Natural Insomnia Cure - Massage

One of the best natural insomnia cure is just getting regular weekly massages.

Insomnia is of course lack of sleep or interrupted sleep. Feeling tired is only half of the effects of insomnia. There are also other types of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea that sometimes go along with insomnia.

Other side effects of not sleeping are actually more of a concern.

Lower performance on the job or at school
Slowed reaction time while driving and higher risk of accidents
Psychiatric problems, such as depression or an anxiety disorder
Overweight or obesity
Poor immune system function
Increased risk and severity of long-term diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and diabetes

Poor immune system function not only affects your ability to fight off colds and flu but other things like cancer. Sleep is vital to mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

Ruth Werner a prominent researcher in the massage profession says this about sleep:

Throughout the day, we accumulate adenosine, a metabolic waste product in the blood. When adenosine levels are high, and when light-sensitive cells in the pineal gland release the hormone melatonin, we interpret this as feeling sleepy. We may be able to temporarily suppress our sleepy sensation with activity or drugs, but adenosine is only broken down and removed while we sleep: we simply cannot adjust to having less sleep than we need.

Poor-quality sleep evidently has an impact on the efficiency of the stress-response system: the adrenal secretion cortisol (the hormone associated with long-term, low-grade stress and connective tissue weakening) is released in increased amounts when people are sleep deprived, even during times of day when levels would otherwise drop off.

While we don't really quite know yet how massage works to relieve insomnia, we do know that massage can help reduces excess cortisol that is in your system that could lead to waking you up in the middle of the night or not letting you go to sleep. It is a natural insomnia cure. Cortisol is at it's highest levels in the morning upon waking. It continues to rise and peak in the mid afternoon. At night it starts to decrease which is what helps you to fall asleep. Your adrenal glands are replenished overnight. If you are not getting enough sleep, it may also be adding to the problem.

Part of overcoming insomnia and other sleep disorders is breaking the cycle or habit of the body. Massage can help to do this by relaxing the tight muscles and re-establishing circulation to these areas allowing the bodies systems to return to normal.