Floating through the stresses of exam time

Tense muscles, headaches, clammy hands, feeling butterflies in your stomach, racing heart, feeling sick, fidgeting, nail biting, teeth grinding… Any of these sound familiar?

Yes, it’s exam time for many students at the moment so spare a thought to those who are cramming and pulling all-nighters!

University* life can be incredibly stressful - regardless of exams. The pressure to succeed, feelings of being uncertain of your future, the challenges of growing up and living away from home… It can all catch up on you!

If that does happen, know that there is a way to de-stress and reset when you need it most: Float!

There are several ways that a floatation session can help you feel ready for exams, or wind down after. Here’s five ways it can help:

1. Relax muscles

Floating gives you the feeling of zero gravity, so your muscles are totally suspended allowing for them to totally release and relax. Tension in your neck and shoulders will begin to ease as the weight and tightness is lifted, providing you with relief from their usual ache and stiffness.

1. Clear mind

   
   Floating could be a great option either just before your exam or just after. Floating allows your mind to be still and quiet, offering a time of reflection and the opportunity for your mind to be focussed before your exams. After you’ve taken your exams, the relief will be matched physically in the floatation tank as the time away from the cramming and stress will be a moment of solitude you’ve been looking forward to.
   
   

2. Away from screen

   
   Staring at your computer screen and your phone screen non-stop recently? Providing a physical barrier between you and your devices for an hour could give you the break you need (if your will-power for limited screen time has failed you recently!). Your eyes can have a moment to rest and your mind given time without distraction.
   
   

3. Breathing

   
   While breathing is a fact of life and something that we do fairly automatically, during times of stress our breathing can often become irregular and shallow. However, your floatation session will give you the environment you need to fully relax, meditate and take those deep breaths that you’ve been holding on to for weeks. Breathing slowly and deeply for at least five minutes tricks your body into being relaxed, which in turn makes you feel emotionally relaxed too as your cortisol drops. You’ll emerge from the tank feeling calm and clear-headed as the fog of stress has parted.
   
   

4. Better sleep

   
   Some say that being in the sleep tank for an hour offers you the same benefits as being in a deep sleep for three hours. So if your sleep patterns have been less than normal recently, then this could be a shortcut to claiming back some of that lost shuteye. 

Are you or someone you know studying hard and need a break? One session in a floatation tank could be a much-deserved rest during such a stressful time.

Book here or get a gift certificate as the ultimate self-care present.

*Please note: Floatation tanks have an age restriction of 18+.