Many people who come to see me, talk to me about either suffering from anxiety, depression or lack of quality of sleep. I know from case studies that I have done that clients have told me that they have felt these symptoms become more manageable and tell me what a better nights' sleep they have had after our sessions.

So, I wanted to have a bit of a look into some research on this and came across an article shared by the Association of Reflexologists. It shared a study that looked into the effects of foot reflexology with adults with depression, anxiety and suffering with poor sleep quality.

The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review, meta-analysis, and metaregression to determine the current (2020) best available evidence of the efficacy and safety of foot reflexology for adult depression, anxiety, and sleep quality. "Currently, the most promising theory suggests that the benefits of foot reflexology may be caused by modulating our autonomic nervous system. The effects are well known to relieve the psychological symptoms of stress by reducing anxiety and muscle tension, calming our mood, improving the quality of sleep, and facilitating the feeling of well-being." Randomised controlled trials comparing foot reflexology groups with control groups for adult depression, anxiety, and sleep quality were included. Twenty-six randomized controlled trials involving 2,366 participants met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analyses showed that foot reflexology intervention significantly improved adult depression, anxiety, and sleep quality. Metaregression reveals that an increase in total foot reflexology time and duration can significantly improve sleep quality.

So, it concluded that foot reflexology may provide relief for adults suffering from depression, anxiety, or sleep disturbance.

It's so nice to be able to offer support to people, complementing their existing medical care or offering some much-needed time for clients to relax and reflect on what tweaks they can make to their day-to-day lives helping them to bring about balance.

 

This article was published online 2020 Sep 15

Wang WL, Hung HY, Chen YR, Chen KH, Yang SN, Chu CM, Chan YY. Effect of Foot Reflexology Intervention on Depression, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality in Adults: A Meta-Analysis and Metaregression of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Sep 15;2020:2654353. doi: 10.1155/2020/2654353. PMID: 33014101; PMCID: PMC7512096. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7512096/