Numerous practices can be used at home to improve your health. It is common for modern people to deal with stress and back pains that come as a result of office work. Headaches are also common today. An acupressure mat is a helpful tool that can help you alleviate various symptoms from the comfort of your home. Not everyone has a chance to receive professional massages regularly, but it is possible to use an acupressure mat to apply pressure to various points of your body to relieve stress and pain. Unlike acupuncture, an ancient Chinese therapy that involves using sharp and thin needles, acupressure mats are more accessible and safe for recreational use at home. In this article, you will learn about the advantages of acupressure mats and how they work.
About Acupressure Mats
An acupressure mat is a special pad covered in plastic spikes. They are made of plastic so as not to damage skin like metal needles, even if you press on them firmly. It is possible to stand on an acupressure mat, sit on it, or lay down depending on what area of your body you want to massage. The way to use this mat is by applying pressure to certain pressure points in your body to alleviate stress and pain.
This also improves blood circulation, makes your muscles relax from tension, and helps with releasing endorphins. There are different sizes of acupressure mats to suit your specific needs. Larger mats are great for laying down on them, and smaller ones can be used for your feet or neck. It is not necessary to have a prescription to use this mat.
The Advantages of Acupressure Mats
These tools are easy to use, and the price is accessible. Even though all kinds of health-related tools should be used cautiously, there are not many potential side effects to using acupressure mats. These mats are not completely the same as acupuncture, although they have similar effects. Here are the key benefits of using acupressure mats:
- Relaxing muscle tension – Using an acupressure mat allows you to improve your blood circulation and relieves muscle tension in your back and other treated areas, such as your neck, etc. Using these mats promotes relaxation, steadying your heart rate and keeping your breathing at a nice pace.
- Chronic pain relief – Many people suffer from chronic pains in their backs, feet, and necks. While there is often no way to deal with the pain completely, it is possible to alleviate it by doing regular exercises or using an acupressure mat to target various pressure points. If you have sedentary work, you might need to take extra care of your back and neck. Using an acupressure mat on these areas regularly will alleviate the pain and relieve muscle tension efficiently.
- Relieving menstrual pain – While there are not many studies on the effect that acupressure mats have on women with menstrual pain, certain research materials show that working on pressure points on your hands and feet can alleviate some period cramps. It only takes standing on a mat for about ten minutes to activate your pressure points and potentially relieve some pain.
- Working on chronic headaches – While acupressure mats are great for relieving chronic neck pain, they also allow you to alleviate headaches, as pressure points are activated near your head and blood circulation improves delivering more oxygen to your brain. It is more convenient to use acupressure mats with a cervical roll to use it on your neck easily.
- Relieving stress and anxiety – Engaging in sports and various physical activities is often good for your mental health and relieving anxiety. Much like yoga is a calming activity, laying or standing on an acupressure mat can be relaxing and relieving. Studies show that using acupressure techniques allows you to relieve daily stress and anxiety and even helps with some mild depression symptoms.
- Increasing energy – While using acupressure mats does not require being very active, some studies show that such mats can increase your energy levels. As people use acupressure mats to alleviate various stresses and pains, they feel rejuvenated and energized afterward.
These are some of the potential benefits of acupressure mats. More research is needed to unveil the full potential of using this helpful tool.
Using Acupressure Mats
Acupressure mats can be used freely by most people. However, certain conditions like diabetes, skin conditions, poor blood circulation, and other disorders might be incompatible with this type of therapy. You can ask your doctor about the possibility of using an acupressure mat safely.
Using this type of mat is simple. All you need to do is stand, sit, or lay down on it to apply pressure to your body with plastic spikes. The best results can be achieved by laying on a mat with your bare skin.
