5 Legitimate Reasons You Should Book A Massage Right Now | HuffPost Life

Welcome to heaven. ☁️

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Senior Fashion Editor, The Huffington Post

Keep calm and get a massage!

If that isn't already on a T-shirt, it should be. Relaxing is easier said than done, and taking the extra step to book a massage can add even more stress. However, let's not forget all the glorious benefits of a good rub down -- like helping you get a good night's rest and quelling symptoms of depression.

We reached out to Rachelle Richardson, founder and CEO of Lespri Spa Services -- which provides holistic massage, facials and other wellness treatments at your home or workplace -- to give us five quick reasons why we should all book a massage ASAP.

1. To reduce stress

Stress reduction can help lower high blood pressure. Lower stress levels can also lead to the ability to cope with difficult situations.

2. To boost your immune system

Swedish massage techniques increases blood flow and push nutrient-rich blood toward the heart. It can increase blood proteins, which help protect the body from infection.

3. To help ward off symptoms of depression

Massages help increase serotonin, the chemical responsible for maintaining mood balance. Its effect on lowering stress levels can promote a positive attitude.

4. To reduce the effects of a long commute and/or hours of sitting at a desk

Driving or sitting at a desk for an extended amount of time can cause your back muscles to become weak. Massage can alleviate the pain associated with the aches and pain that result.

5. To have a positive effect on job performance

Massages can increase mental alertness. They also lower your chance to develop stress related illnesses and decrease absenteeism.

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Health Benefits Of Relaxation

Relaxing protects your heart.(01 of10)

You've probably heard that stress can seriously up your risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and other heart problems.

While researchers aren't sure exactly why, the research is unanimously in favor of relaxation for your heart's sake. "There are studies to show that stress is comparable to other risk factors that we traditionally think of as major, like hypertension, poor diet and lack of exercise," Kathi Heffner, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Rochester Center for Mind-Body Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told Health.com.

Intense, sudden periods of stress or shock, like a breakup or even winning the lottery, can trigger such a rush of adrenaline that the heart can't function properly, resulting in heart failure or heart attack-like symptoms. In the case of a breakup or death of a loved one, this has become known as broken heart syndrome. (credit:Flickr: epSos.de)

Relaxing lowers your risk of catching a cold.(02 of10)

Sheldon Cohen, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has been at the forefront of stress research since the 1990s. Early on, he showed that chronic stress lasting more than a month but less than six months doubled a person's risk of catching a cold.

His more recent research has tried to figure out why, and results seem to point to inflammation. It appears that stress hampers the body's ability to fight inflammation, by making immune cells less sensitive to the hormone that "turns off" inflammation, HealthyDay reported. (credit:Flickr: anna gutermuth)

Relaxing boosts your memory.(03 of10)

One study found that, at least in mice, chronic stress impaired the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in abstract thought, cognitive analysis and detecting the appropriate behavior for a given situation. Previous research in mice also showed that shorter bursts of stress impaired the centers of the brain involved in memory and learning, and left the mice struggling to remember how to find their way through a maze.

A number of studies have also found that stress increases the amount of certain proteins in the brain that have been linked to Alzheimer's, possibly accelerating the development of the disease. (credit:Flickr: Sarah DuMay)

Relaxing lowers your stroke risk.(04 of10)

A 2007 University of Cambridge study found that people who coped the best with stressful life events had a 24 percent lower risk of stroke. It may be partly due to the fact that people who handle stress well often are healthy in other ways, like exercising regularly and not smoking.

A 2011 study examined the specific effects of work-related stress, and found that among middle- and upper-class men, psychological stress caused about 10 percent of strokes. (credit:Flickr: Florin Gorgan)

Relaxing keeps you safe from depression.(05 of10)

Studies have shown that chronic stress can kill brain cells, and even prevent the creation of new ones, in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in a healthy response to stress, according to Time.com. In 2011, a study in mice illustrated these findings and began to explain one possible way antidepressants work. The mice exposed to a stressful situation didn't want to eat, gave up during a swimming task much faster and exhibited "pleasurelessness" -- similar to human depression symptoms like loss of appetite, sadness and hopelessness.

In humans, the prolonged presence of stress hormone cortisol can reduce levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are linked to depression.

Stress is also likely to exacerbate mood problems in people with a history of depression or bipolar disorder, and could trigger relapse. (credit:Flickr: Danny Nicholson)

Relaxing helps you make better decisions.(06 of10)

It's no surprise that when you're under stress, you might not always be thinking so clearly. But a 2012 study found that stress seems to actually change how we weigh risks and rewards, and can cloud our judgment when we are faced with important decisions.

Counterintuitively, stressed-out people actually tend to focus on the positive, and may ignore the cons of the decision they're about to make, one of the study's authors, Mara Mather Ph.D., a professor of gerontology and psychology at the University of Southern California, said in a statement.

That may also help explain why alcoholics crave a drink more when they're under pressure. "The compulsion to get that reward comes stronger and they're less able to resist it," Mather said. (credit:Flickr: Daehyun Park)

Relaxing keeps you slim.(07 of10)

We love a good comfort food every once in a while, but reaching for foods high in fat and sugar too often can pack on the pounds, and stress makes it harder to resist. Cortisol increases appetite, and may even specifically encourage junk food cravings. (credit:Flickr: fwooper)

Relaxing eases acne.(08 of10)

It's a vicious cycle: You're stressed about that presentation at work, so you break out, and then you're stressed about the breakout! Researchers aren't exactly sure why, but stress seems to up the amount of oil produced by the skin, clogging pores and causing acne, according to WebMD.

Flare-ups of other skin problems, like psoriasis, have also been linked to stress, and can be equally stressful themselves. But relaxing really helps: A 1998 study found that psoriasis plaques cleared up more quickly in people who regularly meditated. (credit:Alamy)

Relaxing will keep you in the mood.(09 of10)

One of the big reasons that women lose that lovin' feeling is stress, but men aren't immune either. In fact, Kinsey Institute researchers found that stress zaps the libido of around 30 percent of men (although another 21 percent said it actually increased their sex drive.). "Men are more likely to see sex as a stress reliever, whereas for many busy women, their husband's desire is just another demand on their time and energy," Alice Domar, Ph.D., director of the Mind/Body Center for Women's Health at Boston IVF told Ladies Home Journal. (credit:Flickr: pedrosimoes7)

Relaxing could slow breast cancer.(10 of10)

While research on the effects of stress on cancer growth are largely inconclusive, there is some evidence pointing toward a link between stress and breast cancer aggressiveness.

Relaxing not only seems to delay the progression of the disease, but may also speed recovery.

nd if you're currently cancer free, relaxing now can keep you healthy later. A 2003 study found that stress may double a woman's risk of developing breast cancer down the line. (credit:Alamy)

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