A 15-minute chair massage can boost alertness. Tests also show that brain-wave activity stimulated by massage is linked to improved attention.
Colds be gone
Massage helps ward off bugs by boosting your “natural killer cells,” the immune system’s first line of defense against invading illness. Cortisol destroys natural killer cells, therefore, since massage decreases cortisol, your immune cells get a boost. Massage even seems to boost immunity in those people with severely compromised immune systems, such as breast-cancer patients.
Blues, be gone
Less cortisol and more serotonin and dopamine in your system may also mean less stress, anxiety, and depression. We know that the right side of the frontal lobe of the brain is more active when we’re sad, and the left side’s activated when we’re happy. Studies have observed that massage decreases activity in the right lobe and increases functioning in the left. The well-being people feel after a massage is a big reason why some hospitals offer it to anxious patients preparing for surgery and cancer patients going through chemo.
Bye bye PMS
A small study of 24 women with severe PMS found that massage reduced symptoms such as pain, water retention, and mood swings. Try it with proven remedies such as exercise.
Why Massages Do Your Body Good was originally published on blackdoctor.org
