Everybody in Tucson deserves to get a good night’s sleep. A lack of sleep can be detrimental to your health. Not getting enough quality sleep affects the overall well-being of an individual and reduces productivity both physically and mentally. Research also reveals that lack of sleep may be connected to various illnesses like heart disease and depression.
Insomnia is on the rise these days and quickly becoming a problem that many adults are experiencing on a daily basis.
Insomnia is the most common sleep-related disorder. Research has shown that approximately 30% of adults suffer insomnia and 10% of adults suffer chronic insomnia.
Can massage improve insomnia and help you sleep better? Well, the simple answer is YES!
During a massage, some hormones get reduced, and some get stimulated. Cortisol is a hormone in the body that causes a lack of sleep, so during a massage, this hormone can be drastically reduced by a whopping 30%.
Meanwhile, other hormones like melatonin and serotonin help you sleep better. When these hormones are stimulated, insomnia can be substantially reduced.
How Does Massage Help Overcome Insomnia?
Massage therapy offers many benefits such as relieving stress and pain, healing the body, improving blood circulation, and much more.
It is safe to say that all of these contribute significantly to whether a person sleeps well or not. After getting a massage, the relief from the pain and stress you feel could also help you sleep better. With the right massage, you can experience better rest and sleep and your insomnia can be vastly improved.
Massage Can Help Improve Insomnia In Two Ways
First, there’s a specific type of massage that has a soothing and relaxing effect on the body. This type of massage is called a Swedish massage.
A Swedish massage helps to ease and relax the body. As your body relaxes, your stress level also decreases. Cortisol, the hormone responsible for causing stress is reduced greatly resulting in better sleep.
Secondly, massage helps with improving insomnia by stimulating some chemicals in the body during the massage. Massage stimulates the production of serotonin in the body; the effect of this chemical is that it increases the feeling of happiness in the body.
The stimulation of serotonin in turn increases the secretion of melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that controls the sleep cycle. The effect of a good massage is that it increases the secretion of serotonin and melatonin. Consequently, it causes you to sleep better and reduces your insomnia in the process.
However, not all types of massage help to eliminate insomnia, in some cases, they may even worsen it.
Massages like the Swedish massage that involve long, gentle light strokes are the best for eliminating insomnia.
However, deep tissue massage or sports massage may have the opposite effect on the body. Instead of having a relaxing effect on the body, these types of massages stimulate the body.
Some massage therapists have come up with a special massage technique designed to improve the quality of your sleep. They may incorporate Swedish massage and use special essential oils to get the best result.
Symptoms Of Insomnia
How do you determine if you’re suffering from insomnia? Do you complain about not sleeping for long hours or you can’t seem to find sleep at night?
Medically, we’re expected to sleep for at least 7-8 hours every night. But some people sleep for just 4 or 5 hours, and they still function properly the next day.
So, sometimes, not sleeping for long doesn’t necessarily mean you have insomnia. It might just be the way your body is designed to function.
However, if you always feel less productive and mentally tired every day due to not having a good night’s sleep, then you might be suffering from insomnia. You’re not getting enough good sleep and it’s having a bad effect on your well-being.
When you’re suffering from insomnia, it is often caused by some bad habits like not eating sufficiently, having a bad diet, and using stimulants. However, it could be a result of natural causes like pain, cramps, and fatigue.
When you eliminate the cause of insomnia, you can be well on your way to having a better sleep experience. For instance, if the reason why you can’t sleep for long hours is that you drink caffeinated soda to ease yourself, then you should decrease your consumption. Also, if you can’t sleep well due to stress, then cutting down on working late at night may be the best solution.
Preventing Insomnia
Below are some ways to prevent insomnia and experience better sleep.
- Avoid drinking tea or coffee with caffeine when it’s late in the evening and when it’s almost time for you to sleep. Tea and coffee stimulate the body and can affect the quality of your sleep.
- Avoid engaging in stimulating mental activities. Texting, working, and reading late at the night are all mentally stimulating activities and they can affect your sleep.
- Stop working late at night, especially if that’s what you’ve been doing all day.
- Take time off to get relaxing massages to soothe your body and reduce your stress.
- Listen to relaxing music before you sleep.
- Try to not sleep with white lights on. The lights from your devices affect the brain negatively. So, reduce your screen time before you go to bed.
- Get enough ventilation and air-conditioned air moving in your room. Too much heat causes you to be uncomfortable and you won’t be able to sleep well.
If the preventative measures listed above haven’t helped you get a better night’s sleep, book an appointment for a massage at Greentoes in Tucson. Our experienced massage therapists can help you improve the symptoms of insomnia, which may allow you to get a better night’s sleep!