I ’m not certain what ’s worse : being too plug in , or totally unplugged , and that ’s why sensational deprivation tankful pall the living sh*t out of me .

Not only do the pod wait like foreign - abduction twist straight out of Lady Gaga ’s " Bad Romance " video , but the thinking of re - entering the uterus is just creepy . On top of that , I ca n’t return any time in my sprightliness being completely devoid of sight , sound , touch , penchant , and smell – in fact , I feel like I ’m the opponent , on unceasing centripetal overburden . Going cold Meleagris gallopavo ? Sorry , have you seenRequiem for a aspiration ?

All that in mind , I decide to look my fears by visiting a float studio apartment in my Canadian hometown of Regina , Saskatchewan . Here ’s what I learned :

Woman floating in sensory deprivation pool

Peter Charlesworth/LightRocket/Getty Images

It’s not a Jacuzzi

Sensory deprivation is absolutely nothing like a hot tubful , despite its silklike intention and all that H2O. The water ( 265 gallons ' worth ) is commix with a humongous 800 pound of Epsom salt . warm up it all up to room temperature , and your gravy holder is ready to blow .

What I gathered from reading was that I ’d be awake , but totally relaxed and in a dream - like state . An hr in the storage tank was as good as four hour of deep sleep . So I arrived at the studio apartment ( Smith & Best , if you ’re hap through Regina ! ) , downed a drinking glass of wine-colored in the welcome way , and tried to get as mentally prepared as possible .

Rebirth is awkward

Climbing back into the uterus is just as fumbling and weird an experience as it sound . Swimsuits are discouraged inside the tank to keep the hide ’s focus point totally free , so I got buck - defenseless and attempt to rise in without give out a leg or spilling water all over the floor .

After gingerly conclude the lid , I lay back into the fond - ish H2O and look at the pod ’s inner rampart washed in blue light . flaccid ambient music play for a few mo before fading away . This ai n’t so bad!I call up . So I decided to take a literally unreasoning leap of religious belief , by turning off the lights for the full sensory deprivation experience .

There will be panic…

I wasnotready for that . It was right smart too much – too quiet , too dark , too everything – and I terminate up frantically grabbing around the tank ’s walls look for the light clitoris . I did n’t find it but finally moved the lid up , accidentally splashing salt in my eye at the same time .

Relaxation level ? Zero .

I sorted myself out and tried urgently to exclude off my busy mind . Not well-off . I thought about some email I had to reply to . I thought about that scene fromThe Revenantwhere Leo writhe the bear . I wonder if he would win an Oscar . you’re able to see where this is go .

Sensory Deprivation Tank

Flickr/Jon Roig

So I started to panic , knowing that I was wasting my prison term inside the splendid   haven of a uterus , and it would be over without achievinganyzen .

… but relaxation will eventually win out

That was obviously the wrong mentality to go in with . The experience is all about your mind , and work the damn thing off . In the end , I knew I had to give myself a break , and once I decided not to care about the clock time , the email , Leo ’s Oscar , my body started to drift .

I was n’t totally unconscious , but I did dream light . And not to skip over any of the striking details of my floating and dreaming ( I floated , I dreamed , there you go ) , but it seemed like no time at all before the music started playing and it was over . Sixty minutes – gone , just like that . I had survived sensory loss , and I even feel – dare I say it – reasonably refreshed .

The Florida key , as I check , is to take your time – from getting in to stick out . hasten around is a surefire way to overleap out on the experience .

woman floating in water

Kzenon/Shutterstock

Finally, don’t forget to wash up

Yeah , bighearted object lesson learned here when a few days later I noticed a rash all over my ear and neck from not wash my hair well enough ( I had somewhere to be , but clearly notthatbad ) . I ’ve since translate that some mass like to practice a little white vinegar on these areas afterwards , for this very reason . roseola are n’t fun , so take the clock time for a very thoroughgoing rinse .

All in all , though , the experience was a achiever . I stress something new and , in the end , conquer my fears . More significantly , the sensory want tank car ( blizzard and all ) exhibit me the grandness of slowing down and smelling the … well , absolutely nothing . Now , where did I put my iPhone ?

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