Impact of Massage on Daytime Napping

NCT06780072 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2094-2/08-02-2023
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In the quest for optimal physical and mental performance and recovery, people are constantly exploring various strategies to enhance their overall well-being. Daytime napping helps mitigate the effects of inadequate nighttime sleep, allowing people to reduce fatigue and potentially improve physical performance. Research has also shown that strategically timed naps can significantly boost athletic performance, improve cognitive function, and reduce daytime fatigue. Short naps lasting between 10 to 60 minutes are ideal for quickly boosting alertness and cognitive function. Additionally, they can facilitate a complete sleep cycle, including REM sleep, which is crucial for both physical and mental recovery. Massage therapy, recognized for its ability to alleviate muscle soreness, improve circulation, and induce relaxation and it might play a crucial role in facilitating a good night sleep. In athletes a massage therapy serves as both a proactive and reactive measure in optimizing sports and exercise performance, ensuring athletes are physically and mentally prepared for competition while also facilitating their recovery, minimizing the risk of injury and being particularly effective in alleviating pain. Massage therapy significantly contributes to improving night sleep efficiency as well as the duration of sleep onset.\[12\] From a biochemical point of view, massage promotes the release of serotonin, a hormone that enhances the sense of wellbeing. In addition, serotonin is a biosynthetic precursor of melatonin and an active neurotransmitter, whose levels affect various functions of the body including sleep promotion,\[14\] while can play a significant role in mental health as it regulates mood and emotional well-being. Nowadays, massage has evolved into various types that are specialized for the treatment of various health problems. The most well know and frequently used types of massage are the "sports massage" and the "relaxation massage". Sports massage has been proven to enhance athletic performance, as well as help athletes recover after competition while the Deep Relaxation massage is used exclusively for the relaxation and psychological discharge. More specifically, the relaxation-therapeutic massage uses pressure that is deeply relaxing, but not painful, smooth gliding strokes that are both rhythmic and flowing, which increases blood circulation and promotes a general sense of relaxation. Even thought, these 2 very common types of massage have been applied for many years in various settings, it is not clear whether massage affects brain function and state of alertness. Therefore, the primary aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of two different types of manual massage sessions on daytime napping using objective (EEG - brain activity) and subjective (questionnaires) measurements of relaxation in poor sleepers.

Conditions

Sleep Deprivation

Keywords

Massage; day-time nap; poor sleepers; PSG; Relaxation; power naps

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Sleep Latency N1

  Sleep Latency N1 is the period of time between wakefulness and when sleep begins (stage 1)

  Sleep latency N1 will be calculated after the intervention (35 minutes after the initiation of the protocol)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Relaxation Score

  Relaxation score is assessed at baseline and after the intervention (35 minutes after the initiation of the protocol))

Other Outcomes (1)

• Muscle Tone

  Muscle tone will be assessed at baseline and after the intervention (35 minutes after the initiation of the protocol)

Study Arms (3)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

For the control condition (CON) participants will not receive any intervention, while they will be rested for 35 min on a massage bed

Activation Massage

EXPERIMENTAL

For the activation condition (ACT) participants will receive an activation (Sports) massage session lasting for 30 min and rest for 5 min without any interference.

Other: Activation Massage therapy

Relaxation Massage

EXPERIMENTAL

For the relaxation condition (REL) participants will receive a relaxation massage session lasting for 30 min and rest for 5 min without any interference.

Other: Relaxation Massage Therapy

Interventions

Activation Massage therapy OTHER

Massage Sessions Activation (Sports) massage The activation (sports) type of massage will be used as one of the massage interventions. This technique will be performed on a full body with more attention given to specific leg muscle groups such as the feet, the gastrocnemius, the femoral biceps and quadriceps and in upper body muscle groups such as the triceps, the rhomboid, the deltoid, the trapezius and head areas. Briefly, this type of massage involves a wide range of techniques that include effleurage, palmar sliding, pounding and hacking. The total duration of the activation message will be 30 minutes.

Activation Massage

Relaxation Massage Therapy OTHER

Relaxation massage The Relaxation type of massage will be used as the second type of intervention in this study. This technique is designed to promote deep relaxation, reduce stress and enhance overall well-being. It is characterized by the use of four primary techniques performed on the full body, including the palms and feet. Specifically, these techniques consist of effleurage

Relaxation Massage

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Gender at birth
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Complains of poor sleep assessed by Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index score \>5

You may not qualify if:

• history of mental illness,
• dermatological diseases,
• allergies to massage oil,
• history of epilepsy,
• acute or chronic condition that would limit the ability of the patient to participate in the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Thessaly: lead
• University of Nicosia: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

School of Physical Education, Sports and Dietetics, TEFAA

Trikala, Thessaly, GR42100, Greece

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Dakic M, Toskic L, Ilic V, Duric S, Dopsaj M, Simenko J. The Effects of Massage Therapy on Sport and Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports (Basel). 2023 May 29;11(6):110. doi: 10.3390/sports11060110.

  PMID: 37368560 BACKGROUND

• Guo J, Li L, Gong Y, Zhu R, Xu J, Zou J, Chen X. Massage Alleviates Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness after Strenuous Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2017 Sep 27;8:747. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00747. eCollection 2017.

  PMID: 29021762 BACKGROUND

• Simpson NS, Gibbs EL, Matheson GO. Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2017 Mar;27(3):266-274. doi: 10.1111/sms.12703. Epub 2016 Jul 1.

  PMID: 27367265 BACKGROUND

• Dutheil F, Danini B, Bagheri R, Fantini ML, Pereira B, Moustafa F, Trousselard M, Navel V. Effects of a Short Daytime Nap on the Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 28;18(19):10212. doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910212.

  PMID: 34639511 BACKGROUND

• Ntoumas I, Karatzaferi C, Boubougiatzi F, Manakou N, Aslanidi A, Giannaki CD, Papanikolaou F, Dardiotis E, Lavdas E, Sakkas GK. Massage positively influences daytime brain activity and reduces arousal state in poor sleepers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Jul 28;25(1):290. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-05022-6.

  PMID: 40722019 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sleep Deprivation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dyssomnias; Sleep Wake Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Giorgos Sakkas, PhD

  University of Thessaly

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: Subjects will be randomly assigned into 3 conditions each one week apart: 1) the control condition (CON) where subjects will not receive any intervention, while they were rested for 35 min on a massage bed; 2) the activation condition (ACT) where subjects will receive an activation (Sports) massage session lasting for 30 min and rested for 5 min without any interference; and 3) the relaxation condition (REL) where subjects will receive a relaxation massage session lasting for 30 min and rested for 5 min without any interference (Figure 2). All conditions will be separated by one week apart and take place at the exact time of the day, while the order of the various conditions will be randomly assigned.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 10, 2025
• First Posted: January 17, 2025
• Study Start: April 3, 2023
• Primary Completion: September 13, 2024
• Study Completion: November 29, 2024
• Last Updated: January 20, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: June 2025 - June 2030
• Access Criteria: Who: Academics or Researchers after a written request What: Raw data in SPSS format How: receive a link to download the data.

Locations

GR (1)