How massage helps relieve stress. Or… why cortisol does not make a good BFF.

What happens to the nervous system when you are chronically stressed?

“Man, my life has been so stressful lately!” When you have chronic stress from a mechanical source (like posture), a chemical source (like excessive caffeine), or a psychological source (like work, relationships, or traumatic events), it is like your body is in a constant state of fight or flight. Stress causes a greater degree of muscle tightness (fancy word: hypertonicity) due to a higher rate of of contraction stimulus, readying the body and causing the muscle to hold a higher degree of resting tonus than it normally would. Your sympathetic nervous system is activated and your body gets ready to deal with an outside threat by shifting its energy resources to the muscles and shutting down less critical functions. In this state, it produces high amounts of cortisol, which signals lots of changes in your body:

• your muscles receive high amounts of glucose (putting pressure on the pancreas to make enough insulin to convert the glucose to energy)

• your arteries narrow to increase your heart rate

• you may feel anxious or irritable

• your breathing volume/rate increases to ventilate the lungs in anticipation of greater metabolic demand arising from physical activity

While these functions are taking the focus and being energized, other important functions of your wellbeing are being shut down:

• your immune system is suppressed which means….

  • the natural inflammatory response is also suppressed, which means…

  • healing of injuries is slowed down

• your digestion, reproductive system and growth processes all shut down

• your normal sleep cycle stops working properly and insomnia can result

Needless to say, this imbalance is detrimental to the body long-term and can cause problems like high blood pressure, ulcers, fatigue, persistent anxiety, and inability to heal. Your body cannot take care of itself and be healthy if it is constantly running in high gear.

How does the parasympathetic system combat stress and how do you know it is activated?

The parasympathetic system is known as the “rest and digest” system. This system is critical for restoring balance and health to all your internal organs and life-sustaining processes. When the parasympathetic system is activated, it:

• slows your heart and breathing rates

• lowers blood pressure

• promotes digestion

• restores a normal sleep cycle

Decreased cortisol levels means that the body's immune system and response to injury are both improved. The inflammatory response and healing processes both speed up. When this system is accessed and activated, you often feel hungrier, thirstier, and sleep better!

How does massage support the parasympathetic healing system?

Massage helps quiet down the sympathetic nervous system and awaken the parasympathetic. When you are stressed, it’s as if your body is thinking “Danger! Danger!” so it puts up its guard and tries to protect itself by holding things tight. A soothing Swedish massage helps your body to enter a state of relaxation and comfort, dialing down the “fight or flight” system and dialing up the “rest and digest” system. A massage that helps you relax gives new information to the body, as if to say, “It’s all good! Nothing to see here! You can take the day off from guarding me now.” When you feel good, your body produces serotonin (the happy hormone), which then replaces the cortisol. This transformational massage experience promotes holistic recovery. Scientists have determined that massage can increase both serotonin and dopamine by about 30 percent, reducing anxiety and giving you a natural mood boost! (This is the same mechanism from which antidepressants work… they boost levels of serotonin in the brain.) So in the end, don’t hang out with cortisol any longer than you have to. Get a massage, and get back into balance by activating your parasympathetic system. In the long run, serotonin will be a much better BFF!

Ready to recalibrate your nervous system?

A few interesting articles (bits and pieces)

Read more here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037#:~:text=Cortisol%20also%20slows%20functions%20that,reproductive%20system%20and%20growth%20processes.

Read more here: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

Read more here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/integrative-mental-health-care/201810/massage-therapy-anxiety-and-stress