Foot Massage -7 Reasons To Do It Before Going To Bed?
It is very unfortunate that foot massage is most forgotten or doesn’t care by many people as many are unaware of its benefits. 
A foot massage can be one of the best ways to detoxify the body. It is the best method as you did not have to cut off certain food or follow a strict diet plan. Knowing the amazing benefits of foot massage for your health may make you want to practice this routine right from today.
Research published in Nursing And Health Sciences in 2002 highlighted the good impacts of foot massage, noting that it can help to promote a healthy lifestyle for people of all ages and especially boosts relaxation, blood circulation, and people’s own healing ability.
I. Introduction – Foot Massage Before Bedtime
After a busy, long day of walking around and standing up, a relaxing foot massage is really great for us to enjoy. In addition to helping people relax, the foot massage has several therapeutic advantages for both mental and physical health.
Actually, health providers favor foot massage to increase the overall health of human beings. There are several types of research that support their advantages for human beings of all ages.
In an alternative medicine – reflexology – nice foot massage is an important component. Our feet have many nerve endings known as reflexes that connect to different organs and systems inside the body. The reflexes provide therapeutic influences as activated through massage.
To take a simple message, we do not need to be a professional one or any help from one. We can do it ourselves, and the best time would be before our bedtime.
II. How To Give A Stress Relieving Foot Massage?
Not similar to several other parts of the body, you can give your feet a gentle massage with ease and without relying on any other.
You just need less than 30 minutes of your time to get the advantages of frequent foot massage routine. Here are some simple steps you will need to follow at home to give yourself a great foot massage:
- Use warm water to fill in a large bowl and add two to five drops of any type of essential oils you like.
- Soak your foot in the water within about ten to twenty minutes, and then use a soft towel to pat your feet dry.
- After that, sit in a chair with comfort.
- On the left knee, rest your right foot’s sole.
- Use warm oil to apply to the right foot. You can choose mustard, olive, or coconut oil.
- While offering your foot a gentle massage, rub the oil around. Ensure that you will move the fingers along the bottom of the feet, back and forth.
- While massaging the sole, concentrate on your toes. Squeeze, flex, and extend your toes to boost their flexibility.
- Apply the same method with your rest foot.
III. Benefits Of Foot Massage Before Bedtime
In the article today, people will have the chance to learn about some of the best and most common benefits of foot massage before bedtime and how foot massage can do those favors for human beings over time.
1. Alleviate Low-Back Pain
People suffering from low-back pain need to massage their feet every day before going to bed. The massage therapy needs to be done with the thumbs pressing along the foot’s arch within about five minutes.
Low-back pain could make it hard to get a goodnight’s sound sleep. Once that pain is relieved thanks to foot massage, people can enjoy a pain-free and restful sleep.
Research published in the Nursing & Midwifery Research Iranian Journal in 2012 reported that foot reflexology is very useful for relieving chronic back pain’s severity. It provides better results compared to massaging the lower back itself.
2. Fight Anxiety And Stress
Most of us might feel anxious or stressed for some times. A foot massage can aid in reducing anxiety & stress effectively. It can do more than just putting you in a relaxation mind stage.
Putting sufficient pressure on certain reflexes on your foot will promote relaxation and create a response to the nervous system. These responses might cause reduced anxiety and stress levels.
Particularly, the solar plexus reflex can help a lot in relieving stress. For locating this point, people should try squeezing the sides of the feet together. People will discover the point at this scrunched region’s center.
Published in BMC Nursing in 2012, the research found that foot massage can help to reduce anxiety, improve moods, and lower blood pressure levels in long-term staff who work with elderly suffering from dementia.
To treat everyday anxiety and stress, foot massage can serve as a useful and very simple daily remedy.
3. Promote Sound Sleep
At the end of the day, day-to-day challenge and pressure can keep your mind overly active, preventing you from having a safe and sound sleep. To encourage restful sleep and help your body unwind, it would be very helpful to have a short foot massage. Nevertheless, it is also ideal to have a full-body massage before your bedtime as well.
The entire process of massage can help to promote the free flow of energy and stimulate the reflexes along the meridians at the same time. This provides deep relaxation and can help us have sound sleep.
Research published in the Critical Care Nursing Iranian Journal in 2014 reported that foot massage can help to improve sleep quality in patients with heart disease, and it is highly suggested for increasing sleep quality in victims of ischemic heart disease.
4. Improve Blood Circulation
Circulation in our feet is usually impaired by uncomfortable and tight shoes that we wear throughout the day. In addition, the muscles in our feet hardly get any exercise, contributing to poor blood circulation.
For improving circulation to our lower extremities, one the best choices for us is to practice foot massage before bedtime.
A ten to twenty-minute foot massage before bedtime can greatly increase the blood circulation in our lower extremities. This is very crucial for people with diabetes, who are at greater risk of having peripheral neuropathy.
This issue may occur when the nerves and tissues in the extremities, like the feet and hands, do not get enough oxygen and nutrients because of poor blood circulation. This could cause burning sensations, tingling, and numbness.
Research published in the Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in 2014 pointed out that foot massage can help to improve the vascular functions of those who had not practiced daily exercises, meaning that massage has advantages for people regardless of their levels of physical activities.
Restricted blood flow could lead to kidney and heart issues, organ damage, varicose veins, and high blood pressure in the long term.
5. Prevent The Lower-Leg Edema
Lower-leg edema happens and can be triggered by an accumulation of legs’ fluids, which causes stiff, painful, and swollen legs. Poor blood circulation and pregnancy are some of the common popular trigger factors of edema.
Edema can make it painful, hard to move around, even lead to the disturbance of sleep.
While light exercises such as stretching, swimming, or walking can help a lot, practicing foot massage before bedtime would also offer fast relief from the signs and symptoms.
A 2010 study released in the International Journal of Nursing Practice shows that foot massage helps a lot in treating the edema in pregnant women.
6. Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure levels can lead to several severe related issues. A frequent foot massage can aid a lot in reducing our blood pressure levels, which in turn can reduce our risks of other health issues as well.
Research published in PLOS One in 2016 reported that self-administered aroma foot massage could greatly decrease the mean diastolic and systolic blood pressure. It could also reduce state anxiety levels and might tend to raise life scores’ mental health-related quality.
7. Reduce Foot And Other Chronic Pain
A proper foot massage can allow your feet to relax, soothe, and stretch our muscles, as well as reduce swelling leading to pains.
Research published in the Clinical Practice’s Complementary Therapies in 2014 discovered that reflexology was very useful at relieving pain and inducing relaxation in those living with diseases such as chronic pain and whiplash injury.
Another research conducted by the Pain Management Nursing’s American Society in 2014 reported that foot massage in patients experiencing breast surgery was useful in postoperative pain control.
So we can see that there are tremendious benefits foot massage for health before bedtime to humans, reasearch are also astonishing.
