Does Massage Therapy Help with Sleep?
Quality sleep is vital for your body and mind to perform at their absolute best. It helps you be more active, energetic, and productive. Your body also repairs and heals itself during sleep.
Did you know that massage therapy can help you improve the quality of your sleep? Let’s explore its benefits.
What happens to your body when you don’t sleep well?
Without proper sleep, you may notice diminished focus, decreased cognitive abilities, and impaired mental stability. This dramatically increases your risk of accident or injury.
Chronic sleep deprivation can also lead to a host of serious health issues like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Without proper sleep, your body is at risk of higher levels of cortisol (stress hormones), which in turn can increase hunger and fatigue, depression, issues with blood sugar, and belly fat.
How massage therapy helps with sleep
Research and clinical trials indicate that massage therapy can help improve the duration and quality of your sleep.
Keeps cortisol levels in check
Regular massages help to regulate your hormones, including the stress hormone called cortisol. Decreased cortisol can lower your stress level and improve the quality of your sleep. There is evidence to show that massage therapy also reduces stress hormone exposure.
[LEARN MORE]: Massage and mental health: How can one help the other?
Serotonin production
Massages influence your body’s production of serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to stabilize mood and provide feelings of calmness and tranquillity. Melatonin is associated with sleep by calming brain activity.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Massage therapy can also benefit people with restless legs, a common factor in insomnia. By relaxing your body’s muscles, a massage therapist can alleviate this typical discomfort that often prevents sound sleep.
Alleviates pain
Body pain is another common culprit in poor sleep, often presenting in stiff joints, inflamed muscles, or general soreness. A quality massage can relax afflicted muscles and is a great option to help with even chronic pain.
Pain and poor sleep often worsen one another. If you are suffering from pain, your sleep will likely be disrupted. Poor sleep, in turn, only exacerbates the pain. Whether it’s pain from an injury, overworking, or a health issue, massage therapy can help tremendously.
What type of massage helps with sleep issues?
Forever Young Spa offers several massage modalities. Consult with your massage therapist to identify which may be most suitable for you.
Swedish Massage: This method incorporates multiple actions like kneading, rubbing, and tapping, with long, gentle strokes to help relax and invigorate the body.
Deep Tissue Massage: This technique is ideal for relaxing tension built up within the deep layers of the muscles and connective tissue. A therapist’s hand strokes will be deeper and more forceful with deep tissue massage.
Hot Stones Massage: In this method, heated stones are placed on strategic parts of the body (like the back, stomach, hands, and feet) to loosen tight muscles, promote relaxation, and offer relief from pain.
Trigger Point Massage: There may be certain tight spots within the muscles, known as trigger points. Trigger point massage targets the tight parts to release tension and alleviate pain.
Final Wrap
Massage therapy offers numerous benefits for your body and mind, including improved sleep. By regularly including massage therapy in your schedule, you can alleviate pain, break the cycles of stress, and enjoy more restful nights.
You will also benefit from an improved mood and feel much more focused and energetic, ready to take on the day.
If you are suffering from sleep issues, book a massage therapy session with a reputable spa to enjoy much-needed restful sleep!