The Science Behind Massage Therapy's Stress Relief & How to Get Some for Yourself

Stress is something we experience mentally and physically. We all know the physical signs of stress: Your muscles feel tense and your body aches. You may feel your heart race, have trouble sleeping and find yourself either with no appetite or stress eating everything!  The longer you feel stress, the more negative the symptoms become as stress takes a cumulative toll on your body and mind.  Stress has been linked in the long term to many health conditions such as cardiovascular problems, digestive disease, immune health problems and even diabetes.

Stress isn't just a mental experience - the mind and body are connected through the nervous system, which is why stress causess physical symptoms. There's a scientific reason why people seek out massage therapy to help reduce stress. It's not just that massage feels good or helps to relax your muscles (though these things certainly help.) Massage can help you take control of how your body and mind work together to process stress to restore your mental and physical health.

Today, we'd love to take you on a tour of the science behind why massage can help you reduce stress and anxiety.

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Fight or Flight: The Immediate Stress Response

Why does the body store stress? Most people think of stress as a mental condition: Worrying, anxiety, trouble sleeping - stress is "in the mind" right?

Not necessarily. Humans are capable of "stress" for survival reasons. It's called the Fight or Flight response. A stressful situation for our ancient ancestors would include problems like encountering a wolf or running out of food. Your body tenses up your muscles and releases adrenaline which gives you energy and laser focus on the problem. It releases blood sugar to your muscles for quick responsiveness. It releases cortisol to help rapidly mobilize those resources. All of these responses literally help you survive in tough situations. 

Your body also goes though changes as is switches from the parasympathetic nervous system state (relaxed and at rest) to the sympathetic nervous system state (tense and ready to fight, flee or hide). This process shuts down "non-essential" systems like appetite and even reproduction to help you focus on survival.

The physical stress reaction helps you run away from or fight the wolf, or strive to find food. But what about modern stressors that persist, like job stress or driving anxiety? Long-term exposure to adrenaline and cortisol result in stress disorders like knotted muscles, lactic acid buildup, heart disease, and excess blood sugar. Mentally revisiting stressful triggers can also cause a physical stress response even when there's no wolf to fight.


Long-Term Stress Stored In Your Body

Your body is designed to handle acute stress for short period of time. A few bursts of adrenaline and cortisol are healthy in a lifetime. But long-term stress and the physical stress response result in unhealthy buildup in your body. Your muscles stay tense. Your blood stays too rich with blood sugar. You can develop cardiovascular problems as your heart beats faster from over-exposure to adrenaline and cortisol. These are now known as stress-related conditions.

When you think stressful thoughts, your body reinforces those bad feelings by feeling bad.

Fortunately, the communication between your body and mind regarding stress. This is why massage therapy is so effective at not just relieving the symptoms of stress, but also relieving mental sources of stress and anxiety.


Massage Therapy for Science-Backed Stress Reduction

Stress is a self-triggering, vicious cycle. Your body and mind can trigger each other, one stress leading to the next. Massage interrupts that process by helping your body let go of stress first. 

Massage activates the parasympathetic nervous system while actively removing tension from the muscles and helping your body to process stored cortisol and lactic acid stored in your cells.  As massage helps your body to relax and feel safe, your mind can also relax and let go of those "fight or flight" feelings of long-term stress and anxiety.

As your body relaxes, so too does your mind. It's the same reason why a hot shower or a warm bath can provide some anxiety relief, and why even an amateur massage from a partner can make daily stress more bearable.

However, professional massage has the best results when the goal is to fully remove stress from your body in the form of tension, adrenaline, cortisol, and lactic acid stored up over weeks and months of your stress physical response.


Stress Relieving Massage in Jacksonville, FL

If you are struggling with long-term stress and anxiety, the massage therapy specialists at The Wellness Hub are here to help. You can search for "massage near me" to easily find us here in Jacksonville, Florida. Through expert application of gentle touch and refined massage therapy techniques, you can feel the stress physically leaving your body, leaving your mind free to finally relax. Contact us today to book your appointment.



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We are pleased to serve the following Florida communities with massage therapy, chiropractic, organic skincare, acupuncture, red light therapy and more: Jacksonville, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Mandarin, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St Johns, Ponte Vedra and more.

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