Sleep … an elusive activity- Reflexology research

By rachel CALAMUSA (It's time to sleep  Uploaded by xiaphias) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Sleep … an elusive activity for many. Now research is showing how and why reflexology might help in the never-ending search for sleep.

Did you ever fall asleep during a reflexology session? Feel like it? Did a client ever fall asleep in the midst of your reflexology work? Did you ever wonder why this would happen?

Wonder no longer. “… the application of reflexology induces changes in the activity of brain waves in correspondence with the appearance of a high degree of sleepiness and sleep.”

“A previous study suggested a possible relation between the relaxation obtained during the reflexology session and the sleep” so  members of the Nursing Faculty at the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain went to a sleep lab to look for answers.

Twelve adults were enrolled in the new study. Following a 35-minute reflexology session, the effects were measured by polysomnography, a record of brain waves, the blood oxygen level, heart rate and breathing, as well as eye and leg movements. Nine of the study participants were found to “move toward” brain wave activity in correspondence with progressively deeper non-REM stages of sleep, stage N1and stage N2.

“Researchers note: “There is a gradual transition and an orderly progression from wakefulness to sleep, which could explain the effects of relaxation and well being obtained with this method, as well as many other benefits.”

Another interesting finding among results was the length of time effects were measured to exist: “After controlling for baseline data, nine of the participants did move toward N1 (p = 0.833) and N2 (p = 0.227) stages, remaining in these states between 4 min (minutes) and 25.5 min (minutes).” 

Ahh... sleep, sweet sleep.

N. Esmel-Esmel. E. Tomás-Esmel, M. Tous-Andreu, Maria Jimenez, Reflexology and polysomnography: Changes in cerebral wave activity induced by reflexology promote N1 and N2 sleep stages,” Complementary Therapies in Clinical Therapies, August 2017, Volume 28, Pages 54–64

Wiggling Your Toes Addition

Well I had a thought. If wiggling your toes helps you sleep would doing something with your hands also help. To me this is simply breaking up a pattern of stress that forms during the day. 

So join me on this experiment. I tried stretching my hands while wiggling my toes. Start with your hands in a relaxed position. Then stretch them flat. Combined with toe wiggling it seems to have a very fast effect on my sleep.

Let me know if it does the same for you. 

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com 

http://www.dk.com/reflexology 

Woman's World Toe Wiggling article out Monday

The Woman's World Article I mentioned in past blogs will be out on Monday. It is the May 4th edition.

Also I am now Twittering so come follow my Tweet.

And I am on Facebook as well. So join us there. Look for Kevin Kunz. There is also a Reflexology Group on Facebook.

And if you are interested in tuning into professionals from around the world try the Worldwide Reflexology Forum on Yahoo.

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com

http://www.dk.com/reflexology

Wiggling Your Toes Part 2

I wrote recently about wiggling the toes to help one sleep. I actually think it works quite well. I find it very effective and would not do without it. The side effect is that it makes my feet feel really good. 

But there are other methods as well. I suggest rolling the feet on a foot roller for 10 or so minutes a half an hour before bed. Or if you are in bed and feel restless try rubbing your hands. I do this until I feel like rolling over and drifting off. 

I was surprised at the amount of people who do wiggle their toes to help them sleep. It seems to be a wider spread then one would imagine. 

Keep on wiggling.

Kevin Kunz

Wiggling Your toes to Sleep

© Linnea. Image from BigStockPhoto.com

I guess I thought I had heard it all when a reporter from Woman's World called up. She asked if we had an supporting evidence that wiggling your toes can help you fall to sleep. I had to reply we didn't but a quick Google and there is a study on wiggling the toes, children and sleep.

The more we talked the more I realized that I just hadn't thought of it. I always talk about the toes and their importance. I encouraged people to rotate, pull, stretch and rub them because they have weak little muscles that will strengthen with some attention. But wiggle?

I do other things to promote sleep at night like use a foot roller just before bed. And I have to say that our regime of walking on cobblestone mats has had a profound effect on my sleep patterns once I get to sleep. But that is the trick- letting go of the day and just falling off to sleep.

I decide to be my own guinea pig and try wiggling my toes prior to sleep. For me it does seem to work. Even if I wake up at night I start wiggling my toes again and away I go. Fascinating.

And it really makes my feet feel good. In helping the writer with the article I explain that every muscles in the foot is involved with the toes. So by wiggling your toes you are relaxing the whole foot. but better yet relaxing your feet causes not only a relaxation response in the foot but it soon spreads to the rest of the body. Before you know it you are in a deep sleep.

Give it a try tonight. Wiggle your toes for about a minute or so. If you like it do it some more. I like to wiggle both left and right together but there are no hard and fast toe wiggling rules. Just repeat it as desired.

Let me know what you think. Does wiggling your toes help you to sleep?

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com
http://www.dk.com/reflexology

Healing Sleep and Reflexology

© luv4art. Image from BigStockPhoto.com

I have really been sleeping well lately. It has been a deep sleep with lots of dreams. They are pleasant dreams. I haven't slept this well since I was a kid. 

My trick is simple. I do bamboo walking just before bed. What is bamboo walking? Legend has it that the Samurai warriors would go out in the bamboo forest and chop down a piece of bamboo. They would then split it. They would lay a piece of bamboo on the ground and walk on the rounded part. 

Of course you could work on your feet with  reflexology. There are several excellent research studies that point to the help reflexology can be. Partner reflexology can be excellent because there is a lot to letting someone else apply the technique. Or dust off that old foot roller and give it a workout. 

Sweet dreams. 

Kevin Kunz

http://www.reflexology-research.com