Floatation Research. Floating Effective For Stress And Pain, Research Suggests. Relaxation in large, sound- and light-proof tanks with high-salt waterfloatingis an effective way to alleviate long-term stress-related pain.
This has been shown by Sven-Åke Bood, who recently completed his doctorate in psychology, with a dissertation from Karlstad University in Sweden. The dissertation confirms what earlier studies have indicated: sleep was improved, patients felt more optimistic, and the content of the vitalizing hormone prolactin increased. Anxiety, stress, depression, and perception of pain declined. Those who took part in the research project all had some form of stress-related pain, and after only twelve treatments in the floating tank, their condition improved. Brain scans show meditation changes minds, increases attention (June 25, 2007) For hundreds of years, Tibetan monks and other religious people have used meditation to calm the mind and improve concentration.
This week, a new study shows exactly how one common type of meditation affects the brain. Using a scanner that reveals which parts of the brain are active at any given moment, the researchers found that meditation increased activity in the brain regions used for paying attention and making decisions. "Most people, if they heard a baby screaming, would have some emotional response," Davidson says, but not the highly experienced meditators.
Www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/kjellgren.pdf.