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Article title: Health Wisdom For Women
Author: Dr. Christian Northrup
Author of the acclaimed “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom”

Though many of you may have been brought up to view massage as a trivial, expensive indulgence, it is anything but. The research of Dr. Tiffany Field on the health benefits of massage therapy is so compelling that I truly feel massage should be incorporated into every workplace, school, and home in the country. Dr. Field’s research on massage shows that it can:

Decrease the stress hormones cortisol and nor epinephrine, thus calming down the sympathetic nervous system overdrive we are all at risk for.

Increase vagal tone, the part of the parasympathetic nervous system that helps us rest and repair.

Increase deep sleep in those individuals who are sleep deprived.

Decease substance P, a neurotransmitter that is increased when one is in pain. As a result, it increases pain tolerance. Research has shown that when burn victims are massaged prior to their dressing changes and skin care, they need less pain medication and tolerate these extremely painful procedures more comfortably.

Enhance one’s ability to perform at work. Research shows that daytime workplace massage increases one’s ability to pay attention and even perform more accurate math calculations.

Increase CD-4 cell counts and natural killer cell counts in AIDS patients, thus enhancing their ability to fight infections.

Increase the brain secretion of serotonin, thus enhancing mood.

Improve insulin status in diabetic children.

Enhance pulmonary function in children with asthma.

The healing power of massage may seem too good to be true. But Deane Juhan, an expert on massage and bodywork, eloquently explains why massage is so powerful as a healing modality. He writes, “The skin is no more separate from the brain than the surface of a lake is separate from its depths" The two are in different locations in a continuous medium. The skin is an extension of the brain. The brain is a single functional unit from cortex to fingertips to toes. To touch the surface is to stir the depths.

Despite this profound truth about touch, many people think that the relaxation effects of massage make you go limp or go to sleep. This is a myth. While massage does relax you, its effects enhance efficient movement throughout your daily life. (The word “relaxation” means moving with greater efficiency.) If you get a massage in the morning or afternoon it will actually make you more alert. However, massage does seem to enhance natural sleep and wake rhythms so if you get one in the evening, it will help you sleep more soundly. Massage can also increase deep sleep in the sleep-deprived and can be particularly helpful for individuals with chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia and other pain syndromes and those with extensive burns.