This is an interesting study but one in which my personal experience in a sensory deprivation tank doesn't line up with the findings. More after the blurb.
From Wired...
You don’t need psychedelic drugs to start seeing colors and objects that aren’t really there. Just 15 minutes of near-total sensory deprivation can bring on hallucinations in many otherwise sane individuals.
Psychologists stuck 19 healthy volunteers into a sensory-deprivation room, completely devoid of light and sound, for 15 minutes. Without the normal barrage of sensory information flooding their brains, many people reported experiencing visual hallucinations, paranoia and a depressed mood.
“This is a pretty robust finding,” wrote psychiatrist Paul Fletcher of the University of Cambridge, who studies psychosis but was not involved in the study. “It appears that, when confronted by lack of sensory patterns in our environment, we have a natural tendency to superimpose our own patterns.”
About a year and a half ago my girlfriend (now
) picked me up at the 
and told me she had a 
for me. We made our way over to a warehouse area in Oakland and entered a nondescript building with a small sign in front that read Float Center.Still not knowing what was in store I listened intently as a woman explained the process of floating. Turns out, floating is sensory deprivation. You get into a
that's approximately 8.5' long by 4' wide, and almost 4' high. The chamber is soundproof and completely 
and you 
effortlessly on the surface of 10 inches of 
that is super saturated with 1,000 lbs. of 
. The 
in the tank is constantly maintained at 93.5 degrees, the same as your body's skin temperature, thereby creating a neutral temperature environment.Both the weightlessness of your floating body and the water temperature give your
the illusion that you are suspended in air. No hallucinations, just serene in what seemed like a much longer period of 
than had elapsed. It was one of the most relaxing experiences I've had and in many ways better than a 
.Click here for a list of float centers around the
.If you want to experience a natural hallucination, play the video above and expand it to full screen. Stare into the center of the video the entire time and then look around your room once it's complete. It's trippy.
3 comments:
Got to the end of your post to learn that I should have watched it on full screen.
Maybe I'll come back later and try it again.
Interesting...all of it.
I like the way you told this story, and if a picture tells a thousand words, it's a great way to beef up your article!
I've been floating for 10 years and it has greatly improved my quality of life, from eliminating 6 years debilitating back pain (thereby allowing me to avoid back surgery) to giving me a quick and effective way to destress. I created an educational site at floatforhealth.net where you can get more info.
@Sensory Deprivation Tank...nice site you have. I'm glad you liked the post. I've only been in the tank once but will definitely do it many more times in the future.
@Anita...sorry for the late notice at the end. You really don't have to stare at the entire video, 30-45 seconds should be enough to see the effect. The key though is to quickly turn away from your computer after you break your gaze and look at something else in your room...but not the ceiling or floor (not enough contrast).
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