Effects of Daytime Floatation-REST on Nocturnal Cardiovascular Physiology, Sleep, and Subjective Recovery in Collegiate Student-Athletes: A Comprehensive Observational Study

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between floatation-restricted environmental stimulation therapy (floatation-REST) and nocturnal cardiovascular physiology and sleep in collegiate athletes. The secondary aim was to describe the perceived changes in soreness, mood, fatigue, and energy level after floatation-REST and the overall floatation-REST experience in collegiate athletes. Data included 183 records of nocturnal cardiovascular physiology and sleep collected using a wearable device from 89 athletes (49.43% women) on 12 different varsity sports, and 2319 survey responses collected immediately after the floatation-REST session from 907 athletes (49.17% women) across 24 varsity sports. Resting heart rate (RHR) (p < 0.001, effect size (ES) = -0.367) but not heart rate variability (HRV) or sleep metrics were significantly different in female athletes and both RHR (p = 0.017, ES = -0.227) and HRV (p = 0.032, ES = 0.189) but not sleep metrics were significantly different in male athletes after the floatation-REST session compared to the seven-day rolling average before the session. 98.6% of the survey responses reported an overall good floatation-REST experience and 85.3% reported feeling better after the session. Athletes also reported reduced soreness, stress, fatigue, and improved energy level. These findings demonstrate the relationship between floatation-REST and nocturnal cardiovascular physiology and subjective recovery in collegiate athletes. Periods of autonomic imbalance and fatigue may be an ideal time for practitioners to recommend floatation-REST to athletes and strategic designs of athlete monitoring paradigms may allow for insights into the effects of recovery modalities on athletes in applied settings.

Emaly Vatne

Assistant Sport Scientist at The Ohio State University Department of Athletics and Human Performance Collaborative

My research interests include applied sport science, effects of recovery interventions, and data analysis, visualization, and engineering.