Boost Your Brain and Reduce Stress: The Impact of Massage Therapy on Sleep Deprivation
- Julian Simpson
- 15 minutes ago
- 2 min read
How Massage Therapy Enhances Daytime Brain Function and Lowers Stress in Poor Sleepers
Daytime napping helps mitigate the effects of inadequate nighttime sleep, allowing people to reduce fatigue and potentially improve physical performance
Research has also shown that strategically timed naps can significantly boost athletic performance, improve cognitive function, and reduce daytime fatigue
Short naps lasting between 10 to 60 min are ideal for quickly boosting alertness and cognitive function
In athletes a massage therapy serves as both a proactive and reactive measure in optimising sports and exercise performance, ensuring athletes are physically and mentally prepared for competition while also facilitating their recovery, minimising the risk of injury
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Strategies for sleep:
Environmental modifications, such as reducing ambient light and noise, maintaining a comfortable room temperature, and establishing consistent nap routines, appear to play a pivotal role in creating optimal conditions for rest
Similarly, massage therapy has been shown to stimulate parasympathetic activation following physical exertion, supporting recovery and rest
What are the best treatment recommendations?
The researchers performed the massage for around 30 minutes
The whole body was massaged, including the neck, shoulders, back and hamstrings and calves
At the conclusion of the study, the average person had a 23.4% increase in the relaxation score
The sports massage appears to have a more pronounced effect on reducing arousal levels due to its greater ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) compared to relaxation massage
What sort of massage had the best results?
Massage therapy, with strokes directed from the lower extremities upward towards the cranial region, may serve as an effective tool for reducing muscle stiffness and enhancing autonomic nervous system function.
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Ntoumas I, Karatzaferi C, Boubougiatzi F, Manakou N, Aslanidi A, Giannaki CD, Papanikolaou F, Dardiotis E, Lavdas E, Sakkas GK. Massage positively influences daytime brain activity and reduces arousal state in poor sleepers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Jul 28;25(1):290. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-05022-6. PMID: 40722019; PMCID: PMC12302761.
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