One of the more enjoyable things to do when freediving is what we, in freediving terms, call a “hang”.
This is done by simply pulling yourself down to a depth of around 10 meters, where you are neutrally buoyant, meaning that you’re neither positive nor negative buoyant and then whilst there, hang in the water without any effort.
When we’re there, we close our eyes and let our mind wonder and pay notice only to the sensations felt.
When I first heard about sensory deprivation tanks, I couldn’t help but notice the many similarities they had to a “freediving hang”. So, I decided to try it out for myself and see how it felt.
What is a sensory deprivation tank?
Freediving hangs
Sense
- Hearing
Depending on where you are, the water environment could range in sound. I’ve experienced close to silence when I’ve been doing hangs in the open ocean. But there is still always the slight noise of a distant boat engine or the noise of fish eating away at the corals.✔️✖️
Sense
- Smell
This is a sense you don’t experience when freediving. Usually we have a nose clip which means that we won’t smell anything, and therefore this sense is completely deprived when we freedive.✔️
Sense
- Touch
When we’re floating weightless in the water, we experience the slight feeling of cold water touching on the areas which are not covered by our wetsuit. Theoretically, we could be freediving in a place where the water temperature matches our skin temperature at 33c degrees, and then we could assume to get the same effect as in the flotation tank. ✔️✖️
Sense
- Signt
There is no visual input when we hang. We close our eyes and it's as dark as it would be in the tank. ✔️
Sense
- Vestibular
Here, I would say that one’s sense of direction gets even more distorted and numbed when freediving, compared to laying in a tank. You really feel weightless when you’re hanging at around 10 meters, and this feeling is hard to simulate, even in a floatation tank. ✔️
So, what are the scientifically proven health benefits of sensory deprivation tanks?
In the 1970s, commercial float tanks were created and began being studied for possible health benefits. The studies found that:
Stress, depression, anxiety, and strong pain were significantly decreased, while optimism and sleep quality significantly increased for the flotation-REST group.
There was also a significant correlation between mindfulness in daily life and degree of altered states of consciousness during the relaxation in the flotation tank.
Here is a link to the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4219027/
Although not entirely the same, freediving hangs are able to deprive one of many of their senses, and most freedivers would agree that hangs can give you a real sense of peace. I’d even argue that freediving, if done in a mindful and relaxed state, may have similar benefits to the health as the flotation tank.
Share article: