Nobody enjoys being stressed. When we experience stress, we subconsciously tighten up which can result in muscle soreness, fatigue, and decreased mental health, as well. Learning ways to manage that stress is essential to boosting your overall health!
Shown to be an effective method of stress management, massages reduce stress and help you achieve deeper relaxation. This can help you sleep better, improve your mood, and increase your well being. Having a massage chair in your home brings those benefits to your living space whenever you want them!
Let’s take a look at some ways how full body massages reduce stress to see how massaging different parts of the body can help you unwind.
Full Body Massages Reduce Stress With Endorphins
Before we jump into areas of the body to massage for stress relief, how do full body massages reduce stress in the first place? When you’re getting a massage or using a massage chair, it feels great. You find yourself falling into deep relaxation and stress seems to melt away. The reason for that is the natural response of your body to massage.
Massage releases endorphins and lowers cortisol levels in the body. Endorphins are natural hormones that have been shown to elevate your mood and intercept pain receptors resulting in pain relief, as well. Pain can be a common source of stress in the body on both a conscious and subconscious level.
Cortisol is a hormone that your body produces in response to stress. Lowering cortisol levels with full body massages reduces stress and anxiety, helping them melt away as you relax. Massage therapy not only lowers cortisol levels but has also been shown to increase serotonin, another hormone that acts as a mood stabilizer as well as helps your body heal.
Areas Massages Reduce Stress in Your Body
If you’ve ever had a massage before, you know there are different parts of the body where a massage can help alleviate stress. From the head and neck down to knee and calf massages, full body massages reduce stress and provide deeper relaxation. Some areas full body massages reduce stress in your body include:
- Scalp massages to alleviate head and neck tension
- Shoulder massage to relieve stress, muscle tension, and headaches
- Relaxing back massages for pain and stress relief
- Glute and hamstring massage to release full body tension
- Calf and knee massages for deeper relaxation
Scalp Massages Reduce Stress in the Head and Neck
As we look at how full body massages reduce stress it makes sense to start at the top! Much of the stress we accumulate during the day manifests in our neck and shoulder areas. While we’ll get to the benefits of shoulder massage for stress relief momentarily, first we focus on the scalp.
Applying pressure to the scalp can help melt away some of the tension we build in our neck muscles. Whether you’re sitting at your desk working from home, at the office, or relaxing at home in a massage chair to take care of the rest of your body, there’s a simple way to reduce stress stemming from the scalp area. Take two fingers and gently massage the point where your neck meets your skull for 15 to 20 seconds. Rest for a minute and repeat as necessary. It’s as simple as that!
Shoulder Massages Reduce Stress and May Alleviate Headaches
Moving down in our exploration of how full body massages reduce stress in the body we come to the shoulder area. Stress from our day can accumulate here, tensing up the muscles in our neck and upper back.
The easiest way to work out this stress is using a massage chair. They’ve evolved so much that today’s 3D massage chairs can very effectively mimic the movements of a massage therapist. The best massage chairs have a variety of massage techniques available for you to choose from. This means you can have your very own shiatsu massage chair at the touch of a button to work out the stress in those shoulders!
Shoulder massages reduce stress and may help alleviate headaches, as well. Stress-related tension headaches can be some of the worst!
Relaxing Back Massages Reduce Stress and Provide Back Pain Relief
You can’t talk about how full body massages reduce stress without talking about back massages. This is the primary focus area for stress relief massages and can have positive effects all over the body to boost your overall health and well being.
Massage chairs with body scanning technology are able to examine your back in real time and adapt to focus massage where you need it most. Talk about a high tech massage chair! Custom massage chair programs also give you control over what kind of massage you want as well as the intensity. If you have a 4D massage chair, you'll also be able to adjust the speed and rhythm to suit your preferences. (New to 4D massage chairs? Check out this article, “What is a 4D Massage Chair?” to learn more!)
Do massages reduce stress any better than from the comfort of your own home and on your schedule? Not at all!
Glute and Hamstring Massages Reduce Stress and Alleviate Tension
If you’ve experienced a massage you know how full body massages reduce stress and leave you feeling incredible. The emphasis, however, is on full body. Too often the glutes and hamstrings are overlooked when it comes to thinking of how massages reduce stress in our bodies. The truth, however, is that massaging the glutes and hamstrings can help release tension along our entire bodies as so much of our posture and movement centers on those regions.
To ensure your massages reduce stress from all areas of your body, choose an L-track massage chair. In L-track luxury massage chairs the massage rollers continue beyond the lower back to attend to your glutes and hamstrings. These are the best massage chairs as they enhance stress relief, release tension throughout the body, and provide a more full body massage experience.
Calf and Knee Massages Reduce Stress and Athletic Pains
At the base of your most prominent calf muscle is a pressure point that can help alleviate leg pain, reduce stress, provide knee pain relief, and even possibly help with back pain, too. Stress is one of the most common catalysts for all these types of pains as your body subconsciously tenses up.
Using massage chairs or electric foot massagers for calf and knee massages reduces stress and feels incredible. If you’ve got a luxury massage chair with knee and calf heat features, you can enhance these massage chair benefits further with even better blood flow and faster bodily healing as your stress melts away.
Calf and knee massages are also important massage chair benefits for athletes following physical activity. Studies have shown massage therapy after physical activity can help reduce muscle strain, avoid Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), and result in faster healing. All these benefits are ways massages reduce stress as pain in our bodies causes more stress to build up.
Using an electric foot massager for calf and knee massage also works to reduce stress emanating from your feet. We’re on our feet all day long so it’s no surprise stress and tension can build up in them. Electric foot massagers reduce stress and anxiety, increase blood flow in your extremities, and alleviate potentially painful swelling and inflammation. While the best massage chairs have foot rollers built in, you can find separate electric foot massagers, as well.
Full body massages reduce stress and keep your mind and body healthy. While you can’t fully avoid the stresses of your day, learning how to manage stress levels from the comfort of your own home is essential to your well being. Choose a massage chair that will suit your needs and lifestyle to feel the difference right away. Whether you use a massage chair to kick off your day with a boost or as part of a night time routine to unwind before bed, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one.
Seeing both massage chairs and zero gravity chairs listed but don’t understand how they’re different? We’ve got your answer! Check out our guide on the difference between zero gravity chairs vs luxury massage chairs to learn what each provides.
