It’s the one luxury we wish we could have every day.  After a hard day at work and long workouts at the gym many of us wish we could relax our aching muscles with a soothing massage.  But massages are good for more than just relaxation and soothing muscles, they actually provide some surprising health benefits that make them better for you than you may think.  Check out these four benefits to getting a rub down.

 

Manages Anxiety And Depression

For the same reasons that a massage is relaxing, it can also soothe anxiety and depression. Massage reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, resulting in lifted spirits and often lower blood pressure.  It can also boost the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in depression.

Improves Sleep

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has dozed off on the massage table, and if you have too, you don’t need to be convinced that a massage can promote healthy sleep. A number of studies have examined this link, and chalk it up to massage’s affect on delta waves, the kind of brain waves connected to deep sleep.

Reduces Headaches

Like muscle and back pain, headaches can also be reduced thanks to massage.  A regular rubdown can reduce a person’s number of migraines and a 2009 study found that a 30-minute massage decreased pain for people with tension headaches, and even curbed some of the stress and anger associated with that pounding head.

Helps Cancer Treatments

Because massages ease pain, headaches, improves sleep and more, it is particularly helpful for people living with or undergoing treatment for serious illnesses, like cancer.  Various studies have shown that massage can relieve fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression and nausea in cancer patients.

 

How do massages benefit you?

 

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