There are many benefits to getting a massage, reducing stress being one of them! With all of the hype around holiday-planning, visiting relatives and using your mental energy to socialize with more people that you’re likely used to, gifting yourself a massage this holiday season can help you get through to the end of the year with ease!
Massage Improves Your Sleep
According to the CDC, a recent study has shown that “sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and frequent mental stress.” Thankfully, getting a massage can help us get the sleep we need in order to stay healthy.
Additional studies have shown that massage can induce a type of brain wave known as the REM cycle that allows deep sleep.Your body starts repairing itself during these cycles; without them, your body processes, especially your immune system, can degrade, which may lead to you to getting sick.
Why wouldn’t you want to get better sleep and feel well-rested? If this wasn’t reason enough to give yourself the gift of massage, keep reading for other great reasons.
It’s Immune Boosting & Stress Reducing
Being able to partake in a massage can help boost your immune system! Getting one increases the production of your white blood cells, which protects the body from infectious diseases and foreign invaders. Additionally, getting massages will also help reduce stress. The reduction of stress and increase in white blood cells work together to keep your body healthy and working as it should.
Winter time is when colds tend to spread the fastest since we tend to spend more time indoors in close quarters. By getting a massage, you’re decreasing your chances of getting sick and increasing your likelihood of maintaining your good health.
Relieves Pain
In 2011, researchers conducted a study on the effects of chronic lower back pain when patients received one of two different types of massage. Once the study had ended and a period of 6 months had passed, the patients were questioned and their pain levels were re-assessed. The researchers found that the volunteers were still seeing benefits from the massage and still had reduced pain after treatment.
Physical Touch Is Beneficial
Humans inherently need positive and nurturing physical touch to thrive and develop properly. James H.M. Knox from Johns Hopkins Hospital made a report in 1915 claiming that babies left in orphanages without enough physical touch, even while receiving proper nutrition, died at a rate of nearly 90 percent. This study helped propel the understanding of the importance of touch. In facilities where staffing was increased in order to allow each child to be held and nurtured more, the mortality rates significantly decreased.
Not only does it help with the factors listed above, but physical touch improves our relationships – both intimate and platonic.
What are you waiting for? Treat yourself to a feel-good, immune boosting, stress reducing hour or more session of relaxation!
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html
