When you’re stressed out, feeling sore, or simply burned out one of the first things that probably comes to mind is needing a massage. Much more than just a self-care indulgence, there are many benefits of massage for health that you can experience. In fact, getting a massage can help enhance both your physical and mental well being.
Today we’re out to explore 5 reasons why you need a massage for health and wellness. Learning how essential massage can be to your overall health will hopefully give you even more ways to take care of yourself in the long term.
Why Massage Is Good for Health
Getting a massage for health is far more than a luxury indulgence. Sure, learning how to create a spa at home for self care or visiting a massage therapist regularly may appear to be self-indulgent on the surface, but the reality is those are important methods for keeping up your mental and physical health.
For example, those with active lifestyles may look to massage benefits for health in order to stay at peak performance levels or as part of how to make an injury recover faster. Those with mobility issues may look to massage for greater flexibility or pain relief. As you can see, getting a massage for health and wellness is so much more than vanity.
Getting a Massage for Health Benefits
What does getting a massage for health and wellness mean, though? It’s just a body rub, right? Not at all! The term “massage” is actually an umbrella term for many kinds of techniques. While there are overlapping benefits of massage for health across them all, each technique also has its own focus.
A shiatsu massage, for example, will relax you but is also focused on acupressure-like movements to work out pain and stiffness. Deep tissue massage benefits, on the other hand, are aimed at reducing scar tissue and working out knots in muscular areas by manipulating tissue with deep strokes.
Those who want to experience different kinds of massages at their leisure may find the benefits of owning a massage chair at home outweigh going to a massage therapist on a regular basis. The evolution of massage chairs into today’s luxury models has certainly removed any real difference between using a massage chair vs human massage.
Reasons to Get a Massage for Health Benefits
Now that we’ve talked about why a massage is good for health and not just vanity, it’s time to dive into some of the benefits of massage therapy (at home or at a massage therapist). Some of the main potential benefits of massage you may experience are:
- Helping manage stress and anxiety
- Relaxation
- Faster bodily healing (especially for athletic recovery)
- Pain relief
- Building a strong immune system to stay healthy
Benefits of Massage for Managing Stress and Anxiety
We can’t avoid stress at all times in our lives. The truth is, a little stress can actually be healthy now and then, though left unmanaged it can damage our minds and bodies. Stress and anxiety are experienced by over 40 million adults in the United States making it the most common mental health concern in the country. In addition to being bad for our mental health, stress and anxiety also cause us to subconsciously tense up, which can lead to a variety of physical ailments such as back pain, muscle tension, or fatigue.
Massage has been shown to be potentially effective as a remedy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). On top of the potential benefits of massage for anxiety, you’ll find that full body massages reduce stress and allow us to recenter our minds. Part of this is due to the increase in serotonin and decrease in cortisol levels experienced during massage. Cortisol is the body’s natural response to stress and gives us our “fight or flight” instinct. As those levels are lowered, our minds and bodies calm down and help clear our minds.
Relaxation Massage Improve Health and Wellness
There’s nothing wrong with simply enjoying a good massage! Why does it feel so good, though? For this, we look at how massage increases endorphins within our bodies. Endorphins are naturally-occuring chemicals produced by your body’s nervous system and can help against stress, elevate your mood, and even act as a pain reliever. These are what make massages such wonderfully relaxing experiences that help improve health and wellness.
The relaxation you experience from a massage therapist or after choosing the right massage chair to meet your needs may also help improve other aspects of your health such as sleep quality. Better sleep quality allows your body to focus on healing itself faster and helps you wake up feeling more rested. That restful sleep can increase energy levels, leaving you ready to take on each day and manage emotions, stress, and other events with more ease.
Massage Helps the Body Heal Itself Faster
Speaking of bodily healing, next up on our list of reasons why you need a massage for health and wellness is for this very reason. One of the potential benefits of a massage chair for health or result from a massage therapist appointment is improving blood circulation. Better blood circulation is what could help the body heal faster.
With better blood flow, oxygen and nutrients are delivered more efficiently throughout the body to muscles and other soft tissue. This helps heal any damage that has been done. It can be simple daily wear and tear or helping decrease healing time for athletes or other people with active lifestyles.
Better blood circulation also helps rehydrate discs more efficiently, which is why there are potential benefits of massage for back pain, as well.
How a Massage for Health Builds a Strong Immune System
Last up in this exploration of why massage is good for health is how it affects your immune system. Getting a massage for health and wellness is a great method for how to build a strong immune system by flushing toxins, reducing stress, and giving you all the benefits of a full body massage experience.
Whether you’re making regular appointments with a massage therapist or using a luxury massage chair, massage may help stimulate your lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is what aids in flushing toxins from your body. Additionally, it helps increase activity of white blood cells to protect your body from infection and disease.
As you can see, there are loads of reasons why you need a massage for health and wellness. We hope our guide has given you some food for thought and made you realize the importance of massage as part of your self care routine. Whether you’re an athlete or live a more sedentary lifestyle, a full body massage may help keep you in good spirits and contribute to a healthier lifestyle overall.
Want to discover more about the benefits of owning a massage chair and how they might enhance your lifestyle? Check out these resources and learn more:
- 7 Benefits of Massage Therapy At Home
- Wait, AI Massage is a Thing?
- What Is a 3D Massage Chair?
- What is a 4D Massage Chair and Its Benefits?
- Is a Massage Chair Worth Buying - Especially a Luxury One?
