Terrace Retreat Salon & Spa's Blog
Exciting news for massage goers and the spa industry! When the New York Times runs an article about a new study showing that “a single session of massage caused biological changes”. Recent Studies at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage.
Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.
Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
Therapeutic massage was found to promote general well-being, while boosting the circulatory and immune systems to benefit blood pressure, circulation, muscle tone, digestion, and skin tone. Massage now proven to do more than just relax your body and mind - there are physiological and psychological changes that occur with massage. Enjoy the benefits of massage today and de-stress your body while calmness enfolds your body.