My top 5 Massage Benefits- Sato Ashida
Everyone loves massage, right? Well, maybe not everyone, but most of us would love to feel better, have a bit of time off, and forget about everything that makes us stressed. Obviously life gets too hectic sometimes and there might be many priorities rather than getting a massage. But hang on a tick! Before ruling out “getting a massage” on your to-do list, let’s think about the benefits massage delivers to us!
Although it might not be the first priority, it is the fact that there are a number of great benefits that massage has on our general health and well-being both physically and mentally.
Here are my top 5 body benefits from massage:
- Massage improves circulation
Massage is a manual therapy. When your massage therapist is getting hands on and moving fluids throughout the body, it improves circulation. The pressure created by the massage technique moves blood through and flushes lactic acid from the muscles and also improves the circulation of lymph fluid, which carries metabolic waste away from muscles and internal organs. Good circulation brings damaged and tensed muscles the oxygen-rich blood they need to heal. The result you feel great because your muscles feel great-simple!
2. Massage promotes relaxation
This is one of the most immediate benefits that massage would offer. Massage promotes deep relaxation and calmness because it prompts the release of Endorphins, the brain chemicals that produce feelings of wellbeing. Levels of stress hormones, such as Adrenalin, Cortisol and noradrenaline are also reduced. This has a terrific effect on our overall health and well-being, not to mention the longevity of our body.
3. Massage reduces stress
Whether it’s big or small, everybody has got some stress living in this busy world. But stress isn’t always a bad thing. Without stress we wouldn’t get up in the morning, wouldn’t go to work, wouldn’t exercise to keep us fit, or even wouldn’t be able to achieve anything in our lives. Stress is a natural response that we need to get through life. Stress has its own balance scale which helps keep us going, helps the whole process of life happening. What we don’t want is “Over-stress”. Massage therapy is well known to reduce adverse stress levels.
4. Massage improves quality of sleep
I’m sure we all have felt relaxed and had an awesome night sleep after getting a massage. Sleep is an ultimate way of recovery. We spend 24 years sleeping on the bed in the entire life assuming we all would live until 80! So, why not try to improve our limited yet precious time on our beds by getting a massage? Sleep could change our quality of life in all aspect! Please refer Dr. Cris Beer’s Healthy Habits, 52 Ways to Better Health book in Habit #4 “Sleep Well” for more detailed information on how important sleep is for our recovery.
5. Massage aids recovery
Putting all the above benefits into one piece, I’d say recovery is one of the most important and beneficial aspects of massage. Improving circulation, relaxation, reducing stress, and having a quality sleep are all led to recover our body and mind. Hard training sessions and competitions for athletes, deadlines and meetings for working persons, or even every little thing that everyone could face on busy everyday life are all stressful on the body regardless of whether it’s physical or mental. Getting a massage is ideal to help the body deal with all those stress and injury or disease prevention. Remember, prevention is better than cure!
How often should you get a massage?
Now, we all know massage is good for our health and wellbeing, I am often asked how often people should get a massage. My response is that it depends on the stress level of your sports, work, or life in general. I would normally recommend that everyone get one massage per fortnight. If you are a professional or serious athlete, weekly massage would be an ideal (if you are in a heavy training phase, you should get more frequently in order not to develop your injury risk). Making massage therapy a regular thing is very important. Schedule your massage as you schedule a training session or a weekly recurring meeting!
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Agree with this post! Its true that massage helps us improve our blood circulation and it lets blood flow through and flushes lactic acid. This also promotes relaxation every after the session, you’ll feel lighter and stress free. You have quality sleep and lets your recover from any diseases easier. Every company should really acquire a corporate massage to help employees be more motivated at their job. Thanks for sharing!