Your Brain on Massage | BBmassageandfloat

The benefit of massage is quite obvious after you get out of a long massage. You feel lighter, looser, happier, and, hopefully, pain-free. What makes you feel so good? The release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins and the decrease in the production of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, all of which are signalled by your brain.

Dopamine

You know the feeling after that first bite of the food you’ve been craving? Or the feeling when you see someone you love after a long time apart? You’re feeling dopamine. The reward center of your brain is responsible for the release of dopamine that brings you immense happiness and even controls cravings. Dopamine is also responsible for aiding our fine motor movements, intuition, and enthusiasm.The levels of dopamine in your body increase about 31% during massage, leaving you feeling rewarded and wanting more.  You’ll also feel more balance mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin: the love hormone. In social situations, oxytocin is released to help you feel connected to those around you and gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, especially when someone touches you. As it turns out, human touch is crucial for living a long and healthy life. Brene Brown wrote in her book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, that “living with obesity increases your odds of dying early by 20%. Excessive drinking increases your odds of dying early by 30%. And living with loneliness? It increases our odds of dying early by 45%.” With more than 40% of the population identifying as lonely, touch is important now more than ever. Not only do you feel warm and fuzzy after a massage, you also feel a deeper sense of connection to the world.

Serotonin

You probably know serotonin because of its effect on our emotions, but the neurotransmitter does so much more than regulate our mood. It is also involved in the regulation of appetite and digestion, sleep, as well as sexual desires and function. During massage, the production of serotonin increases by about 28% on average, causing you to feel relaxed and a general sense of well-being. Additionally, high concentrations of serotonin are found in blood platelets. After an injury, serotonin helps to clot the blood at the site of injury and signals to your body that additional healing cells are needed. Getting a massage post-injury stimulates the serotonin production and may help to speed healing.

Endorphins

We typically think of intense exercise when we talk about getting an endorphin rush--a euphoric feeling that is similar to the effect of morphine. While getting exercise is a great way to keep your body healthy, there are more relaxing ways to get a comparable endorphin rush. Massaging tender muscle tissue, specifically using acupressure and trigger point therapy, signals your brain to release endorphins which bind to opiate receptor neurons and block pain signals from getting to the brain. The massage may be uncomfortable at first, but your endorphins will provide a natural pain relief, leaving you feeling happy and healthy.

Adrenaline/Noradrenaline and Cortisol

Our bodies’ stress response is controlled by the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol, all of which are released during high-stress situations that require us to perform at our best.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline, also known as epinephrine and norepinephrine, are released during situations that require our fight or flight response, ranging from being startled at a haunted house to giving an important presentation at work to witnessing a car accident. Adrenaline is mainly responsible for the increasing your heart rate while noradrenaline opens your blood vessels.

Cortisol, on the other hand, is released when there is long-term stress, such as financial struggle or consistently being too busy, and impacts the usage of glucose in the blood and in the brain, suppresses the digestive and reproductive systems, as well as alters the immune system, mood, motivation, and fear.

All three of our stress hormones are produced in the adrenal glands, located on top of the kidneys. For many of us, our stress response is utilized daily. The constant production of stress hormones over a long period of time causes adrenal fatigue and increases the risk of anxiety, depression, digestive issues, heart disease, insomnia, weight gain, and poor memory and concentration. Because massage naturally promotes relaxation, the adrenal glands are able to halt  the production of the stress hormones. Depending on your body and your stress levels, you may be able to feel the benefit of massage on your adrenal glands after the first session, but it might take multiple sessions to feel a deeper and more effective massage.