Massage & Cardiovascular Health
Maintaining a balanced lifestyle will help prolong your quality & quantity of life! Eating fresh clean food, moving your physical body in exercise, and decreasing exposure to toxins such smoking/alcohol are common solutions to improved cardiovascular health, but did you know massage therapy is also a heart healthy habit?
Besides increasing blood circulation, massage therapy stimulates skin receptors which send messages of relaxation to the central nervous system. These reflexes cause vasodilation: where blood vessels expand to decrease blood pressure and heart rate. As such, massage has been shown to aid hypertension – one of the most prominent forecasters of cardiovascular disease.
Studies have also shown massage to have an impact on the autonomic nervous system – a system integrated with cardiovascular health. Our autonomic nervous system has two states; sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest). By increasing levels of cortisol and epinephrine as well as raising heart rate and blood pressure, the sympathetic nervous system helps prepare the body for action when faced with a stressful situation; think survival mode! Staying in this state for extended amounts of time is common in our society, increasing likelihood of developing or worsening heart disease. Regular massage therapy sessions have been found to induce relaxation to the autonomic nervous system by lowering cortisol and norepinephrine levels, stimulating regenerative power in the body in rest and relaxation!
Make your appointment with Eleanor Hayward RMT, Holistic Practitioner today; book with front desk 905.825.9996