An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank in which subjects float in salty water at skin temperature. They were first used by John C. Lilly in 1954 in order to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation and relaxation and in alternative medicine. Isolation tanks were originally called sensory deprivation tanks. Other synonyms for isolation tank include float tank, floating tank, floater tank, flotation tank, REST tank, flotation baths, John Lilly tank and sensory attenuation tank. John Cunningham Lilly (January 6, 1915 – September 30, 2001) was an American physician, psychoanalyst and writer. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... Relaxation techniques are used by people who wish to relax, for a wide variety of reasons. ... Alternative medicine is defined as any of various systems of healing or treating disease (as chiropractic, homeopathy, or faith healing) not included in the traditional medical curricula taught in the United States and Britain.[1] Complementary medicine is defined as any of the practices (as acupuncture) of alternative medicine accepted...

History

John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and neuro-psychiatrist, developed the flotation tank in the 1950s. During his training in psychoanalysis at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Lilly commenced experiments with physical isolation. In neurophysiology, there had been an open question as to what keeps the brain going and the origin of its energy sources. One answer was that the energy sources are biological and internal and do not depend upon the outside environment. It was argued that if all stimuli is cut off to the brain then the brain would go to sleep. Lilly decided to test this hypothesis and, with this in mind, created an environment which totally isolated an individual from external stimulation. From here, he studied the origin of consciousness and its relation to the brain. John Cunningham Lilly (January 6, 1915 – September 30, 2001) was an American physician, psychoanalyst and writer. ... The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States federal governments principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. ... Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. ...

Peter Suedfeld and Roderick Borrie of the University of British Columbia began experimenting on the therapeutic benefits of flotation tank usage in the late 1970s. They named their technique "Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy" (REST). The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public research university with campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna. ...

Use

In the original tanks, people were required to wear complicated head-masks in order to breathe underwater. In newer tanks, epsom salt is added to the water in the tank to raise the density of the water above the density of the human body, so that the subject floats with his or her face above the water. However, since the ears are submerged when the subject is in a relaxed position, hearing is greatly reduced, particularly when ear-plugs are also used. When the arms float to the side, skin sensation is greatly reduced because the air and water are the same temperature as the skin, and the feeling of a body boundary fades. The sense of smell is also greatly reduced, especially if the water has not been treated with chlorine. Magnesium sulfate (commonly called Epsom salts in hydrated form) is a chemical compound with the formula MgSO4·7H2O. Origin Epsom salt was originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters at Epsom, England and afterwards prepared from sea water. ...

A therapeutic session in a flotation tank typically lasts an hour. For the first forty minutes, it is reportedly possible to experience itching in various parts of the body (a phenomenon also reported to be common during the early stages of meditation). The last twenty minutes often end with a transition from beta or alpha brainwaves to theta, which typically occurs briefly before sleep and again at waking. In a float tank, the theta state can last for several minutes without the subject losing consciousness. Many use the extended theta state as a tool for enhanced creativity and problem-solving or for superlearning. Spas sometimes provide commercial float tanks for use in relaxation. Flotation therapy has been academically studied in the USA and in Sweden with published results showing reduction of both pain and stress^[1]. The relaxed state also involves lowered blood pressure and maximal blood flow. Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic exploration of the electrical activity of the brain by the application of electrodes to the scalp. ... Look up Creativity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Problem solving forms part of thinking. ... Look up spa, Spa, SpA in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Floating can be passive or active, depending on the purpose. For relaxation, one simply floats and becomes the observer of the body/mind system. Active floating has many different techniques. One may perform meditation, mantras, self-hypnosis, utilize educational programs, etc. The idea of active floating is that, when the body is relaxed, the mind becomes highly suggestible and any action taken during these states will enter the information into the sub-conscious. Flotation therapy may be used to complement other body work and healing methods. For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... Autosuggestion is a process by which an individual trains the subconscious mind to believe something, or systematically schematizes the persons own mental associations, usually for a given purpose. ... In alternative medicine, body work or massage therapy refers to any treatment which involves some form of touching or physical manipulation. ...

More extreme uses of the tank involve the subject taking varying doses of hallucinogens, such as LSD, and spending prolonged periods in the tank (up to tens of hours) at a time, an approach pioneered by Lilly himself—though he claims to have tried LSD in the tank only prior to 1964, when the psychedelic was still legal. Hallucinogenic drugs or hallucinogens are drugs that can alter sensory perceptions, elicit alternate states of consciousness, or cause hallucinations. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... Psychedelic drugs are psychoactive drugs whose primary action is to alter the thought processes of the brain. ...

Notable users

The physicist Richard Feynman wrote about his experiences with sensory deprivation in a flotation tank in one of his popular books, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. Feynman was invited to try the isolation tank at John Lilly's home after Lilly attended one of Feynman's popular lectures on quantum mechanics. Joe Rogan also owns an isolation tank and can be heard talking about his experiences with it in a YouTube video.^[2] This article is about the physicist. ... Surely Youre Joking, Mr. ... For a less technical and generally accessible introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ... Joe Rogan performing at a comedy club after UFC 70. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...

In popular culture

Isolation tanks have appeared in a number of novels, movies and television programs. In Paddy Chayefsky's novel and screenplay for the film Altered States, a scientist is able to reach different states of consciousness by using psychoactive drugs in combination with an isolation tank. Isolation tanks also appear in The Door to December by Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy's novel, The Cardinal of the Kremlin. Isolation tanks have appeared on television in episodes of The Simpsons ("Make Room for Lisa") and Absolutely Fabulous ("Iso Tank"). In the film Daredevil, the main character, Matt Murdock, although blind, has extraordinarily heightened senses (particularly hearing) that make it very difficult for him to sleep without an isolation tank to shut out the outside world. In the video game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, as part of the "Perfect Soldier Project", Null is kept inside of an isolation tank when not in combat in order to heighten his battle abilities and hamper his memories. In Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever, the title character is put into an isolation tank for study. In the John Cameron Mitchell film Shortbus, two characters share an isolation tank in several scenes. In Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, one character jokes that his boss had a telephone built into his isolation tank. In Stanisław Lem's short story "The Conditional Reflex" (a part of the Tales of Pirx the Pilot), Pirx, being a cadet at that time, undergoes sensory deprivation testing in an isolation tank. Sidney Aaron Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) known as Paddy Chayefsky was an acclaimed dramatist who transitioned from the golden age of American live television in the 1950s to have a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter for Hollywood. ... Altered States is the name of both a novel (ISBN 0060107278) and a film adaptation of that novel, both written by Paddy Chayefsky. ... An assortment of psychoactive drugs A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior. ... The Door to December is a novel by the best-selling author Dean Koontz, released in 1985. ... Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania), also known under a number of pseudonyms, including Leigh Nichols, is an American writer. ... For the member of the Irish folk band The Clancy Brothers, see Tom Clancy (singer) and for the American Celticist, see Thomas Owen Clancy. ... The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a novel by Tom Clancy, featuring his character Jack Ryan. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Make Room for Lisa is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. ... Absolutely Fabulous is a British sitcom written by and starring Jennifer Saunders, and co-starring Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha and June Whitfield. ... Daredevil is a 2003 movie directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote the screenplay. ... John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963 in El Paso, Texas) is an American writer, actor, and director. ... Shortbus is a 2006 film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, writer/director/star of the play and film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency is a novel by Douglas Adams. ... StanisÅ‚aw Lem ( , September 12, 1921 – March 27, 2006) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer. ... This article is in need of attention. ... It has been suggested that Pirx be merged into this article or section. ... A cadet is a future officer in the military. ... Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. ...

See also

• Altered state of consciousness
• Sensory deprivation
• Psychedelic experience

An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from a normative waking beta wave state. ... Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. ... A psychedelic experience, or trip, is characterized by the perception of aspects of ones mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ordinary fetters. ...

References

1. ^ Kjellgren A, Sundequist U, et al. "Effects of flotation-REST on muscle tension pain". Pain Research and Management 6 (4): 181-9
2. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEjTXX2rHgA

Books

• Hutchison, Michael (2003). The Book of Floating: Exploring the Private Sea. Gateways Books and Tapes. ISBN 0895561182
• Lilly, John C. & E.J. Gold (2000). Tanks for the Memories: Flotation Tank Talks. Gateways Books & Tapes. ISBN 0895560712
• Lilly, John C. (1981). The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation and the Tank Isolation Technique. Warner Books. ISBN 044633023X
• Lilly, John C. (1990). The Center of the Cyclone. Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0714509612
• Lilly, John C. (1996). The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography. Ronin Publishing. ISBN 0914171720