Massage Makes You Happier
Every year on March 20th, our team comes together to celebrate Massage Makes Me Happy Day—highlighting the benefits of massage therapy! Have you ever experienced a change in your mood after a massage? Did you feel a complete wave of calm and happiness come over you? Aside from massage therapy’s physical ability to relieve tension throughout your body, it's also been proven to actually make people feel happier!
In this blog, we will explore massage therapy’s mental and physical effects on our bodies and its impact on making us feel happy.
Therapeutic Release
Feeling unhappy can stem from a multitude of issues, yet most people report feeling particularly unhappy when dealing with stressors such as anxiety, or physical discomfort from previous injuries and existing medical conditions. Incorporating a massage for happiness into your wellness routine has been proven to aid in restoring your body by improving overall circulation and reducing inflammation, yet it’s also been proven to improve mental health as well.
The effects of massage therapy on our mood can be traced by monitoring the chemicals in our brain. One study found that regular massage therapy not only decreased the production of cortisol—the stress hormone—but also significantly increased the production of serotonin and dopamine. Although both serotonin and dopamine play a critical role in managing stress and enhancing positivity, they target different areas of our mood individually. Serotonin in particular, is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness.
Dopamine on the other hand, influences your overall mood, feelings of reward, and motivation, usually associated with productivity and happiness. According to the study mentioned above, the individuals tested experienced an average increase of 28% of serotonin levels and an average increase of 31% of dopamine levels after massage therapy. The massage benefits for mental health are extensive and are the reason almost half of massage fanatics incorporate a stress relief massage in their wellness routine to relax and reduce stress today.
A Push Towards Happiness
If you’ve ever received a massage, the physical benefits are usually pretty clear. Your body is instantly relieved of tension, your knots disappear, and it feels as though the world has literally been lifted off of your shoulders. Although the immediate feeling of relief can impact your happiness and well-being, it's massage therapy’s ability to target your vagus nerve that directly affects your mood.
The vagus nerve is the longest and most complex of the cranial nerves, connecting our brainstem to the rest of our body. It’s responsible for the sensory, motor, and parasympathetic functions our body experiences. During massage therapy, the vagus nerve is mostly impacted throughout its parasympathetic functions, which involves lowering the heart rate and blood pressure, as well as dealing with fear management. It’s the vagus nerve that most people feel when they experience a “gut feeling”, as they encounter anxiety, stress, or fear.
During a massage, the vagus nerve is targeted along with the rest of the body, providing an overwhelming sense of relief. It's the release of a chemical known as acetylcholine, once the vagus nerve is energized, that provides an overall sense of calm throughout the body.
Acetylcholine, a function of the parasympathetic nervous system, is involved in providing a counterbalance to the sympathetic nervous system, allowing your body to achieve stability, or homeostasis. Pairing the physical state of calm one feels during a massage with the combined use of CBD oil, luxurious linens, relaxing music, and aromatherapy— you’ll float away into an eternal state of happiness.
Relax your Way to Happiness
Although massage therapy isn’t the one size fits all solution to improve your physical and mental health, you can always count on it to improve your mood. Incorporating massage therapy into your wellness routine is the perfect addition to help you lead a healthier and happier life.
Explore what types of massages we offer and book a massage today and get ready to relax your way to happiness.