Managing stress with massages

Stress can be a positive force at times. Positive stress can give you the anticipation you need to prepare for a test, protect yourself in a time of crisis or make a split-second decision. But stress is most effective in short bursts that are just long enough to release hormones and blood sugar.

Stress releases a hormone called cortisol. In times of physical stress, cortisol releases more blood sugar and hormones to give you a boost of energy. In the short term, this is an effective way to get enough energy to escape a deadly predator. But what about stress over a longer period? Or stress that is entirely based in your head?

Your body can’t tell the difference, and the stress response is the same. Cortisol exposure over long periods of time, such as a stressful semester, eventually prevents hormone levels from returning to normal. Over time, this increased stress response can cause changes in mood, anxiety, lack of motivation and can even affect sleep cycles. A lack of sleep is then more likely to exhaust and upset you, creating a feedback loop of stress.

The logical step when under pressure would be to find ways to reduce stress, but massage, one of the best ways to manage stress, is still seen as a luxury or a treat when it should be a way of life.

Massage can help manage all kinds of stress and should be part of any self-care ritual. The phrase “self-care” has become an exaggerated idea of sitting in a bathtub or buying something you don’t need in the interest of managing your mental and personal wellness. But this version of self-care is undermined by buyer’s remorse, which can loop back to feeding your stress response.

Massage is a wellness investment that can positively affect your mood longer and more effectively than a warm bath. A single massage session can reduce blood sugar and cortisol levels, which evens out your mood and heart rate. Regular massages have even greater benefits – since they follow a schedule, it becomes easier to monitor triggers that are increasing your stress levels.

Massage works in the following ways:

• Dopamine and serotonin, the “feel good” chemicals, are released in the brain during physical touch. These hormones create a sense of well-being and calm that counter stressful feelings.
• Any stiffness or aches from long periods of standing or sitting can be worked out during a massage. Even a small amount of pain can throw off your mood since you don’t feel your best.
• A deep tissue massage restores circulation to tight muscles and joints that may be suffering from tension. Tension can generate from bad posture, trouble sleeping or literal physical stress.
• Stress reactions decrease your immune system, which can increase your odds of getting sick. Massages can boost your immune system by rebalancing your hormones and taking the strain off your body.
• Anxiety can often cause people to overeat or eat improperly to compensate for stress. Because massage helps even out hormones and reduce the hormones causing stress eating, it’s easier to get back on track and eat healthy foods.

Many studies have been done to show how the stress hormone cortisol decreases with massage, and the feel-good hormones increase. A study showed how massage can help those with pain, depression, auto-immune diseases, aging and pregnancy stresses. The well respected Mayo Clinic supports massage for stress management.

Mental health and physical health go hand in hand, and regular massages can do wonders for mood and hormones. To make your massage a success, leave enough time to make it to your massage 10 to 15 minutes early. This lets you get into a peaceful mindspace and anticipate your session. Be honest with your massage therapist about any aches, pains or discomforts.

Our body’s ancient stress response helped our ancestors stay alive in difficult situations, but today, stress can have hundreds of different triggers. By using massages to increase your physical and mental well-being, you can exert control over your stressful scenarios and your reactions, and in the end, maybe breathe a little easier.