Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States, and it’s something that 18% of Americans suffer from on a daily basis. While there are a lot of treatment options for anxiety, including medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, a lot of people also enjoy the more natural treatments of dealing with the disorder. One of these natural treatments is massage. In this article, we’re going to explain five of the ways that massage helps with anxiety.
1. It Promotes Better Sleep
By lowering your heart rate and lowering your levels of cortisol, massage helps you to sleep. This is one of the reasons why many people do fall asleep on massage tables in clinics. Not only does a massage help you to fall to sleep, though, it also helps you to enter a deep sleep. When you sleep deeply, the neurotransmitter that’s associated with pain also reduces, providing further benefits. Having a massage just before bed is the best way to gain full advantage. Check out the massage devices featured on Topexpertchoices.com and ask your partner to help you out.
2. It Can Decrease Blood Pressure
As we mentioned above, massage therapy helps to lower the heart rate, which also helps to lower your blood pressure levels. High blood pressure is often associated with stress and anxiety and lowering these levels can help you to feel much calmer and better in yourself. Regular massages can help to lower these levels on a more permanent basis.
3. It Releases Endorphins
Endorphins are often known as the happy hormone. They are released when we eat foods like chocolate and when we do things that make us feel good. When you receive a massage, your body releases a slew of endorphins, which again can help to boost your mood and reduce your levels of anxiety. This can leave your mood feeling more balanced.
4. It Helps You to Feel Connected
It doesn’t matter who is performing the massage, whether it’s your massage therapist or your partner, at the end of the session you will feel more connected to the person.helps with anxiety because it helps to reduce the feelings of isolation which are quite common in those suffering from the disorder.
5. It Boosts Your Immune System
Finally, massage therapy also helps to boost the immune system. When a person is suffering from anxiety, they have increased levels of cortisol in the blood. These have a damaging effect on the immune system, especially in those who have suffered from the condition for a while. A massage helps to increase the activity level of white blood cells which can help to fight viruses and other harmful hormones.
Anxiety may be a common condition, but that doesn’t mean that it’s something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. Speak to your doctor about your options and give massage therapy a try. You may just find that it benefits you in more ways than you knew it could.
