New study confirms value of reflexology in helping postmenopausal women sleep longer and decrease anxiety and fatigue.

A new study suggests that massaging a woman’s feet can help minimize common menopause symptoms, including sleep disruption, effectively extending sleep duration by an average of an hour per day. Study results are published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

“Sleep disturbances, fatigue and anxiety symptoms are common during menopause. This small study in Turkish women shows how a simple, inexpensive intervention such as foot massage can improve these bothersome symptoms in postmenopausal women.  Although additional study is needed to confirm these findings in other populations of postmenopausal women, there is little downside to recommending foot massage as a non-hormonal option to help relieve symptoms,” says Stephanie Faubion, MD, NAMS medical director, in a statement.

In this new, small-scale study, researchers specifically sought to evaluate the effects of massaging the feet on anxiety, fatigue and sleep in postmenopausal women. Study results determined that this type of massage applied during menopause increases the average daily sleep duration—as much as an hour per day—and reduces women’s fatigue and anxiety levels.

Study results are published in the article “The impact of foot massage given to postmenopausal women on anxiety, fatigue, and sleep: a randomized-controlled trial.”

Photo: ID 106900673 © Raweewan Kitipoonwongvanich | Dreamstime.com