We all know how a good massage can make us feel relaxed and give us a better outlook on life. However, did you know that there are many real health benefits to massage? Regular massage boosts your mood and will have your overall mental outlook improved in ways you did not think possible.
Massage Changes Immune Function
In a study published by Massage Magazine, a 25-minute massage was capable of inducing many physiological reactions in participants. Participants who received the 25-minute massage had lowered serum cholesterol levels, the findings of the study suggested that massage not only boosted immune function but also supported and promoted general good health. Maintenance of the major blood markers such as cholesterol can do wonders for improving mood, especially for long time sufferers.
Improves Serotonin Levels
Serotonin is a brain chemical that regulates mood, and depression is attributed to lowered or irregular serotonin levels.
Massage can help those with low serotonin levels because it boosts the body’s natural ability to produce serotonin. Everyday Health reports that those who receive regular massage can expect to see an increase in their serotonin levels and a subsequent drop in depression and pain.
Reduces Stress Hormones
Everyday Health reports that regular massage also reduces the presence of stress hormones in the body, including cortisol and adrenaline. The reduction of these hormones in the body leads to a host of positive mood changes for the person receiving regular massage therapy.
In one study, participants who received 6, 30-minute massages over the course of 2 weeks reported that they had a reduction in anger, sadness, and stress.
The key to enjoying these positive benefits of massage is to make sure that you are receiving a massage with moderate pressure. This type of pressure will activate the healing properties of massage therapy.
As Beneficial As Medical Treatments
The American Massage Therapy Association has noted several studies that show how regular massage therapy can improve the symptoms of many medical conditions. These conditions include many mood related disorders.
The AMTA cites links to massage therapy combined treatment effectiveness with the following disorders:
- Anxiety
- Fibromyalgia
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
The studies linking the combined treatment of massage therapy and traditional medicine to improved moods for these patients show how massage significantly affected the mood of those patients receiving massage therapy to significantly improve treatment outcomes.
Additional Benefits
Massage improves Flexibility
When we think of the benefits when massage boosts your mood, it can be easy to bottleneck those thoughts into those related to alleviating depressed mood and anxiety. However, massage can boost your mood by just improving your overall quality of life.
Think about how your outlook would benefit from things like improved flexibility and decreased healing time after an injury? Well, massage therapy can do these things for you.
Increased Flexibility
Licensed Massage Therapists can help address soft tissue damage and disorders. Massage can help you loosen tight muscles and work on tight ligaments and tendons to increase your flexibility. These types of improvements in your daily activities can lead to great boosts in overall mood.
Decreased Healing Time
Massage increases blood flow to massaged muscles. With small tissue injuries like sprains and strains, massage has been shown to reduce the healing time associated with these types of injuries.
Of course, you should always let your massage therapist know what type of injury you’re dealing with to ensure they use proper technique to assist with the healing process.
Give It A Try
Everybody reacts differently to massage. You may find that it takes a few massage sessions before you can relax enough to reap the benefits of your massage therapy sessions.
If you would like to see how massage could boost your mood, the only real way to know is to find a local licensed massage therapist.
Make sure that they are licensed and that they have the proper training so that you can see all the benefits that their training has to offer.
Massage is a wonderful way to improve your emotional and mental state. By simply enjoying the relaxing therapeutic touch that massage offers you, you can boost your mood, and regular massages can ensure that you feel good in mind, body, and spirit for the long-term!