Let’s talk a little about stress.
Stress is the natural way that your body reacts to potentially harmful situations. When handled properly, stress can ensure that you respond appropriately to threats. It can also motivate you to accomplish tasks for both your work and home life. However, too much stress can impact every aspect of your physical and mental well-being.
Prolonged stress can contribute to chronic health issues such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart disease, insomnia, hair and skin issues, and gastrointestinal problems. Our bodies simply aren’t designed to function on such high alert all the time. The last couple of years have made us all a little more stressed with reports from the Stress in America hinting that as much as 84% of American adults report feeling higher levels of prolonged stress since 2020.
If you’re one of those who feel more stressed this April, it’s time to find solutions to help lower your stress. One great way to help calm your body and reduce stress is to get a full body massage or other packages offered at a local spa. Here’s four ways that a massage helps to reduce stress.
1. Massages reduce muscle tension.
One of the symptoms of stress is tense muscles. As your body is on high alert, your muscles tense in a flight-or-fight response to stimuli. When a massage works through these muscles it encourages your body to let go of that tension. In turn, this triggers a reduction in stress. As an added bonus, this also helps to reduce chronic pain associated with muscle tension.
2. Massages trigger a relaxation response.
When you’re coping with high stress, you really do need to almost trick your body into relaxing. The touch and method of pressure provided by a massage can help your body relax and sink into a calmer, happier state. This is what is meant when people say that massages “melt away” the stress.
3. Massages reduce high blood pressure.
One of the physiological aspects of stress is high blood pressure and high heart rate. When a massage encourages your body to relax, it also calms these symptoms of stress. Almost like a feedback loop, this helps reduce the stress too. Stress is physical as well as mental and reducing one aspect you can reduce the other.
4. Massage can encourage better sleep.
Lack of sleep and insomnia can make stress even more intense. You need to have a good night’s sleep to “recharge” your body and end the feedback loop that keeps continuously adding to the stress you experience. Because massages help trigger your relaxation response, they contribute to better sleep that same night. Afterwards, that helps your restart your stress levels and start the day fresh.
Massages can help you reduce stress and feel more relaxed and healthier. Our massage packages start at $50 for a 30-minute session. Contact Brickhouse today to start your journey towards better relaxation.
