This summer, Canberra Spine Centre posted an article about how important sleep is to overall health. In it, we listed some tips and techniques for better sleep as well as how chiropractic treatment can help. But there is another non-invasive, non-medicated treatment that can often help with sleep problems, and that is massage.
Why Is Sleep Important?
Sleep plays a vital role in good health and wellbeing. Getting quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.
Healthy Brain Function And Emotional Well-Being
Sleep is necessary for proper brain function. When you sleep, your brain prepares itself for the next day. It’s forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. Studies show that a good night’s sleep improves learning, helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative.
On the flip side, sleep deficiency has been linked to depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior.
Physical Health
Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels, and supports your immune system. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Sleep deficiency also increases the risk of obesity.
Daytime Performance And Safety
Getting enough quality sleep at the right times helps you function well throughout the day. People who are sleep deficient are less productive at work and school. They take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time, and make more mistakes.
How can Massage Help?
Getting a massage is not just a great way to relax and restore muscles; it’s also been shown to improve sleep, according to numerous studies. A growing body of research indicates that massage therapy may be beneficial in combating insomnia, as well as the many chronic conditions that contribute to this sleep disorder. Although most people find massage to be very relaxing, many are not aware it has systemic benefits for sleep and health.
Patients who undergo massage therapy tend to experience relaxation and positive mood. Studies indicate it is also an effective option in decreasing muscle fatigue, anxiety and depression – all of which can have negative effects on sleep. Massage therapy is a drug-free, natural method to promote overall health, and partially by promoting sleep.
Regular massage sessions have been found to decrease depression and anxiety levels and improve sleep quality, perhaps because they trigger the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can help you feel calm. The technique has been found to benefit children and adolescents, as well.
Scientists believe that the area of the brain that facilitates the body entering into deep sleep uses serotonin to communicate. The brain also uses serotonin to produce melatonin, which tells the brain to “slow down” and to prepare to sleep. Other research has found that delta waves – brain waves that appear in heaviest concentration during the deepest realm of sleep – increase after a massage.
The recommended duration of massage therapy varies widely depending on patient needs and specific health issues. Most studies were conducted over a period of 3 to 13 weeks, generally consisting of 30-minute sessions occurring twice weekly. Many patients report having experienced positive results after only a single session.
Partially due to the growing evidence of the benefits of massage, many medical facilities and even sports teams now employ licensed massage therapists as part of their regular staff. This helps patients to find a therapist while increasing the likelihood of communication between the therapist and the patient’s healthcare professionals. Many patients also opt to seek out their own therapists through traditional means or based on recommendations from those they trust
Massage Reduces Pain
Not only can a body rub bring stress levels down, but it may also help ease pain. In fact, people with low back pain who had 30-minute massage sessions twice a week for five weeks reported a decrease in pain and fewer sleep disturbances. This may be due to the fact that massage encourages more time spent in the deep, restorative stages of sleep, where your body hardly moves.
Straighten Out Your Sleep At Canberra Spine Centre
If you have sleep-related issues, you can take control of them by talking to your doctor of chiropractic at Canberra Spine Centre. Canberra Spine Centre is located in O’Connor and serves patients from all Canberra metro areas. We are close to transport and our onsite parking is free and very easy to access.
Call us at (02) 6257 9400. Or book an appointment online today.