Massage and Mental Health: Can One Help the Other?
A massage not only feels great, but it also offers numerous benefits for your body and mind. Research indicates that massage therapy can have a positive impact on mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Relief from stress
Massage therapy can reduce levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Minimizing stress is crucial to your overall wellness, especially given its role in health conditions such as anxiety disorders, PTSD, and hypertension. Massage therapy is also known to help improve blood flow to the areas of the brain that regulate emotions.
When stress begins to manifest into noticeable symptoms, it’s natural for your cortisol levels to escalate further. This creates a vicious spiral of chronic stress that can be seemingly impossible to escape. Regular massage therapy is highly effective in breaking this cycle by lowering cortisol levels and returning the body to balance.
Whether you experience elevated physical or psychological stress levels, massage therapy can help.
Soothes anxiety
Reducing your cortisol levels can help your body counter stress on its own and restore your quality of life. Moreover, massage therapy can be effective in elevating neurotransmitters associated with lower anxiety levels.
Relieves symptoms of depression
Massage therapy can also alleviate the symptoms of depression by affecting the body’s chemistry and increasing levels of two key neurotransmitters: serotonin and dopamine. These feel-good, happy hormones can help reduce the symptoms of depression, stabilize your mood, and even improve your sleep quality. Who can say “no” to a natural mood boost?
The healing touch of your massage therapist will also help release oxytocin. This “love hormone”, as it’s called, helps reduce anxiety levels, encourages relaxation, and offers psychological stability.
Improved relaxation, rest, and sleep
Quality sleep is critical to your health and well-being. Massages can help by relieving stress and pain, improving blood circulation, and even improving your circadian rhythms. This, in turn, leads to a better quality of sleep and leaves you feeling more energetic and invigorated.
Improper sleep can lead to a host of physical and mental health issues. The frustration from sleep issues only makes sleeplessness worse. Research has shown that massage increases serotonin levels, which stimulates the production of melatonin. This helps you sleep better by rebalancing the body’s circadian rhythms.
Makes you feel fresh, focused, and energetic
When pressure is applied through massage, it can boost the lymphatic system, which detoxifies the body. With improved blood circulation and the removal of toxins from your body, you will feel noticeably fresher and more focused.
If you are suffering from pain in a particular part of your body, blood flow can become diverted to that troubled spot rather than to the brain. A massage will release that tension and restore proper blood flow, also helping nutrient and oxygen flow to your brain. For those who experience difficulty focusing on tasks, massage therapy can help improve concentration and focus.
Final Wrap
Massage therapy offers many benefits to your holistic well-being. Mental benefits include emotional regulation, reduced stress, improved sleep, and enhanced focus. If you are seeking relaxation and rejuvenation for your body and mind, contact us to schedule your appointment.