With World Sleep Day fast approaching on Friday 16 March, we’re reminded that quality slumber is important for all health concerns, from how we age, to how much we eat and how we deal with stress – but in today’s digitally driven world we rarely feel rested.
‘An astonishingly high number of people have what would be classed as “normal” sleep patterns, but still wake up feeling sleepy, dull and unfocused – unable to concentrate and generally feeling “below par”,’ says Karolina Maciejewska, UK manager of home-massage app Soothe.
‘It is sleep quality, rather than duration or continuity, where the problem lies,’ she explains. We simply cannot get a good night’s sleep, meaning many of us experience ‘non-restorative sleep’ (NRS), the clinical term for problems with sleep quality in the absence of a disturbed sleep pattern.
Can massage manipulate your sleep hormones?
So how does this link to massage? Well, ‘Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques can be prescribed to address NRS,’ Maciejewska explains. ‘Plus research has shown that the chemistry of sleep is relevant to massage therapy because massage can directly influence the body’s production of serotonin and the creation of melatonin.’
Beata Aleksandrowicz, a massage expert and the creator of the Pure Massage Spa Training Method, says that these two hormones, plus cortisol, play a vital role in our sleep patterns.
;Levels of the hormone cortisol are often elevated in people who are stressed (yes – that’s most of us) which can lead to insomnia,’ she explains. ‘Massage helps to balance the hormonal system and it’s proven that massage can reduce the level of cortisol by an average of 30 per cent.’ We’ll take that.
When it comes to serotonin – our happy hormone which influences our wellbeing, appetite, memory, sexual drive and sleep – Aleksandrowicz explains that, ‘Whilst it needs light and exercise to thrive, studies have also shown that massage can help to boost serotonin levels up to up 28 per cent.’
In addition, melatonin, ‘the sleep-inducing hormone which increases with the darkness of the night’, as Aleksandrowicz puts it, can be triggered by the pressure applied during a massage.
If you wanted another excuse to book in a massage, let Maciejewska provide one. ‘While improving the sleep experience, simply one hour of massage provides the body with benefits that are equivalent to a power nap,’ she says. Of course, while using Soothe (the Uber of massage) is one way to get one – as is employing the skills of your nearest and dearest, self-massage can be beneficial in boosting your sleep, too.
Here Aleksandrowicz shares her wellness tips to help balance your sleep hormones for a naturally better sleep.
Self-massage tips for sweet sleep
1. Take a bath: ‘Add some soothing essential oils like lavender, ylang ylang or frankincense. Close your eyes and become present in the moment. Breath slowly, consciously and deeply from the diaphragm. The warmth of the bath will boost melatonin.’
2. Massage your feet: ‘Sit on the edge of the bed and rest your left feet on your right knee. Use foot cream or body lotion and slowly massage your feet. Pay special attention to the sole of your feet and make circles with your thumb along different points of your sole. Take your time. Breathe. Do the same with the other foot.’
3. Massage your hands: ‘You can sit on the edge of the bed or in the bed supporting your back with pillows. Using some lotion, massage the top of your hand and then turn your palm up and using the thumb circle your palm along different points and stretch your palm slightly in the same time. Make sure that you do it slowly while breathing all the time.’
4. Massage your neck: ‘In the sitting position, using the fingers of both hands, massage the back of your neck along the line of your skull, starting from the middle out towards the back of your ears. Breath with every stroke and feel the tension released. Do this with purpose, focusing on each breath.’
5. Try Yoga Nidra: ‘It is one of the best guided meditations I have found to help calm and soothe the mind.’
6. Now go to bed: ‘Switch off the light, close your eyes and take deep breath. Visualise a place that is close to your heart, maybe the coast, mountains, or a beach. Breathe into it and let it soothe you like a lullaby.’
It seems sweet dreams are made of massage.
