Massage For Sleeplessness

Anyone who has ever had a sleepless night knows that counting sheep is no help at all. Neither is a hot, milky drink, late-night television or a bad book. Sometimes, even a sleeping tablet does not work. As you pace the floor, hour after hour, baggy-eyed but wide awake, the tension mounts because insomnia is one of the most irritating, frustrating and stressful ailments known. If your muscles were hanging loose before bedtime, after several hours of tossing and turning they will be tense, taut and totally uptight. The more frustrated you are at not being able to sleep, the less likely you are to sleep anyway.

A long soak in a very warm bath, followed by a slow, soothing massage is the one thing that usually has a Rip van Winkle effect and even if it does not put you to sleep, it makes you feel a lot better about being awake! Most insomniacs are over-stimulated, so it is important to use massage strokes that sweep over large areas of the body to loosen knotted muscles. This, combined with simple stretches to release trapped tension, invariably has the desired effect, and if muscles are relaxed, sleep is possible.

This massage for sleeplessness uses friction rubs and muscle flexes for fast, total relaxation. It is best to do it after a warm bath and before your usual bedtime so that you are relaxed and ready for sleep. However, if you must do it in the wee hours of the night - and you know someone kind enough to stay awake and massage you at least it is speedy and simple to do.

How To Massage The Sleepless
You need lots of pillows, soft lighting, layers of snug blankets, warm hands and plenty of warm oil. Comfort is vital so that the poor insomniac relaxes and, as you want him to go to sleep, bed is the best place to do the massage. Keep all movements light and rhythmic to warm and relax the body as quickly as possible. The more repetitions of strokes the better, so each one can get slower and gentler towards the end. Do steps one to five with the person being massaged lying face down, and steps six to eight with him face up.

1. Start by stroking to feel any tense areas or tight muscles. Sit or kneel by the side of the sufferer's legs and move up as you stroke. Place your hands, palms down, over each ankle, with your fingers across the calf and pointing inwards. Press and slide your hands all the way up the legs in one smooth, firm, fast stroke to the top of the thighs. Repeat up to 20 times.

2. Cross his feet at the heels, pick them up and slowly bend them up and back towards his bottom until you meet resistance. Hold the stretch for a count of 15, then release and repeat. Then do slow frictions rub over calves and thighs: place your hands, palms down, across the leg and rub them backwards and forwards in a sawing motion.

3. Kneel by the sufferer's hip, covering the lower body if necessary to keep it warm. Do one firm stroke all the way up the back, fanning your hands out at the top of the shoulders and turning them to pull down the arms to feel any tense areas. Start with your palms down, hands on the lower back with fingers pointing into the spine. Repeat up to 20 times, as a slow, firm, flowing stroke.

4. Now go back to any tense or knotted areas on the back and deep knead them by picking up and squeezing the flesh between the fingers and thumb of each hand. Spend quite a lot of time across the tops of the shoulders and the lower back. Make small circular strokes with your thumbs alone under the shoulder blades and up the nape of the neck.

5. Do a fast, sweeping friction rub with your hands palms down and moving vigorously so each stroke is about 20 cm (8 inches) long. Keeping your hands parallel, rub up and down from the lower back to the shoulder tops on either side of the spine. Keep it going for several minutes, getting slower towards the end, but still rubbing firmly.

6. The person being massaged should turn over so that he is lying face up. Cover the upper body to keep it warm. Hold one foot around the top of the instep, prop it against your knee or thigh and flex backwards by gently pushing up the toes. Hold for a count of five, then release. In the same position, move the toes from side to side and make slow circles with them in the air. Then place the palm of each hand on the top of the thighs and stroke slowly and firmly down to the toes in one movement. Repeat several times. Finally, hold the feet under the heels and round the back of the ankle, take their weight and gently pull the legs away from the body. Hold for a count of ten, then repeat.

7. Hold the sufferer's hand, palm to palm, and interlock your fingers, pushing his hand gently back and forwards to flex and stretch it. Then place the palms of your hands around his upper arm and lift it, letting his elbow bend and the hand relax down to the chest. Then push in and squeeze with the heels and palms of your hands all the way down the arm to the wrist, avoiding the bony elbow. Finish off by placing your hands, palms down, around the top of the arm and sliding them both right down the arm to the wrist, holding the hand and gently pulling it away from the body. Repeat on the other arm.

8. Kneeling or sitting by the sufferer's head, turn it to one side and use one hand, palm down, followed by the other, to stroke across the shoulder, up the side of the neck, over the jaw and cheek, to the temple, forehead and through the scalp to the crown of the head. As you reach the face, lift your palm so that you use fingers only to continue the stroke up into the hair. Work on only one side at a time for up to 20 strokes, getting slower and gentler to the end. Gently lift and turn the head to the other side and repeat the entire step again on the other half of.