Hello,  and welcome  to the October 2011 newsletter! Doesn’t it seem like the last few  months
of the year always fly by? It will be New Year’s before you know it!  Fall is  for many one of the busiest, most stressful times of the year.


The articles in this month’s issue confirm how vital  it is  for each of us to lessen the amount of stress in our lives. People often  fail  to realize just how regular massage sessions can help them to maintain a  higher  level of health throughout their lives. Read on to get an idea of the  many  subtle ways massage can help your body to function better.


One of the tricks to  having a happier, healthier  life is to discover what areas of your life you can  control. For instance,  there are many areas where you can lessen or eliminate  stress and other
negative influences. By evaluating your day-to-day life and  strengthening your  connections to those positive, life supporting aspects while  avoiding the  negative ones, you can improve the quality of your life.


Getting regular massages can lay a helpful  foundation for you by helping your body to lessen  stress and to function better  in virtually every way. And when you feel better,  nearly every aspect of your  life improves. See you soon!

 
 
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U.S. and Canadian  Workplace Stress is a "Growing Health Hazard"
Heightened stress  brings many clients to massage  therapy, and research has shown massage relieves  stress and depression while  boosting mood and a sense of well-being. New data  show employees in both the  U.S. and Canada are increasingly stressed.


A study by Concordia  University economists, published in BMC Public Health, has found that  increased job stress causes workers to increasingly seek help from health  professionals for
physical, mental and emotional ailments. The number of visits  to health care professionals is up to 26 percent for Canadian workers in  high-stress jobs, according to a university press release.


To reach their  conclusions, the economists crunched nationally representative data from the  Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS). All NPHS figures were  restricted to adults aged 18 to 65 years—the bulk of the labor force—and  included statistics on the number of health care visits, chronic illnesses,  marital status, income level, smoking and drinking habits, according to the  press release.


"These results  show that people in medium-to-high stress jobs visit family doctors and  specialists more often than workers with low job stress," says first  author Sunday Azagba, a Ph.D. candidate in the Concordia Department of  Economics.


"We believe an  increasing number of workers are using medical services to cope with job  stress," said co-author Mesbah Sharaf, also a Ph.D. candidate in the  Concordia Department of Economics.


In the United States,  recent polls found that 70 percent of American workers consider their workplace  a significant source of stress, whereas 51 percent report job stress reduces their  productivity, according to the press release.


"It is estimated  that health care utilization induced by stress costs U.S. companies $68 billion  annually and reduces their profits by 10 percent," said Sharaf.


Total health care  expenditures in the U.S. amount to $2.5 trillion, or $8,047 per person.  "That represents 17.3 per cent of the 2009 gross domestic product—a  nine-percent increase from 1980," said Azaga.


"There is  medical evidence that stress can adversely affect an individual's immune system,  thereby increasing the risk of disease," Sharaf said. "Numerous  studies have linked stress to back pain, colorectal cancer, infectious disease,  heart problems, headaches and diabetes. Job stress
may also heighten risky  behaviors such as smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, discourage healthy behaviors  such as physical activity, proper diet and increase consumption of fatty and  sweet foods."


Source: www.massagemag.com


Parents'  Stress Affects Kids
Potential clients  have yet another reason to get massage therapy: Parental stress can have  long-lasting effects on kids' health. Massage has been found to reduce stress,  relieve depression and improve mood.


Researchers at the  University of British Columbia
and the Child & Family Research Institute  have shown that parental stress
during their children's early years can leave  an imprint on their sons' or
daughters' genes—an imprint that lasts into  adolescence and may affect how
these genes are expressed later in life.


The study, published  online in the journal Child
Development, focused on epigenetics,  the expression of genes as
opposed to the underlying sequence of DNA, according  to a university press
release.


"This literally  illustrates a mechanism by which
experiences 'get under the skin' to stay with  us for a long time," said Michael
S. Kobor, a university associate  professor of medical genetics.


The team also found  that fathers' stress level is
more strongly associated with ... daughters,  while mothers' stress level has an
effect on both boys and girls.


Source: www.massagemag.com


How the gut affects mood --
We  may soon be swallowing bacteria instead of
popping pharmaceuticals to treat  depression and anxiety.


Researchers have found that eating a species of 
bacteria called Lactobacillus rhamnosus, which is found in certain 
yogurts, cheeses, breads, and probiotic supplements, has a calming effect on 
mice. When scientists at University College Cork in Ireland fed rodents a broth 
of L. rhamnosus and then put them in stressful situations, such as 
swimming or completing a maze, the bacteria-fed creatures seemed “more chilled 
out” than mice without it, study author John Cryan tells ScienceNOW,
and  their brains produced fewer stress hormones.


The finding bolsters other recent  evidence that our
gut “microbiome”—the hundreds of species of bacteria that  live in our
bowels—has a major effect on our mood. Cryan now thinks L.  rhamnosus
and other bacteria influence mood by way of the vagus nerve,  which
connects our digestive organs to our brains; when that nerve is disabled  in
mice, the effects of L. rhamnosus on mood disappeared.


The next step  is to see if scientists can use the
vagus pathway to treat psychiatric  disorders without drugs, Cryan says, “by
targeting the gut.”


– The  Week Vol. 11 Iss. 532




A harvest of peace is produced  from a seed of
contentment.— American  Proverb




The content of this letter is not intended to replace professional medical
advice. If you’re ill, please consult a physician.
© 2011 Massage Marketing. Used with permission; all rights reserved