anxiety
anxiety
Clinical study: Massage therapy reduces anxiety and improves EEG patterns of alertness and performance on math tasks.
Research:
In this study, adults either received a chair massage or, in the control group, were asked to sit and relax for 15 minutes - twice a week for five weeks.
In both groups, frontal delta activity in the EEG increased - an indication of relaxation.
The massage group also showed:
- Decrease in alpha and beta activity in the EEG
- Increased speed and accuracy in math tasks
Results:
After five weeks, depression levels had decreased in both groups, but a reduction in job stress was only found in the massage group.
Read full study
Field, T., Ironson, G., Scafidi, F., Nawrocki, T., Goncalves, A., Burman, I., Pickens, J., Fox, N., Schanberg, S., & Kuhn, C. (1996). Massage therapy reduces anxiety and enhances EEG patterns of alertness and math calculations. International Journal of Neuroscience, 86, 197-205.
