Massage Before Bed: The Benefits & The Science

Why Massage Might Be The Missing Step In Your Bedtime Routine

We spend a lot of time thinking about what we put on our bodies, but perhaps not enough about how we apply it.

A few minutes of massage before bed can turn applying a body product into something altogether more useful: a moment to slow down, release physical tension and signal that the busy part of the day is over.

And there’s science behind it.

Massage and Your Nervous System

When you're stressed, your sympathetic nervous system, responsible for your body's "fight or flight" response, becomes more active.

Research into massage has associated it with physiological changes linked to relaxation, including changes in heart rate and blood pressure, while moderate-pressure massage has also been studied for its effects on the parasympathetic nervous system, the part involved in the body's "rest and digest" state.

In other words, massage isn't just about tired muscles. Touch can become part of the process of physically winding down.

And it doesn't have to mean booking an hour-long treatment.

Your evening skincare and bodycare routine is an easy place to start. Massage Among The Stars Body Oil slowly into arms and legs after a shower, work Bed Balm into areas that feel tired after a long day, or spend a few minutes massaging Dreem Melt® Magnesium Butter into feet and calves before bed.

Can Massage Help With Sleep?

Research into massage and sleep is promising, although results vary depending on the population and type of massage studied.

Clinical studies have reported improvements in sleep quality following massage, while research into moderate-pressure massage has also found increased relaxation.

The important bit? It doesn't need to mean an hour-long spa treatment.

A simple evening ritual of putting your phone down and spending a few minutes slowly massaging your feet and calves gives you a deliberate transition between doing and resting.

The After-Work Massage

Eight hours at a computer can leave your neck, shoulders, hands and back feeling like they've done a day's work of their own.

This is where Bed Balm earns its place in the evening routine.

Warm a small amount between your fingers and massage it into tired shoulders, the back of your neck, hands or localised areas that feel tense after sitting at a desk all day.

The combination of massage and taking a few minutes away from a screen makes it a simple end-of-work ritual.

Close the laptop. Massage. Switch off.

Why Feet and Calves?

Think about how much work they do every day.

Walking. Running. Standing. Commuting. Exercising. Chasing after children.

By evening, your legs can feel heavy, tight or restless. Massage can temporarily increase local blood flow and help muscles feel more relaxed, making feet and calves an obvious place to focus your evening ritual.

Dreem Melt® Magnesium Butter is the relief you need and works wonders on restless legs and sore feet.

Don't Forget Your Face

Massage doesn't have to stop at the neck.

Your evening skincare routine is another opportunity to slow things down. Apply Moonlit Mask before bed and take an extra moment to gently work it across the face rather than rushing through application.

It's less about adding another step to your evening and more about making the steps you're already doing feel intentional.

Apply your mask. Put the phone away. Let the day finish.

The Importance of Massage For Children

Massage can also be a valuable part of a child's bedtime routine. For children, touch is an important form of communication and connection.

Research into parent-infant touch suggests that gentle, affectionate touch plays a role in bonding, emotional regulation and the development of systems involved in responding to stress. Studies have also linked nurturing touch with oxytocin activity, a hormone involved in social bonding and calming responses.

And bedtime is a particularly natural time to introduce it.

In one randomised study involving 123 mothers and babies aged 3–18 months, introducing a massage-based bedtime routine was associated with fewer night wakings and improvements in parents' perceptions of bedtime ease, their child's sleep and morning mood.

Another review of bedtime-routine research reported a small study in which children receiving a 15-minute massage from a parent each night showed less bedtime resistance and shorter sleep-onset times after a month compared with children who were read a bedtime story.

It doesn't mean massage is a magic sleep switch, but it will help induce calm before bed. Gentle touch combined with a familiar routine creates a reassurance cue that it's time to slow down.

A bath, pyjamas, gentle massage, story and bed provide the same predictable sequence each evening.

For children 6 months plus, Dreem Melt® Magnesium Butter can be gently massaged into the feet and calves as part of that wind-down, as it has completely natural ingredients.

Bath. Massage. Story. Bed.

The Science Behind Applying Magnesium Before Bed

Laboratory research has demonstrated that magnesium ions can penetrate the outer layers of human skin, with hair follicles appearing to facilitate penetration.

This is exactly why we created Dreem Melt® Magnesium Butter.

Rather than a quick spritz of magnesium spray, Dreem Melt was designed to be massaged into the skin, turning application into an evening ritual.

Each jar contains 9,000mg of magnesium chloride, with approximately 360mg per recommended application, suspended in a rich, fast-absorbing butter and finished with a calming lavender scent.

Massage it slowly into the feet and calves before bed, taking a few minutes rather than rushing the process.

Apply. Massage. Melt. Bed.

The Ultimate Dreem Evening Massage Ritual

1. BODY

After bathing or showering, slowly massage Among The Stars Body Oil into arms and legs.

2. TIRED MUSCLES

Massage Bed Balm into areas such as your neck, shoulders, hands and back that feel tired after the day.

3. FEET & CALVES

Massage Dreem Melt® Magnesium Butter into feet and calves, spending a little longer on areas that feel tired or restless.

4. FACE

Apply Moonlit Mask, gently massaging it across the face as the final step of your skincare routine.

5. BED

Put the products down. Put the phone down. Let the rest of the world wait until morning.

Sometimes the smallest rituals make the biggest difference.

References

1. Mindell JA, Lee CI, Leichman ES, Rotella KN (2018) — Massage-based bedtime routine: impact on sleep and mood in infants and mothers. 

2. Mindell JA, Williamson AA (2018) — Benefits of a bedtime routine in young children: Sleep, development, and beyond. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 40, 93–108.

3. Carozza S, Leong V (2021) — The Role of Affectionate Caregiver Touch in Early Neurodevelopment and Parent-Infant Interactional Synchrony.

4. Hardin JS et al. / systematic review of skin-to-skin research (2021) — Parent–Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact and Stress Regulation: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

5. Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C (2005) — Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(10), 1397–1413.

6. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) — Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know.

7. Chandrasekaran NC et al. (2016) — Permeation of topically applied magnesium ions through human skin is facilitated by hair follicles. Magnesium Research, 29(2), 35–42.

8. Kass L et al. (2017) — Effect of transdermal magnesium cream on serum and urinary magnesium levels in humans: A pilot study. PLOS ONE, 12(4), e0174817.