Can Massage Help Insomnia?
Do you lay awake at night wishing you could fall asleep? Counting down the hours until you need to be up for work? If so, you are like 1/3 of the adults in the U.S who suffer from insomnia.
Almost 90% of insomnia cases occur when there is another coexisting medical condition. A lot of medications prescribed for conditions such as depression, anxiety, heart problems, thyroid problems, and sinus and allergy issues can cause insomnia. The other 10% of insomnia cases happen when there is a big, life event happening.
Insomnia often occurs immediately before a diagnosis of depression and is associated with a decreased life span. So it is much more serious than just not being able to fall asleep.
Some of the consequences of reduced sleep are lower concentration, performance, memory, and reaction time. Missed work, increased pain perception, and lower quality of life result as well. [Read this if your insomnia has to do with night sweats]
How to Help Insomnia
There are a lot of ways you can change your life to enhance your sleep schedule and banish insomnia. I wrote a whole blog post about it here. My favorites are keeping the bedroom cool and pitch black and making sure to lay off the caffeine. If night sweats are keeping you up, then this blog post would be worth checking out.
You should avoid using sleep aids on a long-term basis. But for short term, with permission from your dr., you may try a sleep aid with an antihistamine in it or better yet, the natural melatonin which will prevent the morning grogginess.
Massage can help with insomnia by putting the body into a parasympathetic state which will put the body into total relaxation making it easier for you to fall asleep. Massage will help the body remember how to relax and calm the mind. It is recommended to get a massage at least once a week while insomnia lasts and then monthly for maintenance.
We hope to see you soon! Sweet dreams!
