How a Salt Room Can Ease Your Anxiety
(Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes)
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness or fear. Most of the time, it’s a normal reaction to stress that helps us cope. By stirring up our mood, it can boost our energy in order to help us resolve a stressful situation. While this is good in some cases, it can be problematic in others. Sometimes anxiety will linger on more than it normally should. This can be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Those who have such disorders may face problems in their daily lives related to a feeling of being overwhelmed.[1]
Luckily, those suffering from anxiety— whether it be the normal kind, or the disorderly kind— can find a sense of peace in many ways. While the primary go-to should be getting the stressful situation resolved, or seeking professional help (in severe cases), there are adjuvant therapies to consider as supplementary treatment. Dry salt therapy is one of them.
What is Dry Salt Therapy (Halotherapy)?
Dry salt therapy is a type of salt therapy that utilizes dry salt aerosol in man-made environments. Before the therapy takes place, sodium chloride is poured into a halogenerator. This special machine then crushes the salt into fine microparticles. Afterwards, the particles are dispersed in aerosol form to be inhaled.[2]
How does our Salt Room Help?
Dry salt therapy is primarily sought to help with respiratory issues, as well as problems inflicting the skin.[3] However, salt rooms are set up to not only help with these symptoms, but to also provide an environment that helps ease anxiety. At EPIC, we provide a calming salt room with three main features that can put you at ease:
1. We have Zero-Gravity Chairs for you to chill in. Zero-gravity chairs are recliners that help the body simulate a defiance of gravity. The chair positions the body in a way where weight is evenly distributed across the chair. [4] This positioning can help you lay back and let all of your worries melt away. In fact, reclining chairs are recommended to be used as a part of relaxation training,[5] as they help the body kickstart the relaxation process.[6] Furthermore, in regard to relaxation training where reclining chairs are essential, researchers have found that this type of training significantly lowers one’s feeling of anxiety.[7]
2. Our Soothing Music will keep your mind at peace. While relaxing in our zero-gravity chairs, you won’t have to worry about your mind drifting off to troublesome thoughts. Our soothing music will keep your anxiety at bay. It’s not just commonsense that music has a positive effect on bad moods. Researchers, through rigorous scientific studies, have concluded that music, indeed, does away anxiousness.[8][9][10]
3. Our Ambient Lighting will put you in a calming mood. While your ears are kept relaxed with our music, your eyes will find solace in our ambient lighting. Ambient lighting is an important key to keeping our salt room anxiety-free. According to research,[11] rooms with low illuminance and low color temperature may reduce anxiety. This was found after researchers compared the measurements of four different groups staying in various lit rooms. Ambient lighting, they found, could reduce negative moods.
Interested in giving it a try? Book your session at EPIC Services by calling 813-898-0601 or visiting epicservices.co/book
Sources:
[1] National Library of Medicine. (2020). Anxiety. Medline Plus. Retrieved from: https://medlineplus.gov/anxiety.html
[2] Salt Therapy Association. (2018). Types of Salt Therapy. Salt Therapy Association. Retrieved from: https://www.salttherapyassociation.org/types-of-salt-therapy
[3] Benefits of Salt Therapy (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.salttherapyassociation.org/benefits-of- salt-therapy
[4] Wade, M. (2016, August 9). How Zero Gravity Recliners Work and Why They Are Beneficial. Heathy Back. Retrieved from: https://www.healthyback.com/blog/blogpost20/
[5] Sommers-Flanagan, J. and Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2004). Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
[6] Miltenberger, R.G. (2016). Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
[7] Zhao L, Wu H, Zhou X, Wang Q, Zhu W, Chen J. (2012). Effects of progressive muscular relaxation training on anxiety, depression and quality of life of endometriosis patients under gonadotrophin- releasing hormone agonist therapy. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 162(2):211-215.
[8] Davis, W.B. and Thaut, M.H. (1989). The Influence of Preferred Relaxing Music on Measures of State Anxiety, Relaxation, and Physiological Responses. Journal of Music Therapy, 26(4), 168–187.
[9] Lee D, Henderson A, Shum D. (2004). The effect of music on preprocedure anxiety in Hong Kong Chinese day patients. J Clin Nurs, 13(3):297-303.
[10] Graff V, Cai L, Badiola I, et al. (2019). Music versus midazolam during preoperative nerve block placements: a prospective randomized controlled study. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, 44, 796- 799.
[11] Kuijsters, A., Redi, J., de Ruyter, B., & Heynderickx, I. (2015). Lighting to Make You Feel Better: Improving the Mood of Elderly People with Affective Ambiences. PloS one, 10(7), e0132732.