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See www.floatforhealth.net/research.htm for a more exhaustive list of abstracts.
EFFECTS OF FLOATATION REST ON SERUM CORTISOL IN
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITICS Medical College of Ohio John W. Turner, Jr., Ph.D., Dept. of Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Medical College of Ohio, 3000 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, OH 43699 ------------------------------------------------------- This proposal examines specific effects of Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) and Autogenic Training (AT) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic, painful and debilitating disease which effects millions worldwide. The proposed study examined the effects of AT or REST and AT on RA-related measures in rheumatoid arthritics. All sessions are 40 minutes. One group received AT while a second group received AT+REST. In this study individuals were monitored for changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), Plasma Cortisol, and reported pain. Measurements were made at baseline, during treatment and post treatment follow up. No significant differences were found between groups or across sessions for cortisol, CRP, or ESR. Pain measurements showed a significantly greater decrease across sessions in the REST + AT group than in the AT group. The study supports the use of REST as an intervention for RA related pain. The mechanism of this effect remains unclear. ------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTS OF SIX HOURS OF LIGHTED AND LIGHT-FREE DRY FLOATATION RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULATION (REST) ON CHANGES IN ABSORPTION AND MOOD STATE Tim Justice, Arreed Barabasz, and Mike Trevisan This study investigated the effects of dry flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation (REST) on transient mood states as measured by the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and on absorption as measured by the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS). Thirty subjects were assigned to either a lighted REST condition (N=10), a light-free REST condition or a no treatment control condition (N=10). Experimental participants floated supine on a salt water filled bladder using dry flotation REST (Relaxation Dynamics, Boulder, CO) for six hours. Participants in the lighted REST condition wore Ganzfeld goggles while participants in the light free REST condition wore a sleeping mask. Pre-to post REST and 2 week follow-up results showed that participants exposed to dry flotation REST in the lighted condition had a significant decrease in absorption. No significant changes were found for participants in the light free REST or control condition. Participants in the light free condition reported a decrease in anger pre to post REST. ------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTS OF DRY FLOTATION REST ON HYPNOTIZABILITY, EEG AND
SKIN CONDUCTANCE IN LIGHTED AND UNLIGHTED CONDITIONS ------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTS OF REST AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT VIDEOS ON RECOVERY
FROM INDUCED STRESS ------------------------------------------------------- THE EFFECTS OF DRY FLOTATION REST ON MARKSMANSHIP
PERFORMANCE: MORE DATA This research used dry flotation REST (Relaxation Dynamics, Boulder, CO) and controlled for relaxation and guided imagery confounds present in previous research on REST enhancement of performance. In phase one, ten students enrolled in a University marksmanship class who were exposed to one hour of REST showed significantly higher accuracy scores than 10 matched classmate controls who were exposed only to one hour of relaxation training. In phase two, Bauman (1995) employed 48 university marksmanship students to compare the effects of wet flotation REST, dry flotation REST, relaxation training and control conditions. Treatment participants were exposed to one 50 minute session per week for two weeks. All participants received the same instruction in marksmanship and fired the same number of practice shots. The dry flotation REST group performed significantly better at follow-up than the marksmanship practice only control group. ------------------------------------------------------- REST EFFECTS ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE ------------------------------------------------------- EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND REST ON
SOCIAL ANXIETY ------------------------------------------------------- ENHANCING ROWING ERGOMETER PERFORMANCE THROUGH FLOTATION
REST The examination of the effectiveness of flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation technique (REST) as a performance enhancement tool in sport has produced positive results. However, previous studies using flotation REST to enhance gross motor performance combined the technique with imaginal practice, confounding the effect that REST-only might have on performance. Although more recent studies have examined the effects of flotation REST-only on athletic performance, they have only looked at fine motor activity. This study tested the effects of flotation REST-only on rowing ergometer performance, a gross motor activity. Furthermore, this study attempted to ascertain, through carefully constructed questionnaires, the reasons why athletes might or might not benefit from including a period of flotation REST in their training regime. Subjects (n=40) were a group of male and female, novice and varsity university rowers. Subjects were matched based on previous ergometer competition scores and then randomly assigned to either a flotation REST condition or chamber/relaxation control condition. All groups were exposed to two administrations of either one of the conditions and were pre- and post-tested on a 1000 meter rowing ergometer trial; difference scores were compared. The study also coincided with intra-team ergometer competitions, allowing the experimenter to compare scores form a source external to the study. The results are discussed in terms of which sports might benefit form flotation REST and under what conditions it may best be applied. ------------------------------------------------------- ALTERED STATES: FROM FICTION TO FACT: INTRODUCING THE
ALTERED WAKING STATES INDUCTION METHOD ------------------------------------------------------ AUDITORY SIGNAL DETECTION IN VARIOUS LEVELS OF RESTRICTED
ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULATION ------------------------------------------------------- A COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF
REST FLOTATION, PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION, AND LIGHT-SOUND STIMULATION RELAXATION TRAINING Subjects (n=63) were randomly assigned to three methods of relaxation training (restricted environmental stimulation technique (REST) flotation, progressive relaxation, and light-sound stimulation), or a control group to assess the effects of periodic exposure to relaxation. All subjects were scheduled for 45 minutes sessions three times a week for three weeks. Pre and post measurements included serum cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, and self reported measures of anxiety, depression, and physical stress symptoms. No significant differences (p<.05) were found on analysis of covariance for group means of post test scores when pretests were used as the covariate. Significant (p<.05) reductions in pre to post anxiety scores were found for three treatment groups using a paired t-test, but not the control group. Both the REST flotation group and the progressive relaxation group demonstrated significantly lower depression scores, and the flotation group reduced physical symptoms of stress. Subjects with pre-test cholesterol levels above 180 mm/dl were selected for additional analysis, those in the REST flotation group (n=10) significantly lowered total cholesterol (p=.042) and LDL (p=.034) levels by a mean of 18.5 mm/dl and 14.3 mm/dl respectively. ------------------------------------------------------- THE BENEFITS OF FLOTATION REST RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULATION (THERAPY) IN A PAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Roderick A. Borrie, Ph.D. ------------------------------------------------------ EFFECTS OF RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULATION THERAPY
(REST) ON SEROLOGICAL MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. ------------------------------------------------------- TREATMENT OF PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS THROUGH MENTAL TRAINING
AND FLOATATION IN OXYGENATED MAGNESIUM SULFATE SATURATED BATHS Subject: 56 year old female presented in July, 1996 with chronic psoriasis (documented since 1987). Method: Combined use of oxygenated, magnesium sulfate saturated isolation tank bath and psychological training such as meditation techniques, visualization, and self-image reconfiguration. Patient participated in ten weekly sessions during which she was given training in the above, floated for an hour, and underwent 5-10 minutes of ultraviolet light therapy. Results: After three sessions, patient reported feeling significantly better. After 8 sessions, patient was free of visible manifestation of psoriasis. After 10 sessions, patient reported feelings of general well-being and absence of skin disturbance. She expressed interest in a six month follow-up session. Discussion: The positive results offer hope for the psychosomatic patient. In the past, patients have had to travel to varied geographic locations (e.g. The Dead Sea) for salt-saturated bathing. The favorable combination of psychological training and physiological treatment has not to our knowledge been documented. We believe the effects of the use of chemical-free, salt-saturated oxygenated baths, auditory stimulation in sensory isolation, kinesthetic feedback (gravity reduced environment) and ultraviolet therapy have a synergistic effect offering relief from and control of this debilitating disease. ------------------------------------------------------ LISTENING TO BINAURAL BEATS TO ENHANCE THE EFFECTS OF
RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULATION THERAPY Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) offers both physiological benefits and access to propitious states of consciousness. Listening to binaural beats in a REST-like environment gives rise to an EEG frequency-following response (FFR) which theoretically may enhance these effects or engender similar psychophysiological state changes. A critical point, however, is that a FFR to binaural beats in archetypal brain-wave frequencies has not been comprehensively demonstrated using apropos evoked-potential EEG protocols. A study was designed t determine if a 7 Hz (theta) binaural beat would engender a 7 Hz FFR and if a 16 Hz (beta) binaural beat would engender a 16 Hz FFR. This study used a REST-like environment and multiple-subject trials designed to objectively verify a FFR to theta and beta binaural-beat stimuli with an appropriate evoked-potential protocol. Significant increases in 7 Hz (p=<.001) and 16 Hz (p=.007) EEG amplitudes during binaural-beat stimuli periods provided evidence of a FFR to the binaural-beat stimuli. Binaural beats appear to influence consciousness by providing FFR information to the brainstem's reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS regulates arousal states, attentional focus, and levels of awareness by stimulating the thalamus and cortex. The FFR information includes the character, quality and traits of consciousness represented by the wave pattern of the stimulus binaural beats. ------------------------------------------------------- REST AS A CAPSULE EXPERIENCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH This paper examines the features of exotic, enclosed environments, using catalogues suggested by Sells (1973), Harrison and Connors (1984), and Suedfeld (1986). From the work of these and other researchers, three general dimensions relating to stationary capsule environments are derived: crew characteristics, physical space, and time factors. These dimensions are discussed in light of their applicability to REST environments, with special consideration being given to the REST experience as a significant marker event. ------------------------------------------------------- EEG AND SUBJECTIVE CORRELATES OF ALPHA FREQUENCY BINAURAL
BEATS STIMULATION COMBINED WITH ALPHA BIOFEEDBACK The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of alpha frequency binaural beats stimulation combined with alpha biofeedback on alpha frequency brain wave production and subjective experience of mental and physical relaxation. The study compared the alpha production and subjective report of four groups, each of which received brief relaxation response training and one of four treatments: 1) alpha frequency binaural beats stimulation, 2) visual alpha frequency brain wave biofeedback, 3) alpha frequency binaural beats stimulation combined with visual alpha biofeedback, or 4) artificially produced ocean surf sounds. Sixty volunteer undergraduate and graduate students were randomly assigned to the four groups and instructed to utilize their respective treatment as the "mental device" in Benson's relaxation response paradigm while they relaxed with eyes open for twenty minutes. Two 2 X 4 mixed ANOVAs revealed that all groups evidenced increased subjective report of relaxation and increased alpha production. An interaction effect was found in which the group with both alpha binaural beats and alpha biofeedback produced more treatment alpha than the group with alpha biofeedback alone. Additionally, nine of the fifteen subjects with both binaural beats and feedback reported being able to control alpha production via their focus on the alpha binaural beats. The data suggest the possibility that binaural beats can be used to enhance awareness of and control of specific cortical potentials. Implications for combining brainwave biofeedback, frequency-following-response techniques and Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) to promote the self-regulation and management of consciousness are discussed. ------------------------------------------------------- THE EFFECTS OF FLOTATION REST ON MUSICAL CREATIVITY This paper describes the experiment (Experiment 2) that was conducted following the one (Experiment 1) presented at the 1993 conference in Seattle. Experiment 1 found that after floating for 1 hr./week for 4 consecutive weeks, 14 post-secondary music majors were rated as showing significantly more improvement than a control group in concentration, but not in focus nor technical skill. The current experiment investigated the effects of an identical regimen of flotation REST on musical creativity in 24 post- secondary jazz improvisation students through changes in improvisation, creativity, expressiveness, technical skill and overall quality. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control group on any of the measures taken, but the experimental group did significantly better on final jazz improvisation grades. Explanations are provided as to why the effect detected in final jazz improvisation grades was absent in improvisation measured through performance, and the results are discussed in the context of the Budzynski hypothesis. There were the first studies to assess the skill-enhancing effects of flotation REST on the performance of advanced musicians. Used Gear | FutureMind | SS2000 | Tapes | WaveRider Junior Mental Fitness Products |
