At Float Lab® in Venice, Calif, adults of all ages ease themselves into individual salt water tanks to let the external world bob away. While once known by the less friendly names of “sensory deprivation” or “isolation” chambers, today “flotation tanks”—which are light-controlled, sound-resistant, and filled with skin-temperature water and enough dissolved salt to allow users to effortlessly stay afloat—are sought out by consumers who say floating helps with conditions ranging from stress management to writer’s block.
