States of anxiety

Anxiety
Clinical study: Massage therapy reduces anxiety and improves the EEG pattern of alertness as well as performance in math tasks.

Research:
In this study, adults either received a chair massage or, in the control group, were asked to sit in a relaxed position for 15 minutes - twice a week in each case for five weeks.
In both groups, the frontal delta activity in the EEG increased - an indication of relaxation.
The massage group also showed

• Decrease in alpha and beta activity in the EEG
• Higher speed and accuracy in math problems

Results:
After five weeks, depression levels had decreased in both groups, but a reduction in job stress was only seen in the massage group.