As the temperatures begin to drop and we enter cold and flu season, we do everything in our power to avoid sickness. Avoiding sickness is obviously a good thing, but did you know that by boosting immunity, you are boosting your happiness as well?! It’s true!
There are various ways to keep your immune system strong: chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, maintaining a balanced diet, exercise and rest. Another, unassuming way to bolster your internal protective mechanisms is through touch. Not just any touch, but the trained hands of a massage therapist. Massage therapy has been scientifically proven to help the immune system and have a direct correlation to happiness.
First of all, it is a tremendous stress reducer. “What we are finding is that when you stimulate pressure receptors on the skin, you cause an increase in vagal activity. This slows down the physiology (heart rate, blood pressure, etc), and it slows down the production of stress hormones, particularly cortisol”, states Tiffany Field, Ph.D., director of the Touch Research Institutes at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Cortisol’s is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands that initiates the “fight or flight” response in the nervous system, among a myriad of other functions in the body. When cortisol levels are slowed or reduced the parasympathetic nervous system is more engaged, the body is in a more calm and peaceful state with less stress – thus the body, and immune system, is able to perform as it should. Cortisol also destroys natural killer cells that fight off bacteria and viruses in the body, so less cortisol means more good guys on our immunity team!
Secondly, massage also boosts the immune system directly by increasing the number of white blood cells which are the backbone of the immune system. In particular massage is linked to lymphocytes which make up about 25% of the white blood cell count in humans. A famous study by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and assigned them a 45 minute session of deep-tissue massage. To their surprise, the subjects experienced significant decreases in blood and saliva cortisol levels, AND an increase in lymphocytes. Another study published by the International Journal of Neuroscience found that HIV patients showed white blood cell levels increased after receiving two 20-minute massages per week for 12 weeks.
On to happiness…Research shows that massage helps boost hormones and chemicals in the brain responsible for your sense of joy and happiness and ability to form good habits. Alex Korb, Ph.D ., Author of The Upward Spiral says, “The results are fairly clear that massage boosts your serotonin by as much as 30 percent. Massage also decreases stress hormones and raises dopamine levels, which helps you create new good habits… Massage reduces pain because the oxytocin system activates painkilling endorphins. Massage also improves sleep and reduces fatigue by increasing serotonin and dopamine and decreasing the stress hormone cortisol.” In addition to massage, incorporating more hugs, basic touch and affection in your daily life can make you more successful and increase the connectedness in all of your relationships. Happiness indeed!
So, massage is the perfect preventative medicine this season, and a proven way to up-level your desire to integrate other supportive healthy habits – all of which will keep you strong, healthy and happy throughout the year!
