors to the inability to conceive.

Seven Benefits of Floating or Sensory Deprivation Therapy While TTC

• Reduces some mental disturbances, including anxiety, stress and depression
• Improves physical health
• Effective for improving the chances of TTC by eliminating stress
• Alleviates minor aches and pain of joints and muscles
• Improves sleeping habits
• Reduces blood pressure by producing calmness
• Helps the body absorb magnesium

The majority of participants in recent studies reported the benefits of quality sleep and improved mental and physical health. A few of them reported hallucinations and a sense of being frightened after being enclosed in the tanks. Overall, researchers found floatation therapy effective in promoting relaxation, healthy sleeping habits and happiness.

Are you trying to get pregnant and actively working in a fast-paced environment but having no positive results? Floating therapy might be the best natural solution if you want to avoid fertility treatments using medicine. Stress can prevent fertility in some women, and the solution can be rest and relaxation. Physicians recommend women to reduce their workload and/or take time away from work to rejuvenate.

Anxiety, stress and depression can block the ability to conceive and interfere with the normal functions of the reproductive system. Floating therapy will remove the mental distress and replace it with peace, calm, relaxation and confidence to improve overall health. Researchers recommend float tanks and find they are safe for use by healthy people.