What could be more pleasant than a little massage to relieve the pressure? Except that not all palpations have the same effect, both on physical and mental health. To feel good in your sneakers, focus on scalp massages!
A few pressure points below the neck, energetic palpations at the level of the trapezius, or a few touches towards the latissimus dorsi… How can you say no to massage, especially when after a few minutes of “kneading” you manage to feel more relaxed? The kind of situation you ask your other half for when it's finally time to take some time for yourself, on the couch in front of a Netflix series… Except that for optimal effects, you might as well not be fooling around at all. how.
We know that massages are a good prescription for lowering blood pressure and soothing stress or depressive episodes. In a study published by the journal Nature, scientists speak precisely of “tactile interventions” which have positive consequences on both mental and physical health. “The recent coronavirus pandemic has raised awareness of the need to better understand the effects that touch – and its reduction during social distancing – can have on our mental and physical well-being“, the researchers rightly point out.
According to this new research which integrated more than a hundred different studies to conduct a meta-analysis, thus involving nearly 13,000 people between 2021 and 2022, touch helps regulate the level of cortisol, the famous hormone of the stress, but also to reduce pain or even increase the weight of newborns.
We are talking here about massages performed by others, and not by machines or robots, which according to this analysis have lesser effects in terms of mental well-being. For physical health, however, the effects are similar. On the other hand, good news for singles, there is no need for massages to be performed by a partner. The benefits are no less if carried out by a healthcare professional. In short, nothing beats a good massage from the physiotherapist!
You still need to know where to perform these massages. At the level of the skull, say the researchers! More precisely, touching the scalp but also the face would produce the most significant benefits, compared to touching the arm or torso. You now know how to really go about doing good to your partner… Still, you will need to know what to say if he keeps asking for more. “For adults, the median duration of touch across studies was 20 minutes and the median number of touch interventions was four sessions with an average time interval of 2.3 days between each session“, if we take the methodology of this meta-analysis…. This gives an indication.
