As it gets harder to live in the moment, without distraction, some swear by a forced shutdown.

It’s an environment entirely stripped of stimuli. Even gravity feels nonexistent, inside a tank filled with nearly a foot of water and just about 800 pounds of Epsom salt. Like the Dead Sea. You climb inside and lie floating in the darkness.

To experience complete sensory deprivation is, ideally, to delve into one’s psyche. It forces contemplation of facets of life, that — similar to less “heavy” types of meditation — is meant to leave us healthier and happier. The theory is that removing yourself from all external stimulation allows your mind to suddenly dial down the RPMs, resulting in heightened in-the-moment awareness, creativity, and clarity.

Rogan got into sensory deprivation in hopes of achieving psychedelic experiences without taking actual drugs. He’s attained that, and, in the process, gained innumerable reasons to keep floating. “People don’t realize how much everything is a distraction,” he says.