Lashgari Elnaz, Chen Emma, Gregory Jackson, Maoz Uri
Abbott Laboratories, Sylmar, CA, USA.
Brain Institute, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, USA.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Jul 3;25(1):230. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-04973-0.
Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) is a therapeutic technique that involves immersing an individual in an environment with minimal sensory input or stimulation. The goal of REST is to induce a state of relaxation that is deeper than what can be achieved through other forms of relaxation techniques. Research suggests that REST can help reduce anxiety, alleviate chronic pain, improve sleep, and enhance creativity and cognitive function. Flotation-REST is a popular type of REST that utilizes an enclosed tank filled with buoyant saltwater to facilitate relaxation. This study aimed to synthesize the evidence on studies that investigate the effects of flotation-REST.
We used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to survey the flotation-REST literature starting from the earliest papers we could find, in 1960, until May 2024. This search was conducted on 23 May 2024 within the Google Scholar and PubMed databases. Journal and conference papers, as well as electronic preprints, that used flotation-REST in their methods, and that were written in English were included; non-original research papers (e.g., review papers, book chapters, and papers solely on types of REST other than flotation-REST (e.g., chamber-REST) were excluded. From each eligible paper, we extracted information regarding the participant sample, application of flotation-REST, experimental design, treatment delivery method, questionnaires and tools, and study results.
In total, we found 63 studies that included 1,838 participants. We propose that the application of flotation-REST can be divided into nine main categories: pain, athletic performance, physiology, stress, consciousness, psychology, creativity, clinical anxiety, sleep, smoking cessation, and other miscellaneous applications. In general, flotation-REST was found to bring about positive effects on pain, athletic performance, stress, mental well-being, and clinical anxiety, while having limited to no effect on sleep-related disorders and smoking cessation.
This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current research on flotation-REST, highlights ongoing limitations in the literature, and outlines potential areas for future research. While flotation-REST appears to induce various benefits for physical and mental well-being, particularly when it comes to managing states like pain and stress, more research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying these effects and to identify optimal treatment protocols for different populations. A limitation of this paper is the relatively small number of studies available for review, which limits the generalizability of certain findings and highlights the need for additional research in this area.
限制环境刺激疗法（REST）是一种治疗技术，它将个体置于一个感官输入或刺激最少的环境中。REST的目标是诱导一种比通过其他形式的放松技术所能达到的更深层次的放松状态。研究表明，REST有助于减轻焦虑、缓解慢性疼痛、改善睡眠，并提高创造力和认知功能。漂浮式REST是一种流行的REST类型，它利用一个装满浮力盐水的封闭水箱来促进放松。本研究旨在综合调查漂浮式REST效果的研究证据。
我们使用系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA），从我们能找到的最早的论文（1960年）开始，到2024年5月，对漂浮式REST的文献进行了调查。这项搜索于2024年5月23日在谷歌学术和PubMed数据库中进行。纳入了在方法中使用漂浮式REST且以英文撰写的期刊和会议论文以及电子预印本；排除非原创研究论文（如综述论文、书籍章节以及仅关于除漂浮式REST之外的其他REST类型（如舱室式REST）的论文）。从每篇符合条件的论文中，我们提取了有关参与者样本、漂浮式REST的应用、实验设计、治疗实施方法、问卷和工具以及研究结果的信息。
我们总共找到了63项研究，涉及1838名参与者。我们提出，漂浮式REST的应用可分为九个主要类别：疼痛、运动表现、生理学、压力、意识、心理学、创造力、临床焦虑、睡眠、戒烟以及其他杂项应用。总体而言，发现漂浮式REST对疼痛、运动表现、压力、心理健康和临床焦虑有积极影响，而对睡眠相关障碍和戒烟的影响有限或没有影响。
本文全面概述了当前关于漂浮式REST的研究，突出了文献中存在的持续局限性，并概述了未来研究的潜在领域。虽然漂浮式REST似乎对身心健康有各种益处，特别是在管理疼痛和压力等状态方面，但需要更多研究来更好地理解这些效果背后的机制，并为不同人群确定最佳治疗方案。本文的一个局限性是可供综述的研究数量相对较少，这限制了某些发现的普遍性，并突出了该领域进一步研究的必要性。
