NewsMakers
10 minutes of massage or rest will help your body fight stress
You don’t need a professional treatment in order to relax. Having somebody gently stroke your shoulders, or even just resting your head on the table for ten minutes, is an effective way to boost your body’s physiological engine of relaxation.

Allowing yourself a few minutes of downtime significantly boosts mental and physical relaxation. Research by psychologists at the University of Konstanz observed higher levels of psychological and physiological relaxation in people after only ten minutes of receiving a massage. Even ten minutes of simple rest increased relaxation, albeit to a lesser degree than massage.
The findings provide the first indication that short-term treatments can robustly reduce stress on a psychological and physiological level by boosting the body’s principal engine for relaxation – the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).
Stress is known to have negative consequences for health and disease. However, our bodies have an inbuilt regenerative system, the PNS, to ward off stress during times of threat. Launching a relaxation response is thus key to protecting our health and restoring balance in our body. Massage has been used to improve relaxation, yet no systematic approach exists to robustly confirm its effect on the PNS and whether or not this could be used as rehabilitation for patients suffering from stress-related disease.
Boosting the body’s engine for relaxation
This study indicates that massage is an easy-to-apply intervention that can boost the body’s principal engine for relaxation – the PNS – and also lead to a reduction in perceived mental stress. The discovery that massage is effective on the level of both psychology and physiology via the PNS will pave the way for future studies on understanding the role of relaxation on stress.
“To get a better handle on the negative effects of stress, we need to understand its opposite – relaxation,” says Jens Pruessner, head of the Neuropsychology lab and Professor at the Cluster of Excellence “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour” at the University of Konstanz. “Relaxation therapies show great promise as a holistic way to treat stress, but more systematic scientific appraisal of these methods is needed.”
Standardised testing approach
Researchers from the Department of Psychology in Konstanz developed a standardised approach for testing if tactile stimulation could improve mental and physical relaxation. They applied two different ten-minute massages on human subjects in the laboratory to test: A head-and-neck massage was designed to actively stimulate the PNS by applying moderate pressure on the vagal nerve, which is the largest nerve running to the PNS. Then a neck-and-shoulder massage with soft stroking movements was designed to examine whether just touch can also be relaxing. Finally, a control group of participants sitting quietly at a table was tested for the effect of rest without tactile stimulation.
Physiological relaxation was gauged by monitoring the heart rate of participants and measuring heart rate variability (HRV), which indicates how flexibly the PNS can respond to changes in the environment. The higher the HRV, the more relaxed is the body. Psychological relaxation was gauged by asking participants to describe how relaxed or stressed they feel.
Ten minutes of resting or receiving either massage resulted in psychological and physiological reduction in stress. All participants reported that they felt more relaxed, and less stressed, compared with before the treatments. Further, all participants showed significant increases in heart rate variability, which demonstrates that the PNS was activated and the body physiologically relaxed just by resting alone. The physiological effect was more pronounced when participants received a massage. It was, however, not important whether the massage was soft or moderate – tactile contact in general seemed to improve the relaxation of the body.
Small moments with big impact
“We are very encouraged by the findings that short periods of dis-engagement are enough to relax not just the mind but also the body,” says Maria Meier, a doctoral student in the lab of Neuropsychology and first author on the study. “You don’t need a professional treatment in order to relax. Having somebody gently stroke your shoulders, or even just resting your head on the table for ten minutes, is an effective way to boost your body’s physiological engine of relaxation.”
By developing a standardized method for robustly testing and validating relaxation therapies, the study allows further experiments to test the effects of additional relaxation interventions that could be used in prevention or rehabilitation programs for people suffering from stress-related diseases such as depression.
“Standardized massage interventions as protocols for the induction of psychophysiological relaxation in the laboratory: A block randomized control trial” by M. Meier, E. Unternaehrer, S.J. Dimitroff, A. Benz, U.U. Bentele, S.M. Schorpp, M. Wenzel, and J.C. Pruessner appeared in Scientific Reports.
NewsMakers
Cannabidiol therapy could reduce symptoms in autistic children and teenagers
The use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behaviour of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

New research presented at the 2025 European Congress of Psychiatry reveals that the use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behaviour of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD affects approximately 1 in 100 children around the world and symptoms can include difficulty interpreting language, difficulty expressing emotions, and repetitive behaviour and routines.1,2
The meta-analysis included randomised, placebo-controlled trials on the efficacy or safety of CBD cannabis extracts in children and adolescents with ASD. Three studies were used in total with 276 participants with a mean age of 10.5, ranging in age from 5 to 21. The dosage of CBD cannabis extract started at 1 mg/kg per day and was titrated up to 10 mg/kg.
Key findings from the study include:
- CBD cannabis extract use shows moderate improvements in social responsiveness and small yet notable reductions in disruptive behaviours.
- CBD cannabis extract significantly enhanced social responsiveness and reduced disruptive behaviour.
- The use of CBD cannabis extract has a favourable safety profile as it did not increase adverse events compared to placebo
- There were no significant differences between adverse events in CBD cannabis extract versus placebo
Lara Cappelletti Beneti Branco, Lead Investigator, São Camilo University Center, University of São Paulo, said: “The global population prevalence of ASD diagnosis amongst children and adolescents is growing, but many treatment pathways are not effective. It is promising to see the effect of CBD cannabis extract on the study participants. However, there still needs to be considerable focus on further research with larger trials to clarify its efficacy and safety in managing ASD.”
Professor Geert Dom, EPA President, said: “ASD can be extremely frustrating for all involved; parents of children and adolescents with the disorder, the treating clinicians and of course the children and adolescents themselves. A large part of this frustration is down to finding a viable treatment option that works to reduce symptoms. It is with delight that we see the results of this meta-analysis and we hope to see further research into this so we can move towards a solution to the unmet need within this community”.
NewsMakers
Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure — at least in the short term
Most relaxation techniques seemed to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for people with high blood pressure after 3 or fewer months. The most commonly included interventions were breath control (13 studies), yoga/tai chi (11), biofeedback (8), progressive muscle relaxation (7), and music (7).

Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure—at least in the short term—but the longer term effects are unclear, finds a pooled data analysis of the existing research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.
And the risk of bias in the existing body of research means that further, more rigorously designed and longer studies are needed to confirm whether these techniques have a constructive role in the treatment of high blood pressure, conclude the researchers.
High blood pressure affects around a third of 30-79 year olds and is one of the leading attributable causes of deaths in both men and women, note the researchers. While drugs are available to treat the condition, adherence to them is poor, generating interest in alternative approaches, such as relaxation techniques, to reduce one of the major risk factors for high blood pressure—high stress levels. But it’s far from clear which of these methods, which can include breath control, mindfulness, yoga, Tai Chi, and biofeedback, among others, might be most effective.
To build on the evidence base, the researchers scoured research databases for studies, published in English up to February 2024 that looked at the potential impact of relaxation techniques on high blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg and above) and elevated blood pressure (120/80 mm Hg and above). They included 182 studies, 166 of which looked at high blood pressure, and 16 of which looked at elevated blood pressure (pre-hypertension).
Where possible, the researchers deployed network meta analysis, a statistical technique used to simultaneously compare the effects of several different ‘treatments’.
The pooled results of 54 studies showed that most relaxation techniques seemed to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for people with high blood pressure after 3 or fewer months. The most commonly included interventions were breath control (13 studies), yoga/tai chi (11), biofeedback (8), progressive muscle relaxation (7), and music (7).
Compared with no intervention, breath control achieved a reduction of 6.65 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (the first and higher number in a blood pressure reading), meditation a drop of 7.71 mm Hg, meditative movement, such as tai chi and yoga, a drop of 9.58 mm Hg, and mindfulness a drop of 9.90 mm Hg.
Music was also associated with a fall of 6.61 mm Hg, progressive muscle relaxation with a fall of 7.46 mm Hg, and psychotherapy with a reduction of 9.83 mm Hg. Combined techniques were associated with a drop of 6.78 mm Hg in blood pressure.
There was no statistical evidence of effectiveness for any technique after 3 to 12 months and the certainty of the evidence was very low. The most commonly included techniques at this timepoint were biofeedback (7 studies), yoga/tai chi (4), and progressive muscle relaxation (4).
Very few studies included long term follow up of 12 months or more, and of the 3 included in the network analysis, the results showed that compared with no treatment autogenic (self directed) training might lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but the certainty of the evidence was low.
There was no statistical evidence of effectiveness for other treatments assessed at this time point, including biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, and techniques involving a combined approach.
Limited data were available for elevated blood pressure: only two studies compared relaxation techniques with no treatment/usual care and the effects on systolic blood pressure were small.
The researchers note that the descriptions of relaxation interventions were sometimes incomplete or sparse, there were few data on costs and cost effectiveness, and most of the included studies didn’t report information on the risk of cardiovascular disease/events/deaths.
But they suggest: “The results of our systematic review and network meta-analysis indicate that relaxation or stress management techniques might result in meaningful reductions in blood pressure at up to three months of follow-up.”
But they caution: “Uncertainty exists about this effect, however, because of the risk of bias in the primary studies, the potential for publication bias in this area, and imprecision in the effect estimates, meaning that the observed changes in blood pressure might be too small to affect cardiovascular or cerebrovascular outcomes.”
And they add: “Hypertension is a chronic condition, likely to require long term drug treatments or behavioural changes. As such, interventions that are used for a brief period, or provide only short term benefits, are unlikely to be clinically useful.
“Too few studies exist, however, to assess whether the beneficial effects of relaxation are maintained when the techniques are practised for longer than three months. Future studies must clearly report whether participants were still using relaxation methods at the time of the outcome assessment, with details on adherence to the relaxation schedule. These factors might strongly influence the effectiveness of the different relaxation and stress management techniques.”
NewsMakers
Poor oral health linked with body pain and migraines in women
Findings highlight the importance of good oral health to potentially mitigate pain and improve overall wellbeing, prompting further exploration into the role of oral microbiota in chronic unexplained pain conditions. This includes fibromyalgia, a condition experienced by 67 percent of the study participants.

New research from the University of Sydney has revealed poor oral health is significantly associated with higher instances of migraines, abdominal and body pain in women.
Published in Frontiers in Pain Research, the world-first study identified specific oral microbes correlated with certain pain conditions, suggesting a potential relationship between the oral microbiome and the nervous system.
The findings highlight the importance of good oral health to potentially mitigate pain and improve overall wellbeing, prompting further exploration into the role of oral microbiota in chronic unexplained pain conditions. This includes fibromyalgia, a condition experienced by 67 percent of the study participants.
“This is the first study to investigate oral health, oral microbiota and pain commonly experienced in women with fibromyalgia, with our study showing a clear and significant association between poor oral health and pain,” said lead investigator Associate Professor Joanna Harnett from the Faculty of Medicine and Health.
“Our findings are particularly important to fibromyalgia which, despite being a common rheumatological condition, is often underrecognised,” said first author and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine and HealthSharon Erdrich.
“Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain, and headaches including headaches, as well as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive problems.”
The research examined associations between self-reported oral health, the oral microbiome, and various pain presentations in a group of New Zealand women with and without fibromyalgia.
Oral health was assessed using the WHO oral health questionnaire and evaluated against body pain, headaches, migraines, and abdominal pain using validated instruments, including the Short-form 36 (which measures quality of life), the International Headache Society headache survey and the functional bowel disorder severity index. Strong associations were evident between oral health scores and pain and each of these were associated with specific microbes found in the mouth, which were assessed using advanced genomic technology.
Participants with the poorest oral health were more likely to suffer from higher pain scores: 60 percent were more likely to experience moderate to severe body pain, and 49 percent were more likely to experience migraine headaches. Lower oral health was a statistically significant predictor of frequent and chronic migraine.
Four oral microbial species from the Dialister, Fusobacterium, Parvimonas and Solobacterium genera were significantly associated with pain after age, BMI and added dietary sugars were considered.
A weak but significant inverse correlation with diet quality and oral health was also found, though the researchers note this has yet to be investigated in detail.
The Australian Dental Association recommends regular oral hygiene appointments and dental health checks, in addition to twice daily teeth brushing and flossing.
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