Anxiety doesn't turn off just because you decide you want it to. Neither does depression. Anyone who's spent time managing either knows that the usual advice — breathe, exercise, get outside — can help at the margins but rarely touches the underlying state that makes everything harder.
Float therapy approaches the problem differently. Rather than asking the anxious mind to calm itself, it removes most of the sensory input that keeps the nervous system activated in the first place. Research has been exploring what happens next for decades.
What Happens to an Anxious Nervous System in a Float Tank
When you climb into a float tank and the door closes, something starts to shift almost immediately — and it happens on both levels at once. The physical and psychological responses to floating are deeply intertwined. As the body loses its gravitational load and sensory input drops toward zero, the mind follows. Many people describe deep meditation-like relaxation, clearer thinking, and quieter anxious thoughts — and those feelings seem closely tied to the physical experience.
The water is kept at skin temperature (approximately 93.5°F), so your brain gradually stops registering the boundary between your body and the solution. The room is dark and quiet. Meanwhile, 1,300 pounds of Epsom salt holds you effortlessly at the surface — no effort, no position maintenance, nothing to hold up.
For a nervous system that's been running in high gear, this is a genuinely novel input. Not a demand to relax — an environment where there's almost nothing left to be alert about.
The default mode network and theta brainwaves
Anxiety is closely associated with hyperactivity in the brain's default mode network (DMN) — the system that generates rumination, self-referential thinking, and "what if" spirals. Emerging research suggests float therapy's reduction of sensory input may shift DMN activity in ways that quiet that background noise. Furthermore, EEG monitoring during float sessions has observed theta brainwave states — the same slow-wave activity associated with deep meditation and the edge of sleep — occurring without any deliberate effort from the person floating.
The magnesium factor
There's also a magnesium question worth answering accurately. Float tanks use approximately 1,300 pounds of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt). The popular claim that magnesium is absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin isn't supported, so we don't make it. What people do notice is the soak itself: an hour fully supported in warm, dense, buoyant water lets muscles let go in a way most people find deeply relaxing.
What the Clinical Research Shows
The most comprehensive clinical study on float therapy and anxiety was published in PLOS ONE in 2018 by Feinstein et al. at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. The researchers studied people with diagnosed anxiety disorders — not just general stress — and found significant short-term reductions in anxiety, stress, muscle tension, and pain, along with improved mood, after a single float session. Importantly, the effects were most pronounced in the people with the highest baseline anxiety levels.
A Cohen's d above 2 is a large effect size. It's important to be clear about what it does and doesn't mean: it measures how anxious people felt right after one session, not long-term management of an anxiety disorder. It can't be compared with medication studies, which measure something different over months. What it does suggest is that many people feel a real, noticeable calm after floating — and that it's worth taking seriously as a wellness tool alongside your care. Notably, 8 of the 50 participants in the Feinstein study were already taking benzodiazepines, and still showed significant anxiety reduction from floating.
Later work from the same research group suggests the calming effect may carry beyond the session itself and may build across repeated sessions — an area of emerging research.
Earlier work by Jonsson and Kjellgren (2016) followed people who floated regularly over a series of sessions and reported improvements in sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and optimism — effects that appeared to persist beyond individual sessions.
Float therapy has been studied since the 1950s, when neuroscientist John Lilly first developed the isolation tank at the National Institute of Mental Health. Decades of research followed. What has grown more recently is the clinical rigor — larger studies, diagnosed populations, and randomized controlled trials that meet modern evidence standards. What has been fairly consistent so far is the direction of effect: research suggests float sessions may produce meaningful short-term anxiety reduction, and many regular floaters tell us the effect builds with practice. Larger and longer studies are still needed.
What a Float Session Actually Feels Like for Anxiety
Most people enjoy their first float. If you live with anxiety, it still helps to know that an anxious mind may spend part of the session doing what anxious minds do — generating thoughts, scanning for discomfort, running through to-do lists.
That's normal, it usually settles, and it's worth knowing in advance.
What Members in Lincoln Have Said
We don't make clinical claims — but we do listen carefully to what members tell us, and the pattern is consistent enough to be worth sharing.
"I realized my whole life had turned into a slow crawl. My body has never felt so relaxed and I don't have an urgency to go go go go get everything done. Highly recommend."
"Lost in Float has provided me a source of healing and regeneration beyond my expectations. It's very clean, safe and inviting here."
"Floating has definitely allowed me to get stress levels under control. Definitely going to keep it part of my routine."
"I've never felt more like a new person coming out of a float. The most calming environment to float in."
"The float felt like drifting to the bottom of the ocean — quiet, weightless, and deeply calming. Total reset. Great for mental clarity and stress relief."
How Often to Float for Mental Health Benefits
Research suggests benefits may build with regular practice. A single session can bring a noticeable sense of calm — however, the longer-term shifts people describe tend to come from consistent use over weeks and months.
Finding your rhythm
Floating two to four times per month is where many people start to notice cumulative benefits. After a few months, once-a-week sessions are where most members who float for mental health reasons tend to land naturally.
A single 60-minute float is $75. A Lost in Float membership (from $69/month for 2 credits, no contracts) makes that consistency financially practical — plus 50% off every additional full-price service. Read about the progression from your first float to your tenth →
What Pairs Well with Float Therapy for Anxiety
Float therapy works well on its own. Many members like to pair it with other services — when stacking, we suggest cold first and the float last.
- Cold plunge first — research suggests cold exposure raises norepinephrine, which many people feel as a mood lift. Get it in Fire & Ice (Sauna + Cold Plunge) or the Immersion Room, before your float.
- Sauna before floating — heat relaxes muscles and warms the body before immersion, which many people find shortens the settling phase. Members get free sauna twice a day.
- Red light therapy — a calm, warm ~15-minute session many members like right before a float in the same visit.
Book your first float in Lincoln
Private suite. 1,300 lbs of Epsom salt. 60 minutes, $75. Sanitized between every session. Family-owned since 2017.
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A note: This post draws on published research. Float therapy is a wellness practice, not a treatment for anxiety, depression, or any medical condition. Talk to your doctor or mental health provider about what's right for you. If you're in crisis, contact 988 or your provider right away.
