Try This To Bust Stress and Boost Your Immune System This Fall

As we start a new school year, we’ve all got a mixed sense of optimism and concern over what colder weather and classmates gathering together might bring.

Needless to say, it’s been stressful. And that’s exactly the last thing you want when trying to stay healthy this fall.

Stress negatively affects our immune system when it goes unchecked and staying healthy and having a strong immune system has undoubtedly become one of the most important goals we all keep top of mind.

So whether you’re a teacher, student, or concerned parent, let’s talk about how to get a handle on your stress levels to become healthier and prevent illness.

Floating Helps Improve Your Immune System

Chronic stress happens when we get stuck in a never-ending loop of fight or flight fear. The sympathetic nervous system helps us to engage with threats and we react to our environment with a heightened state of alertness. In our modern world, this threat detection system has gone haywire due to nonstop stimulation whether the threat is real or perceived. Over time if we don’t get a chance to calm down, this wears down our bodies though, making us experience symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and a compromised immune system.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had your fair share of sleepless nights lately, ruminating thoughts of the negative news and uncertainty about what’s coming next.

Float therapy works so well against anxious thoughts and by reducing our stress levels. Clinical evidence shows that it helps to reduce cortisol levels, the hormone that gets out of control when we are chronically stressed. The safe, relaxing, and quiet space of the float tank also is a miracle when it comes to reducing anxiety. By having no distractions or stimulation around us, the float pod or float cabin is like a sanctuary for the mind and with peace and tranquility, our thoughts slow down and settle into a more calm and clear state.

This state of calm is exactly where we need to get to on a regular basis to counteract the stressful situation we are living through and dealing with. By taking the time to float, or practice any other restful state of recovery, you are proactively recharging in a way that supports a healthier immune system and you’ll better handle the stressors of your daily life.

Small Doses of Stress Train Your Immune System to Become Stronger

Even better than floating alone to strengthen your immune system is through small doses of stress in safe and healthy ways. Stress isn’t all bad, it’s only when it becomes a constant in your daily life that it gets out of control and will start to negatively impact you.

Short exposure to stressors makes you more resilient.

These small doses of stress come from healthy practices like

• Working out

• Sauna

• Contrast therapy using hot and cold plunges

Add in a relaxing float after any of these small and short-lived doses of stress and you’ll be actively training your nervous system to handle stress better, which will also improve your immune system to help you fight off illnesses.

Make a plan to include a sauna session before your next float or book in a float on a day that you’ve done a hard workout to help reset your body and recover.

How Teachers Can Benefit From Float Therapy

Back to school time in the fall is a challenging transition for students and teachers alike. Momentum shifts and that sense of the grind through to Christmas as the weather gets colder imposes upon our psyche. The stress of the new school year is also compounded by the new germs being passed around which often leads to an uptick in colds shortly after the summer break. Having a strategy to incorporate mental and physical wellness into your weekly and monthly routine is essential for maintaining good health year-round but becomes critical at these transitional times. 

Teachers can benefit from floating through:

• Powerful stress reduction.

• A chance to get away to a quiet oasis without having to travel.

• Joint and muscle pain relief.

Float therapy is a wonderful way to reduce pain and stress naturally. Being supported in Epsom salt water that is denser than the Dead Sea allows your body to completely relax to relieve tension. The unique stimuli-reduced environment of a float pod or float cabin also allows your mind to let go of stress and anxiety. 

Stress Reduction

Teaching is a challenging and demanding job with all of the different factors that go into commanding the attention of a classroom full of students, all with their unique personalities. Combined with the tight timelines of grading work, and countless other factors, teaching can be very stressful. Float tanks may be the best technology we have to combat stress. Research has shown a significant reduction in cortisol levels come about from just one hour of floating. Anxiety is also significantly reduced and the “post-float glow” feeling of complete relaxation you get while not having a care in the world is extremely helpful when needing to unwind after a long day or a long week. 

A Quiet Oasis

The float therapy experience is incomparable. Customers leave saying that they’ve never experienced anything quite like it because we are never in an environment with no external stimuli. While some new floaters opt to leave the lights on or music playing, the benefits of the experience are compounded when you immerse yourself in the stimulus reduction through turning off the lights and letting the music fade out. This gives your brain the chance to bask in complete silence and darkness which extraordinarily refreshing in the overstimulated world that we live in. 

Pain Relief

Repeated strain from grading papers and desk work can lead to a lot of tight muscles and pain in the body.

There’s over 1,000 lb. of Epsom salt in each float tank, making it denser than the human body and allowing you to float completely without effort. Research shows this decompression is beneficial for back and neck pain, and ongoing studies are working towards validating the benefits that we’ve seen at Flow Spa with clients suffering from chronic conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia. 

Needless to say, teachers who came into Flow Spa during the final grading and exams before school was out for the summer found their float experience to be exactly what they needed in terms of a reset between grading tests and papers. 

Developing different strategies to incorporate a reset into your routine will help to ensure that you are prepared through it all. At Flow Spa, we help in providing guidance with meditation and some of the various techniques you can use to consistently reduce stress and anxiety. Restorative exercise is also essential to maintaining balance and overall well-being. And when you need that time to get away from everything and decompress, float tanks offer an unrivalled experience.