Imagine lying on a massage table. As your massage
therapist sets to work, you feel your body relax. Your muscles soften, your nervous system calms. Now, imagine how you feel
when the massage is over--relaxed, alert, calm, and content.
Anyone who has gotten a massage understands the many benefits that it offers. Massage is usually reserved
for adults--or sometimes infants--but what about massage for kids and adolescents? If massage helps calm the body and improve
alertness, how might it help kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Can children and teenagers who can't
sit still benefit from massage?
A study involved kids aged 7-18, Each subject received a 20-minute
massage twice a week. They showed immediate improvement in their moods and longer-term behavioral improvement in the classroom.
They also reported feeling happier and their teachers found them to be more attentive. In addition, following massage they had more organized
sleep and lower stress hormone (cortisol and norepinephrine) levels.
|