Reflexology is a type of alternative treatment that uses pressure and touch to relieve tension and pain throughout the body. A trained reflexologist can stimulate pressure points on your hands, feet or ears to stimulate your nervous system, causing a reflex that soothes the appropriate tissue within your body. Ear reflexology — pressure applied to the outside of the ear – can be used to help relax your brain, including your hypothalamus.
Importance of the Hypothalamus
Your hypothalamus serves as a control center for your body. Specific nerve networks within your hypothalamus stimulate the production of hormones, control your hunger and thirst, regulate your body’s sleep cycles and help maintain a constant body temperature. Defects in hypothalamic function can affect your health, leading to changes in body weight, sleep disturbances and hormonal imbalances that can affect your metabolism. Maintaining the overall health of your brain, as well as the health of cells within your hypothalamus, proves important for preventing disease.
Ear Reflexology and the Brain
While ear reflexology may not specifically affect your hypothalamus, since the ear does not contain a known reflexology pressure point for this region of the brian, reflexology might benefit a range of tissues in your head, including the hypothalamus. Using thumbs to apply pressure and perform small movements to the top of the earlobe, the antitragus, stimulates your nervous system to relieve tension in your head, according to an ear reflexology chart provided by the American Academy for Reflexology. As a result, stimulating this pressure point could potentially promote the health of your hypothalamus.
Reflexology and the Hypothalamus
As of November 2011, no studies have directly assessed the efficacy of ear reflexology in treating disorders of the hypothalamus. However, one study indicates that ear reflexology might relieve the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome – a disorder partially affected by hormones produced in the hypothalamus. The study, published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1993, found that reflexology of the ear, hands and feet helped reduce the severity of PMS. However, it is not known whether this benefit arose from stimulation of the hypothalamus through ear reflexology, or from the relaxation benefits of a reflexology massage.
Considerations
While ear reflexology might benefit your overall health, there is currently no evidence directly linking this alternative treatment to improved hypothalamic functioning. If you suffer from disorders affecting your hypothalamus, such as hormonal imbalances, you must consult a doctor to address the disorder, and you should not rely on ear reflexology to relieve your symptoms. However, ear reflexology might complement traditional medical treatments: if you find reflexology sessions relaxing, then attending reflexology sessions might improve your quality of life while traditional medicine treats the underlying disorder. To obtain a list of qualified reflexology practitioners in your area, contact the America Reflexology Certification Board.
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