For a tank newbie like me, the more intriguing aspects of floating include 1) its possibly imagined, Lilly-esque potential to reveal hidden layers of consciousness within, and 2) its proven capacity to chill people out. Suedfeld happily acknowledges point two. "Anything related to psychological stress," he says, "whether it's chronic tension headaches, insomnia, things with no known physical cause…after several floats, they really seem to improve."