MELT Your Stress AWAY! (10 Minutes)
There’s a side effect of the pandemic that no one’s talking about. And you don’t even need to be infected to experience it.
I’m talking about the effects of stress.
The stress of a simple trip to the grocery store fraught with fear of picking up COVID from the shopping cart, the checkout line, or the person in front of you at the seafood counter.
The stress that comes from being cooped up in your house without a healthy dose of social interaction.
That kind of constant stress can take a toll on your body AND your mind.
Fortunately, researchers have identified a way to measurably lower your stress—and it only takes 10 minutes a day.
You know how you feel better—and more relaxed—after a massage?
Those effects aren’t all in your head.
That’s because massages can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), your body’s built-in way to dealing with stress.
In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers divided people into three groups:
- 10-minute massage with moderate pressure (intended to stimulate the PSNS’s vagus nerve, which contains 75 percent of the PSNS’s nerve fibers)
- 10-minute massage with light pressure
- 10 minutes of sitting and doing nothing
All of the participants had HIGHER heart rate variability after the 10 minutes, but those who received massages had the greatest increase in HRV.
Higher = better because when you’re more relaxed, there’s more variation in your heart rate.
The intensity of the massage didn’t matter—both were equally relaxing.
In addition, all participants reported feeling less stressed and more relaxed after the 10-minute time period.
The message here is simple.
Take time out to relax. Even better, get your significant other to boost the impact by giving you a gentle massage.
Because sometimes doing nothing is the best thing you can DO for your body.
P.S. CLICK HERE to discover another spa secret that can BOOST your health.
