Massage And Stress – How Does Massage Reduce Stress

You’re living in a world where you constantly get exposed to stress: our goal is to find ways to unwind from stress and restore relaxation.

Massage Therapy is one of the best ways to decrease stress. The hands of the practitioners are made for relaxing your tightened muscles. Moreover, massage therapy gives you mental peace as well through ‘Aromatherapy.’

The environment of the spa is created to disconnect you from the outside hustling world and to focus on what’s been there and present.

According to the ‘American Massage Therapy Association,’ the number of Americans receiving massage therapy has increased since 2006. At that time, 1 out of 6 Americans was receiving massage therapy, but now, that number has probably been increased.

This blog will help you understand how massage therapy decreases stress. So, read on to learn more about it.

1. Massage Therapy Activates The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The part of your brain that deals with stress management is the parasympathetic nervous system. It dilates your eyeballs, tightens your muscles, and decreases your heart rate at the time of stress. Also, it helps the body come back to normal condition. But, when you’re constantly getting exposed to stress it gets difficult for your body to calm down and relax. Moreover, it leads you to feel a constant ache in the muscles and joints.

So, although you have a natural recovery system in your body, you need an external system that acts as an enzyme and helps you heal better and quicker. Massage Therapy helps relax your tightened muscles by activating your parasympathetic nervous system. It tightens your loose body system and helps you work more efficiently.

2. Massage Is Used To Treat Depression And Anxiety

What does a massage room look like? It is a perfectly calm space with balanced temperature, dim lighting, pleasant aroma, and relaxing hands of a practitioner with soothing soft music and candles. Sounds amazing right?

The temperature helps relax your pores and circulates your blood in the muscles. All this together helps release stress and depression. Massage therapy is used to treat chronic issues of anxiety as well. Studies have shown that 10 minutes of massage helps your muscles release stress and regular massage relaxes your chronically tightened muscles.

3. Massage Releases Good Hormones

Besides relaxing your muscles and activating the stress system in your body, massage therapy has some chemical influence on your body. The moving hands of a practitioner help release endorphin hormones in your peripheral nervous system. And to remind you, the peripheral nervous system is the relay center between your brain and the extremities in your body. So basically, massage releases good hormones in your body, or you can say happy hormones that wash out the tired and unhappy feelings.

Moreover, the release of endorphins reduces stress hormones and helps you feel calmer and relaxed.

4. Massage Decreases Stress On Your Digestive And Immune System

When talking about stress on the human body, most often, we talk about mental stress. But, there are physical effects of that stress, such as the effect on your digestive and immune system. When your body’s been exposed to tension and stress for too long, it loses its natural immunity and that is why they say that stress is bad for your physical health.

There are many people that catch colds, flus and other common diseases many times in a season, which can be caused because of their weak immunity. Chronic stress has long-lasting effects on the digestive system as well. Staying happy and eating healthy is the solution to these problems. Plus massage of course!

Some Precautionary Measures

Though massage is good for your body, you need to be careful in choosing a licensed practitioner. Only a professional practitioner knows how to massage without getting your muscles tightened or causing any damage.