While we tend to think of stress is an unavoidable part of life, the fact of the matter is excess stress can be a serious health threat. Untreated, chronic stress can greatly increase a person’s risk factor of contracting illnesses such as obesity, hypertension, heart disease and cancer. Additionally, stress has knock on effects that affect us in subtler, but still deleterious ways. Stress can make us feel anxious, it can disrupt our sleep cycles and it can seriously impair our ability to create new memories and recall information that we learned long ago.

Since stress can have such a significant negative impact on our quality of life, it’s important to find ways to fight stress. Doing things like getting regular aerobic exercise and eating right are effective, but it’s also imperative to do things that you find to be relaxing. When we are in a truly relaxed state of mind, our bodies a number of different hormones that have the effect of undoing the effects of stress on the mind and body. As this article notes, massage is an excellent way to put the body in mind in a relaxed state, it’s worthwhile to consider purchasing a massage chair or making massage sessions a regular part of your life. After all, you can’t put a price on your mental and physical well-being.

Read the full article here: Psychological stress, disease, and massage therapy