Regular massage can lower blood pressure, a US study has found. Researchers looked at a group of married couples who were given portable blood pressure monitors. Half the couples were told to massage their partners for 30 minutes three times a week while the other half went about their lives as normal. At the end of the four week experiment, both men and women in the massage group had significantly higher levels of oxytocin, a hormone that counteracts stress. The husbands in the group also had lower blood pressure readings than at the start of the study, whereas the non massage group saw no change.

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