Stress Relief Massage: You Are One Message Away From Melting All Your Anxiety
By Urban Company
8 min read
Nov 16, 2023
The best way to reduce stress is to book a massage session as soon as possible. A stress relief massage works quickly to tame anxiety and put you in ...
The best way to reduce stress is to book a massage session as soon as possible. A stress relief massage works quickly to tame anxiety and put you in a calm, relaxing mood.
Stress is an everyday part of our lives. Our bodies are designed to cope but each person’s threshold is different. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t push yourself to the point where stress gets the better of you.
A stress relief massage is a great way to release all that stress you’ve been holding inside your body. There has been considerable research that supports the idea that you could use massage to reduce stress.
Just 10 minutes of massage to relieve stress can activate dopamine and serotonin, the body’s natural happy hormones, and leave you feeling less stressed and more relaxed.
Here is how a massage helps to reduce stress and anxiety
in your body.
Stress relief massage triggers a relaxation response
Getting a therapeutic massage allows the body to slow down. It brings the body down from an added state of anxiety to a calmer state of being. The act of kneading eases the body’s tightly wound muscles and lets it sink into relaxation. Serotonin is what ignites this emotional response because it stabilises a person’s mood.
A good massage also helps reduce blood pressure
The process of kneading and massaging the skin improves blood circulation in the body, which then helps to lower blood pressure.
A stress relief massage calms the sympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for raising blood pressure as a response to stress.
An aromatherapy or similar massage to relieve stress reduces the blood pressure and heart rate much more effectively than a
deep tissue massage. This is most likely because the gentle, calming touch of the massage therapist releases serotonin, which causes our bodies to return to a healthier and natural body function.
Improves the quality of your sleep with a relaxing massage
A single massage session directly influences the production of serotonin as well as the sleep hormone, melatonin. Massaging the muscles in the neck, shoulders, back, and legs and feet triggers the production of melatonin.
Massaging also reduces the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which is known to affect sleep patterns. Instead, dopamine, the happy hormone, stabilises a person’s mood and helps to create that relaxed state of mind that is required to fall asleep soundly.
A massage helps with mental health
A stress relief massage can promote our mental health by stimulating the nerves, hormones, and receptors that regulate our mood.
Even a moderate pressure stress relief massage triggers these receptors, bringing psychological relief and increasing a person’s overall mood and well-being.
A massage also increases vagal nerve activity, which is often low in people who suffer from depression.
When the vagus nerve is stimulated, cortisol levels decrease and serotonin levels increase. Some studies have also shown that after a massage, activity in the right frontal lobe of the brain, which is associated with negative emotions, reduces and shifts to the left frontal lobe, which is all about stress and mood regulation.
Stress relief massage helps reduce muscular tension
When a person is stressed, the body tightens up involuntarily. This causes the muscles to become tense. But with a stress relief massage, these muscles can return to a relaxed state, which then alleviates chronic pain.
A high level of tension in the body can cause muscles to shorten, which restricts their movement and causes pain. A massage to relieve stress helps increase the elasticity of tissues and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
When techniques such as rubbing, stroking, and stretching are used during a stress relief massage, the muscle fibres become warmer and looser. This reduces muscle tension dramatically.
What is the best massage to relieve stress?
The act of kneading and rubbing the skin in a particular way is what makes the difference when it comes to a massage to reduce stress. While there is no one answer to the best massage to relieve stress, here are three stress relief massages that do the job well.
Aromatherapy massage
Aromatherapy massages are known to reduce stress and anxiety and also alleviate muscle tension and the resultant pain. The massage therapist uses essential oils such as lavender, ylang ylang, rosemary, eucalyptus and tea tree while massaging. They are also to be inhaled through a diffuser that is placed in the therapy room.
Shiatsu massage
This Japanese massage also relieves stress, anxiety, tension, and pain. A shiatsu massage promotes emotional and physical relaxation and also improves sleep.
The big difference between this massage and many others is that you can be fully clothed during the entire session. During your massage session, the therapist focuses on areas requiring extra attention along with working on the entire body.
A shiatsu massage is said to be the best antidote for headaches.
Deep tissue massage
Another massage to reduce stress is a deep tissue massage. The slow, deep strokes the therapist employs release stubborn knots and tension from the deepest layers of the connective tissues. It is more intense than other massages and you can tell the therapist if you want the pressure increased or decreased. _The best way to reduce stress is to book a massage session as soon as possible. A stress relief massage works quickly to tame anxiety and put you in a calm, relaxing mood.
Stress is an everyday part of our lives. Our bodies are designed to cope but each person’s threshold is different. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t push yourself to the point where stress gets the better of you.
A stress relief massage is a great way to release all that stress you’ve been holding inside your body. There has been considerable research that supports the idea that you could use massage to reduce stress.
Just 10 minutes of massage to relieve stress can activate dopamine and serotonin, the body’s natural happy hormones, and leave you feeling less stressed and more relaxed.
Here is how a massage helps to reduce stress and anxiety
in your body.
Stress relief massage triggers a relaxation response
Getting a therapeutic massage allows the body to slow down. It brings the body down from an added state of anxiety to a calmer state of being. The act of kneading eases the body’s tightly wound muscles and lets it sink into relaxation. Serotonin is what ignites this emotional response because it stabilises a person’s mood.
A good massage also helps reduce blood pressure
The process of kneading and massaging the skin improves blood circulation in the body, which then helps to lower blood pressure.
A stress relief massage calms the sympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for raising blood pressure as a response to stress.
An aromatherapy or similar massage to relieve stress reduces the blood pressure and heart rate much more effectively than a
deep tissue massage. This is most likely because the gentle, calming touch of the massage therapist releases serotonin, which causes our bodies to return to a healthier and natural body function.
Improves the quality of your sleep with a relaxing massage
A single massage session directly influences the production of serotonin as well as the sleep hormone, melatonin. Massaging the muscles in the neck, shoulders, back, and legs and feet triggers the production of melatonin.
Massaging also reduces the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which is known to affect sleep patterns. Instead, dopamine, the happy hormone, stabilises a person’s mood and helps to create that relaxed state of mind that is required to fall asleep soundly.
A massage helps with mental health
A stress relief massage can promote our mental health by stimulating the nerves, hormones, and receptors that regulate our mood.
Even a moderate pressure stress relief massage triggers these receptors, bringing psychological relief and increasing a person’s overall mood and well-being.
A massage also increases vagal nerve activity, which is often low in people who suffer from depression.
When the vagus nerve is stimulated, cortisol levels decrease and serotonin levels increase. Some studies have also shown that after a massage, activity in the right frontal lobe of the brain, which is associated with negative emotions, reduces and shifts to the left frontal lobe, which is all about stress and mood regulation.
Stress relief massage helps reduce muscular tension
When a person is stressed, the body tightens up involuntarily. This causes the muscles to become tense. But with a stress relief massage, these muscles can return to a relaxed state, which then alleviates chronic pain.
A high level of tension in the body can cause muscles to shorten, which restricts their movement and causes pain. A massage to relieve stress helps increase the elasticity of tissues and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
When techniques such as rubbing, stroking, and stretching are used during a stress relief massage, the muscle fibres become warmer and looser. This reduces muscle tension dramatically.
What is the best massage to relieve stress?
The act of kneading and rubbing the skin in a particular way is what makes the difference when it comes to a massage to reduce stress. While there is no one answer to the best massage to relieve stress, here are three stress relief massages that do the job well.
Aromatherapy massage
Aromatherapy massages are known to reduce stress and anxiety and also alleviate muscle tension and the resultant pain. The massage therapist uses essential oils such as lavender, ylang ylang, rosemary, eucalyptus and tea tree while massaging. They are also to be inhaled through a diffuser that is placed in the therapy room.
Shiatsu massage
This Japanese massage also relieves stress, anxiety, tension, and pain. A shiatsu massage promotes emotional and physical relaxation and also improves sleep.
The big difference between this massage and many others is that you can be fully clothed during the entire session. During your massage session, the therapist focuses on areas requiring extra attention along with working on the entire body.
A shiatsu massage is said to be the best antidote for headaches.
Deep tissue massage
Another massage to reduce stress is a deep tissue massage. The slow, deep strokes the therapist employs release stubborn knots and tension from the deepest layers of the connective tissues. It is more intense than other massages and you can tell the therapist if you want the pressure increased or decreased.