A massage often ends with someone saying they will sleep well tonight. Whether it really improves sleep is a fair question, and the research has less to say than you might expect.
What the reviews looked at
Reviews of massage and sleep have mostly looked at people in hospital or living with a long-term condition, because that is where trials tend to be done. Three of the main ones found:
- Adults in critical care. A 2023 review of ten randomised trials with 569 people found that massage improved how patients rated their own sleep in some situations, such as foot reflexology massage and a two-night course in a cardiac care unit. The authors rated the overall certainty of the evidence as low.
- Cancer survivors. A 2021 review of seven trials, four of them on massage, found that massage was linked to better scores on sleep questionnaires and more long sleep episodes on objective recordings. The authors said massage given by massage therapists “may have some potential” for improving sleep in cancer survivors.
- People with fibromyalgia. A 2014 review of nine trials with 404 people found that a course of massage lasting five weeks or more eased pain, anxiety and depression, but did not improve sleep disturbance.
What that adds up to
None of these reviews studied otherwise healthy adults who just want to sleep better, so they cannot tell us whether a massage will help you. The fair summary is that the evidence is limited, mixed and low in certainty: massage may help some groups feel they sleep better, and it made no difference to sleep in another.
That does not mean a massage cannot help you unwind. In the trials covered in Massage and stress: what the research says, a single session lowered how anxious people felt at the time. Feeling calmer in the evening may well help you settle, but that is a reasonable guess, not something these reviews have shown.
What does help, according to the NHS
NHS advice for poor sleep is mostly about habits. It suggests:
- relaxing for at least an hour before bed, for example with a bath or a book;
- avoiding smoking, alcohol, tea and coffee for at least 6 hours before bed;
- keeping the television and your phone away right before bed, because the blue light makes you more awake;
- making your bedroom dark and quiet;
- getting up at the same time every day, and avoiding naps in the daytime;
- exercising regularly during the day, but not in the 4 hours before bed.
See your GP if changing your sleep habits has not helped, if you have had trouble sleeping for months, or if it is affecting how you cope day to day.
What this means for you
- Book a massage because you want an hour to slow down, not as a treatment for poor sleep.
- If you are not sleeping well, start with the habits above, and talk to your GP if they do not help.
Sources
- Fang CS and colleagues. Effect of massage therapy on sleep quality in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2023.
- Samuel SR and colleagues. Randomized control trial evidence for the benefits of massage and relaxation therapy on sleep in cancer survivors: a systematic review. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2021.
- Li YH and colleagues. Massage therapy for fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One, 2014.
- NHS. Insomnia.