6 Stress-Busting Benefits of Massage

Discover 6 powerful ways therapeutic Benefits of Massage massage helps melt away stress, ease anxiety, reduce fight-or-flight signals, promote relaxation and stabilize mood. From work demands to family needs, financial worries to health issues, chronic stress takes its toll mentally and physically.

Lowering Stress Hormones

Studies show massage therapy lowers cortisol and adrenaline, fight-or-flight hormones released when stressed. It also increases “feel good” serotonin and dopamine to calm the mind.

“Easing Anxiety Gentle stroking movements engage the parasympathetic nervous system to promote deep relaxation. Massage also improves GABA levels to ease anxiety and overthinking.”

Slowing Breathing Rate As you relax under the therapist’s rhythmic strokes, your heart rate and respiration slow. This counters stressful quick, shallow breathing patterns.

Lowering Blood Pressure
Soothing massage dilates blood vessels and improves blood flow to reduce blood pressure. High BP is linked to chronic stress and puts you at risk for stroke and heart attack.Releasing Muscle Tension. Knotted muscles maintain stress signals in the body. Benefits of Massage increases circulation to loosen contracted muscles from head to toe to sustain relaxation.

Promoting Restful Sleep By reducing cortisol, the brain’s overworked alarm center begins to rest, allowing sleep signals to take over so you fall asleep more easily and stay asleep. Boosting Immunity Massage supports immune function by increasing the circulation of white blood cells that detect and fight pathogens. Studies show massage boosts natural killer cell numbers.Improving Stress-Busting Resilience Getting frequent massage trains your body and mind to more easily shift into deeply relaxed states to better handle daily stressors. It breaks the chronic stress cycle.

While massage won’t make all your stressors disappear, it counters their physical effects so you feel calmer, sleep better and move with greater ease. Massage trains the body to turn down stress signals and turn up relaxation pathways. Boosts Cell Turnover Increased blood flow transports nutrients and oxygen to power growth of new skin cells. A study showed massage boosted cell metabolism by 25% to plump skin