Massage and the Nervous & Endocrine Systems

In a previous article, we discussed how massage therapy affects the body by causing either mechanical or reflexive responses within the body. When massage therapy starts to cause changes in your nervous and endocrine systems you are sure to be experiencing reflexive responses, or changes in your body that you may not even be consciously aware of.

The impact of massage on the nervous and endocrine systems can be huge! Let's start with the obvious such as reduced stress, reduced anxiety, and that wonderful sense of utter relaxation! Individuals who do not necessarily have a medical or muscular reason for seeking massage therapy are ultimately looking for these things. Massage therapy sessions can, over time, help you to keep your stress under control and at a lower level on a regular basis.

Massage therapy also contributes towards decreasing beta wave activity, increasing delta wave activity, and increasing alpha wave activity in the brain? Without getting scary or scientific, these terms refer to your brain frequency and impact your ability to relax and sleep! While you technically shouldn't go to sleep right after having a massage, massage therapy has been known to play a leading role in one's ability to sleep better at night.

Another impact massage has on the body is a reduction in the levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine produced by your endocrine system. Epinephrine is the chemical your body lets into your blood stream to allow you to respond to stress, namely to give you your "fight or flight" response. Norepinephrine works with the body to allow you to maintain your heightened stress awareness for a longer period of time. While it's important to be able to function in an emergency or stressful situation, it's not necessary to have a heightened stress response 24/7. Massage helps to reduce these levels, allowing you to relax even more.