An apple a day keeps the doctor away… we’ve all heard this phrase. Well how good would it be if getting a regular massage was also good for your health? Look no further and read on! We have some insight into how massage can have a positive effect on your mood, and overall well-being.
When we are treated by our massage therapist, their simple touch starts off a whole chain of activity in our nervous system, changing the levels of lots of different types of chemicals in the body, which ultimately results in you feeling good, relaxed, and ready to take on the world again. The chemicals we refer to are your stress hormones and happy hormones.
Stress hormones
Stress hormones include Adrenaline, Noradrenaline, and Cortisol. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of them – these chemicals are basically responsible for activating your fight-or-flight response. They’re your body’s natural mechanism for dealing with danger and stressful situations (you know, like when you come face to face with a lion down a dark alley… Not happened to you? Erm, just us then?).
So having these chemicals is good, but if they flow around the body for too long, it can be detrimental to your health, leading to anxiety, increased blood pressure, a lowered immune system and much more. If you’re the kind of person who is regularly stressed in life, the good news is that massage has been shown to lower the amount of circulating stress hormones (think about the fight-or-flight response being reversed or switched off), reducing the risk of long-term complications from having your body in a constantly heightened state.
Happy hormones
Happy hormones include Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphins and Oxytocin. These chemicals have many roles to play, but important roles include regulating mood, appetite, focus and the body’s ability to make you feel generally positive and happy. So, it makes sense that we want plenty of these hormones regularly being pumped around the body. Good news again… massage, or even just the touch of another person has been shown to increase levels of these hormones, making you feel good, focused and productive, and generally a lovely, happy person to be around.
So, you can see it’s a win-win situation. Massage anyone? Oh go on then… book one now
