However, according to research gathered by the American Massage Therapy Association and endorsed by the National Institutes of Health, massage therapy can be a terrific solution for addressing insomnia.
It makes sense; massage has been shown to reduce problems with fatigue and improve sleep quality for people in all age brackets.
It can also bring relief to people with chronic health conditions who are living with chronic pain. Those who suffer from restless legs which may be contributing to their insomnia, can definitely benefit from massage. Finally, massage improves the mood dysfunction that can be caused be sleeplessness.
Best of all, massage therapy is a low-risk approach to treating insomnia disorders. It can’t hurt to give it a try.
Two things occur when you get a massage which can help with sleep: a reduction in pain and tension in the body, and a gentler, more stable journey from wakefulness to sleep.
Sleep is a whole-body process that responds to changes in body chemistry coordinated with the circadian system. The system produces serotonin, a necessary ingredient for the production of the sleep-inducing substance, melatonin.
Research published in the International Journal of Neuroscience showed that people suffering from chronic pain enjoyed two benefits from massage: an increase in their serotonin levels as well as a decrease in long-term pain.
Pain, by itself, can be a main contributor to sleep disruption… but to discover that the benefit of massage for pain management can also improve melatonin levels is even more encouraging.
It may also be possible that massage can help the brain and body to attain more deep stage 3 sleep, which would be ideal, as this is the stage of sleep architecture that allows for healing at the cellular level, as well as the release of human growth hormone (HGH), so important for overall health and well being.
The American Massage Therapy Association released “Massage Therapy Can Help Improve Sleep” in 2012, sharing numerous studies which convincingly support their position statement that massage is an effective means for improving sleep.