Three Unexpected Benefits Of Massage
We spoke to the lead massage therapist from at-home massage app Urban about why massage is an underrated health behaviour, and why you should consider it if you’re trying to conceive (and always).
If anyone knows the benefits of massage, it’s Patrik Zsebedits. As chief massage therapist at Urban, massage is - quite literally - Patrik’s bread and butter. And one thing Patrik knows without doubt? Massage is about way more than just getting a bit of “me time”.
“As a massage therapist I often hear people say that they think of massage as a treat, but massage has been a crucial aspect of healthcare across cultures throughout history“ says Patrik.
Not only can massage be a tonic for sedentary lifestyles and longer-term muscle pain, explains Patrik, but touch plays a vital role in our overall health and wellbeing that we might not realise. “Touch is a basic human necessity. In fact, family therapist Virginia Satir once said we need at least eight hugs per day for survival,” says Patrik. “These days, most of us don’t get enough tactile stimulus. A good massage acts as touch therapy, providing emotional catharsis and soothing our nervous systems.”
Keep reading for more unexpected benefits to massage that you might not have known about before…
Unexpected Benefit 1: Massage Helps Reduce Stress
There’s science behind this (and you know, we love science!). When you’re stressed, your body creates more of the cortisol hormone. This can activate your fight or flight response, which can cause a whole range of problems from tiredness, to headaches - and even a lack of sex drive.
In birth, cortisol is the one hormone we don’t want hanging around (which is why massage is a really useful tool in your hypnobirthing toolkit). But if you’re trying to conceive, then you don’t want too much of it either - and it’s not just because too much cortisol can be a massive turn-off!
Interestingly, it’s not the stress hormone itself which is the problem when it comes to fertility health. “There’s an amazing professor at Cardiff University called Professor Jacky Boivin who’s dedicated her whole career to researching the impact of stress on fertility - and she’s concluded that stress doesn’t directly impact fertility,” explains fertility nurse Kate Davies.
“The reason she concluded this is that if you look at countries that are, for example, living through war or where much of the population is living in extreme poverty, often these countries have high birth rates. So chronic stress doesn’t have an impact on fertility - because our bodies have the amazing ability to adapt. But it’s actually the indirect effect of stress that can impact our fertility. And by indirect I mean the things we tend to do when we’re stressed - like drinking alcohol, smoking, over or under exercising, not getting enough sleep. All of these things can have a direct effect on your fertility.”
And this is why so many fertility experts talk about ways to manage stress during the conception period. Here’s Kate explaining more about the indirect effect of stress on fertility in her Fertility Masterclass on our YouTube channel.
This is where massage therapy comes in. By promoting relaxation, massage encourages the mind and body to slow down. In turn, this reduces muscle tension, increases blood flow and improves sleep. All of these benefits help put your body in a calm state to reduce your cortisol levels and manage your stress levels - meaning you’re less likely to reach for the unhealthy coping mechanisms which we know impact fertility health.
Unexpected Benefit 2: Massage Boosts Your Immune System
Did you know that massage therapy can boost the immune system by increasing white blood cells which help fight infections? Seriously cool. Don’t just take our word for it - check out this study for the science. It found that just 45 minutes of massage therapy can make a difference!
What has this got to do with fertility though? Well, the immune system and reproductive system are intricately linked. “Immune status profoundly influences reproductive health. Recent estimates suggest that up to 20% of unexplained infertility may be attributable to immune dysfunction,” this study explains.
(There are lots of specific forms of massage therapy designed around immune boosting approaches - including this lymphatic drainage massage from Urban.)
Unexpected Benefit 3: Improved Sleep
We’ve already covered the impact of massage on your stress levels, and it makes sense that the more relaxed we are, the better we’re likely to sleep - it’s not rocket science. But did you know that this improved sleep could actually be improving your reproductive health too?
Sleep deprivation can impact your hormones which in turn can disrupt your menstrual cycle. And this isn’t useful if you’re trying to conceive (or even just trying to get to know your cycle and signs of fertility).
Sleep is a huge element of health that isn’t always taken seriously - we live in a culture that doesn’t always make prioritising rest easy, after all. But when it comes to health behaviours, then sleep isn’t one we can overlook. And if you’re serious about sleep, then massage could help with that too.
If reading this has convinced you of the benefit of booking a massage then you’ll be pleased to know we’ve teamed up with Urban for a range of goodies we’re sharing for everyone following us on Instagram as well as email subscribers. Make sure you’re signed up to our email list here and following us on our TTC Instagram page here so you don’t miss out!