3 benefits of getting a massage
What do you really think about massage? Most people will know massage as a way to give yourself a treat and relax every so often but will admit to knowing very little about the actual health benefits of this age-old therapy. Its history goes way back and I will go into detail about the history of massage in another blog post. Today, I want to show you 3 ways that massage therapy can benefit your physical and mental health.
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Relieve anxiety
Anxiety is the body’s natural response to when we feel under threat, this doesn’t always mean an obvious physical threat. People can feel it in their thoughts, how they feel in a situation, and physically. It can be a constant feeling of fear, of letting people down or wondering what people think about them. So you are constantly feeling on edge, in fight or flight mode. This means your heart beats faster, you breathe faster, and feel constantly tense. This can lead to exhaustion, muscle tension, and stress.
The environment for a massage is one of calm, there are no reminders to rush, complete tasks, or live up to anyone’s expectations. So from the minute, you walk through the door your mind starts to feel relaxed. If you are not used to that feeling you may not realise it straight away. During the massage, your muscles will relax, aches and pains will reduce, cortisol (stress hormone) is reduced and your blood circulation will be improved. All this together will revive your sense of balance.
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Improve sleep
We all know how vital sleep is to our mental and physical health. If you’re a sleep-deprived parent, you will know only too well the effects of broken/lack of sleep. You will be feeling constant exhaustion, be falling ill regularly, have muscular aches and pains from poor sleep positions. Maybe you have a stressful job, where you have a constant feeling of fight or flight. Always on edge, taking your work home with you. You will be finding it hard to unwind because of all the stress hormones running through you.
Pain and stress are common causes of sleep problems. A massage reduces the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, and increases the ‘happy’ hormones dopamine and serotonin, aiding in relaxation, which in turn helps to reduce the level of pain because you have reduced tension in your muscles and joints.
- Reduce pain
A massage can help to reduce the pain by distributing the pain signals that are sent to the brain. When a massage is taking place your mind becomes focused on the touch, the techniques, and the resulting relaxation. So this interrupts the pain messages being sent to the brain and replaces them with good feelings of calm. Blood circulation is improved, the body is able to remove toxins more effectively, and is able to get the fresh oxygen and nutrients to the right places quickly, aiding in speedier healing.
Have you noticed a pattern yet??
Our bodies are complex but still quite simple, they need just a little time and affection. They need the time to reset from the struggles of daily life. One hour of holistic massage is equivalent to 8 hours of sleep!
Post pandemic life is still hectic for many people, and just 1 hour of solitude during a massage can greatly benefit your mind and body!
Our Holistic massage is the most popular treatment we offer.
