Spas Add Years to Your Life

Did you know that April 16th was National Stress Awareness Day? Coincidence that it falls the day after taxes are due? I don’t know, but spas can help. ISPA’s research shows that the No. 1 reason people go to the spa is to relax and relieve or reduce stress. Here are some other facts on stress:

* 1/3 of Americans are living with extreme stress and nearly half believe their stress has increased over the past five years. (American Psychological Association)
* People who go for a single deep-tissue massage reduce their blood pressure by seven points. Over time, lowered blood pressure can add six years to your life. (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine)
* By 2020, the top five diseases will all have the underlying contributing factor of stress. (World Health Organization)

Dealing with your stress today can help prevent stress-related illnesses (heart disease, stroke, depression) tomorrow. “There’s quite a bit you can learn at a spa to help reduce stress,” said Dr. Brent Bauer, director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic. “Things like meditation, acupuncture, massage and guided imagery – the right answer is to find what fits for you and incorporate it on a regular basis.”

“Spas are not about luxury, they’re about teaching healthy living; they’re a place where people can get tangible results and work on overall well-being,” said ISPA President Lynne McNees. “So many spas are offering great ways to help you manage your stress that it’s easy to find a spa experience that fits into your budget.”

A sampling of the stress relieving treatments offered by ISPA members during April include:

Saybrook Point Inn & Spa’s Calming Combo includes your choice of any 50-minute massage with a scalp treatment or foot massage. $99 Mon-Fri (CT)

Skinsational Skin & Body Spa*  offers free mini-massage or mini-facials from 11a.m. – 1 p.m. Mon-Thu (CA)

Relache Spa has a De-Stress for Less package with a massage, facial or manicure/pedicure combo. $99 (TN)

Le Boe European Day Spa’s Tax Stress Relief Package includes 60-minute aromatherapy massage, 15-minute face and scalp massage and 15-minute reflexology. $130 (FL)

The Founders Inn & Spa’s Stress Less is a 50-minute massage and 50-minute pedicure. $99 Mon-Thu (VA)

For a complete list of ISPA members offering stress relieving treatments please contact ISPA, and visit www.experienceispa.com to find an ISPA member.

About ISPA

ISPA is recognized worldwide as the leading professional organization and voice of the spa industry. www.experienceispa.com

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Spas have long been considered a haven where the very wealthy go to pamper themselves.

But since the economic downturn, they’ve morphed into something more – a place where overly-stressed jitterbugs worried about job stability can go for a few moments of unadulterated relaxation.

It’s what Laurie Mancuso, owner of Bellus Tu Day Spa in Kings Mountain, said she’s been seeing for months. Instead of more expensive treatments, folks are opting to fit on the go facials and quicky rubdowns into their schedules.

“People are so stressed out that they’re not sleeping and they want to know what they can do without taking Tylenol PM,” said Mancuso, a former nurse and licensed aesthetician.

“It’s not just a luxury anymore. It’s not just for rich people, it’s for everybody,” said Kevin Jones, a massage therapist at Bellus Tu. “More and more people are coming in and their biggest complaint is stress. But during a massage, they can lay there and relax for an hour while the stress of everyday life just melts away.”

The economy is a constant topic of conversation at Spa South Salon in Gastonia, said owner Jack Ward. Ward said that all of their spa services have done fairly well, even in this economy. He said that’s because people are using spas as an escape from all of the doom and gloom they’re hearing about.

“You can get a $25 manicure and have someone massage your arms much easier than you can more expensive services like new clothes and new cars, those things we used to do to reward ourselves,” Ward said.

While any spa treatment can be relaxing, Ward said he recommends a massage to work out the tension in the neck, back and shoulders for a person under extreme stress. Mancuso said she always recommends regular facials, especially for women, who tend to show their stress in the form of acne and bags under their eyes.

And treatments go beyond the actual 30 to 60 minutes regular folks are spending at spas. Ward touted the longer term benefits massage treatments can have in encouraging general relaxation.

Jones added that it’s important to educate clients on inexpensive things they can do at home to stay relaxed after their visit – sleeping with pillows underneath their knees to help alleviate lower back pain, performing quick stretches as they enter doorways, placing ice cold green tea bags or sliced cucumbers on their eyes and carrying simple tote bags instead of heavy, oversized purses.

“Most people can’t afford to come here every day,” Jones said.

Still, an occasional trip to the spa can be worth the therapeutic benefits of a treatment and the unbiased ear of a therapist, particularly during troubled times.

“At a local day spa environment,” Ward said, “there’s a reasonable enough cost associated with treatment that most individuals are still able to afford it.”

Benefits of Massage

Massage has been found to have several benefits, including:

- Enhancing general health, such as improving circulation of blood, relaxing muscles and improving joint mobility, and encouraging general relaxation.

- Alleviating problem conditions like general muscle tension and aches, muscular back pain and tension headaches.

- Relieving stress by triggering the relaxation response, relaxing tense muscles and reducing anxiety levels.

Never Had A Massage? Here’s What You Need to Know

Here are a few tips to help make your first visit comfortable.

Modesty. You’ll be draped with a sheet or large towel. You may choose to be totally or partially unclothed and private areas should be covered at all times.

Talking. Some people need silence to relax, while others prefer a more social interaction. Always give the therapist immediate feedback if you experience any discomfort.

Oil. Oil, lotion or another lubricant is commonly used to allow the therapist’s hands to slide over the skin. Make sure your therapist is aware of any allergies you may have.

Payment. Payment is usually due immediately before or after the session. Be sure to check when you schedule your appointment. Also check to see if your insurance covers therapeutic massages.

Tipping. Tipping is common in places such as health clubs, beauty salons or resorts.

Gender. The gender of your massage therapist is mainly a matter of personal preference and comfort. 

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Stress is Less with Massage

National consumer research released today said 81% of American adults feel as stressed (45%) or more stressed (36%) now than they did a year ago and are using a variety of strategies to cope. The research was conducted by Harstad Strategic Research and sponsored by Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP).1

Despite the sour economy, the overall use of massage therapy remains consistent: 14% of adult Americans had a professional massage in 2008 compared to 12% in 2004 and 16% in 2006. Those who did not receive a massage in 2008 were more likely to cite their pocketbooks as the reason than in previous surveys.

Among those who had a professional massage in 2008, 58% said they did so for “relaxation, restoration or stress relief,” and 85% of 2008 massage users were satisfied with the experience, predicting they would seek massage again in 2009.

“When many people are curtailing spending on vacations and other big-ticket items, massage is an ideal and lower-cost option for reducing stress,” said ABMP president and nationally certified massage therapist Les Sweeney. “Massage therapy has been shown to reduce stress hormones, relieve anxiety and depression, strengthen the immune system and improve attentiveness, so it’s an excellent strategy for challenging times.”

The nation’s leading mental health association, Mental Health America, recommends massage therapy as a way to diffuse stress. Some employers are turning to workplace massage to help employees cope with uncertain times and increased workloads.

“As employers are looking for ways to manage workplace productivity and stress, perhaps using fewer employees to do more work, some are bringing chair massage into the mix,” Sweeney said. “At about $1 a minute, it’s an inexpensive way to maintain loyalty, and manage anxiety and lost work time.”

Another Harstad Research finding was that visits to all types of health professionals, including medical doctors, declined slightly in 2008 as compared to 2006.

“This is not surprising in a year of belt-tightening throughout the economy,” Sweeney said. “It may be a matter of postponing rather than forgoing care. Consumers should keep in mind massage could be useful in helping stave off routine doctor visits, co-pays and missed work time because of the immunity-boosting power of massage.”

The proportion of adults who made at least one visit to a massage therapist (14%) again exceeded the proportions visiting a chiropractor (12%) or a physical therapist (9%). Forty-two percent of American adults have received at least one massage in their lifetime.

Reference

1 The January 2009 Health Care Survey was conducted by Harstad Strategic Research, Inc., the national public opinion research firm in Boulder, Colo. The survey results are based upon 602 random telephone interviews among adults age 21 or older nationwide. Interviews were conducted from Jan. 6 to 11, 2009. A random sample of 602 has a worst-case 95 percent confidence interval of plus or minus 4.0 percent about any one reported percentage.

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In late November, a couple of months after the global financial crisis leaped to the top of news reports, spa lovers browsing  were showing new interest in a concept fit for jittery times. Along with the usual search terms, like “day spas” and “massage,” a newly prominent word was typed into the site’s search engine three times more often than it had been in the summer. That word was “stress.”

Interest hasn’t waned since.   Not only is “stress” still showing up often in the site’s searches, but weekly traffic to “stress management”  has doubled since the summer months.

When the economy was good, taking a spa vacation was largely about pampering yourself. It didn’t matter that the afterglow of that $165 carrot-and-sesame body buff lasted only until your next shower. Now, with the sinking economy on most people’s minds, a trip to the spa has become something else — an investment of sorts, in well-being.

The shift in mood is not lost on spa owners, who have long been savvy marketers, convincing people of the purifying qualities of sweat lodges and persuading them that a nightingale cleansing mask, made from sanitized bird droppings, was truly worth $109.

Miraval, the spa resort company based in Tucson, Ariz., is offering a new De-Stress Me package designed for “these trying times,” according to Tracey Anne Latkovic, the vice president of sales and marketing.

The Eldorado Hotel and Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., is running a Stress Bailout promotion to attract travelers looking “to escape the non-stop coverage of the economy,” according to a press release.

And under the usual New Agey marketing jargon that flashes across the sleek home page of Canyon Ranch, the destination spa company that was luring guests for body poundings and weight-loss regimens before the modern spa proliferation was a gleam in marketers’ eyes, there is a new message straight from its founders, Enid and Mel Zuckerman. “Has there ever been a time when you could have used an escape to Canyon Ranch more?” it reads, under the caption “The Vacation You Need” and a proverb about health, hope and happiness.

“No?” the pitch continues. “Then book your healthy, revitalizing getaway today and let us help you re-establish your balance. In times like these, nothing — nothing at all — is more important than taking care of yourself and on focusing on what really matters: Health, hope, love and a tranquil mind.”

During past economic downturns, Zuckerman said in an interview, business had been “very strong, because people need to get away to deal with stress, deal with fear, go to behaviorists, do life management, protect their health.” So far, Canyon Ranch’s revenues are “holding up very nicely” this time, too, he said, despite a dip in occupancy of about 10 percent in Tucson and Lenox in 2008. And the company opened a new luxury spa in Miami in December, just when the recession was proving itself entrenched.

Of course, a little financial incentive also helps. To battle the uncertain economy’s dampening effect on leisure spending, spas are marrying their new emphasis on stress relief with a flood of discounts and deals.

Rancho La Puerta, just over the California border in Tecate, Mexico, explains its decision to keep prices at 2008 levels — starting at $2,795 a person for seven nights, double occupancy — this way on its Web site: “We feel that in these tumultuous times a destination spa vacation is more important than ever.” It has also run Bring a Friend promotions that allow a guests to double up and share $1,500 to $2,200 in savings.

Miraval’s Authentic Remedy package, which starts at $399 a person a night — more than 40 percent off regular rates — includes extras like organic wine tastings and cooking classes. Mii amo, at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Ariz., is holding rates at 2008 levels and offering other discounts.

Not to be outdone, the Golden Door in Escondido has rolled back weekly rates to 2007 levels of $7,750 a person through May 24, down from $8,275 originally planned for this year, and is offering $500 savings if you bring a friend.

Even Canyon Ranch, which has never lowered its published rates — “I could never compromise our standards or cut our programs because we no longer could be who we are,” Zuckerman said — is tinkering with pricing.

Canyon Ranch in Tucson is offering credits of up to $350 for stays of at least four nights (which start at $3,770 a person, based on double occupancy) to out-of-towners, to help offset airfares. Its sister property in Lenox, Mass., has a fifth-night-free deal through April — in effect a discount of as much as $1,000 depending on accommodations and time of week — and is also offering 15 percent in savings when two guests who have never stayed at a Canyon Ranch resort share accommodations.

Last year, at the second-annual Global Spa Summit in New York, Ian Schrager, the trendsetting hotelier who is designing a new spa brand for Marriott, suggested another way spas could improve business — add spaces where spagoers can hang out. “These are places where people can meet and socialize before or after spa treatments,” he said in a keynote address. “People feel good when they come out of the spa and spas can take advantage of that.”

Spa owners have no more insight than anyone else into how long tough economic times will last. “I have no idea whether we got another year or two or three years ahead of us,” Zuckerman said. But recently, Canyon Ranch bookings have been picking up ever so slightly, he said, which he takes as “the message that people still want and need what we have to offer.”

For the nail-biting stress victim who still has enough money left to relax at a spa at all, this may not be entirely the worst of times.

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Spas …The Best Stress Less Step 

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Melanoma Progression Seen to Be Affected by Stress Levels

Another reason to encourage relaxation and stress relief at the spa—melanoma has been found to progress more rapidly in those that are stressed.

Stress appears to hasten the progression of aggressive or advanced melanoma skin cancer, but commonly prescribed blood pressure drugs may slow the disease and improve the quality of patients’ lives, according to an Ohio State University study.

In laboratory tests, the researchers exposed samples of three melanoma cell lines to the stress hormone norepinephrine and looked for changes in the levels of certain proteins released by the cells: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulates the growth of new blood vessels to feed a growing tumor; and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8), which play a role in tumor growth.

When exposed to norepinephrine, all three melanoma cell lines increased production of the three proteins. In C8161 cells—the most aggressive and advanced form of melanoma—there was “a 2,000% increase in IL-6. In untreated samples from this cell line, you normally can’t detect any IL-6 at all,” Eric V. Yang, a research scientist at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, said in an OSU news release. “What this tells us is that stress might have a worse effect on melanoma that is in a very aggressive or advanced stage, and that one marker for that might be increased levels of IL-6,” Yang said.

The researchers found that norepinephrine molecules bind to receptors on the surface of cancer cells, which stimulates the release of the pro-cancer proteins. Further tests showed that common beta-blocker blood pressure drugs significantly reduced melanoma cells’ production of IL-6 and the other two proteins. The drugs did this by blocking the receptors on the surface of the cancer cells.

The findings, published in the February issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, suggest that beta-blockers may help slow the progression of melanoma, Yang and colleagues said. Each year in the United States, almost 48,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed and nearly 8,000 people die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

More information

The American Academy of Dermatology has more about melanoma.

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Men Flock to NJ Spa To Escape Troubled Economy
Men in NJ are finding that the spa provides some much needed relief from the daily pressures caused by the turbulent economy. Spas in NJ like Aquamedica Salon and Day spa report seeing higher visits from men during the past few months.
Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch, NJ was on to something good when they decided to create an exclusive menu of services specifically tailored to the well being of men. Since the economy has suffered, the ocean front spa in Pier Village says they have seen more men coming in for massages, facials and other grooming treatments.

One reason may be the significant amount of pressure men are feeling to support their families financially and emotionally during these troubled times. With most of the men being the breadwinner of the family, the stress is on to keep their familie’s financials in line.

With the mounting pressure, men are turning to spas like Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch, which has an exclusive menu of services dedicated to the needs of men. With private changing quarters, steam room and a peaceful relaxation Dream Room, men can enjoy an experience all their own and get a much needed break from life’s daily stressors.

The men’s spa services offered at Aquamedica are available online and can be purchased as a gift certificate. Please visit Aquamedica to view the full menu.

In November of last year, Aquamedica launched their ‘Aquamedica Cares’ initiative. The program offers their full service, luxury spa treatments at a fraction of the cost. Consumers can save as much as 50% off massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. Giant savings are announced each week and posted on their website. The big discounts allow men, women, and teens to continue to enjoy their favorite Aquamedica Spa services even on the strictest budgets.

About

AQUAMEDICA Salon and Spa is a full service salon and day spa located on the ocean front boardwalk of Pier Village in Long Branch, New Jersey. Their ideal location, nestled on the boardwalk of New Jersey’s most highlighted lifestyle center for shopping, dining and entertainment, makes Aquamedica a true destination for health, wellness and happiness.

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In late November, a couple of months after the global financial crisis leaped to the top of news reports, spa lovers browsing were showing new interest in a concept fit for jittery times. Along with the usual search terms, like “day spas” and “massage,” a newly prominent word was typed into the site’s search engine three times more often than it had been in the summer. That word was “stress.”

When the economy was good, taking a spa vacation was largely about pampering yourself. It didn’t matter that the afterglow of that $165 carrot-and-sesame body buff lasted only until your next shower. Now, with the sinking economy on most people’s minds, a trip to the spa has become something else — an investment of sorts, in well-being.

People are “giving up the fluffy gold and caviar facials,” Ms. Ellis said in an e-mail message, “but honing in on core stress busters like therapeutic massage, etc. Especially if the price is right.”

Yoga class attendance is up at the Emerson Resort and Spa in Mount Tremper, N.Y., for example, while pricey treatments like the $185 Abhyanga Scrub and Soak are down. And more guests are opting for the least expensive spa treatment — a 30-minute back, neck and shoulder massage for $55.

The shift in mood is not lost on spa owners, who have long been savvy marketers, convincing people of the purifying qualities of sweat lodges and persuading them that a nightingale cleansing mask, made from sanitized bird droppings, was truly worth $109.

Miraval, the spa resort company based in Tucson, Ariz., is offering a new De-Stress Me package designed for “these trying times,” according to Tracey Anne Latkovic, the vice president of sales and marketing. The Eldorado Hotel and Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., is running a Stress Bailout promotion to attract travelers looking “to escape the nonstop coverage of the economy,” according to a press release.

And under the usual New Agey marketing jargon that flashes across the sleek home page of Canyon Ranch, the destination spa company that was luring guests for body poundings and weight-loss regimens before the modern spa proliferation was a gleam in marketers’ eyes, there is a new message straight from its founders, Enid and Mel Zuckerman. “Has there ever been a time when you could have used an escape to Canyon Ranch more?” it reads, under the caption “The Vacation You Need” and a proverb about health, hope and happiness.

“No?” the pitch continues. “Then book your healthy, revitalizing getaway today and let us help you re-establish your balance. In times like these, nothing — nothing at all — is more important than taking care of yourself and on focusing on what really matters: Health, hope, love and a tranquil mind.”

During past economic downturns, Mr. Zuckerman said in an interview, business had been “very strong, because people need to get away to deal with stress, deal with fear, go to behaviorists, do life management, protect their health.” So far, Canyon Ranch’s revenues are “holding up very nicely” this time, too, he said, despite a dip in occupancy of about 10 percent in Tucson and Lenox in 2008. And the company opened a new luxury spa in Miami in December, just when the recession was proving itself entrenched.

Of course, a little financial incentive also helps. To battle the uncertain economy’s dampening effect on leisure spending, spas are marrying their new emphasis on stress relief with a flood of discounts and deals.

Rancho La Puerta, just over the California border in Tecate, Mexico, explains its decision to keep prices at 2008 levels — starting at $2,795 a person for seven nights, double occupancy — this way on its Web site: “We feel that in these tumultuous times a destination spa vacation is more important than ever.” It has also been running Bring a Friend weeks that allow a guest staying Feb. 21 to 28, for example, to double up and share $1,500 to $2,200 in savings.

Miraval’s Authentic Remedy package, which starts at $399 a person a night — more than 40 percent off regular rates — includes extras like organic wine tastings and cooking classes. Mii amo, at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Ariz., is holding rates at 2008 levels and offering a $740 discount on its seven-night themed journeys in February.

Not to be outdone, the Golden Door in Escondido, Calif., has rolled back weekly rates to 2007 levels of $7,750 a person through May 24, down from $8,275 originally planned for this year, and is offering special rates like $6,000 a person for Presidents’ Day week or a $500 saving if you bring a friend.

Even Canyon Ranch, which has never lowered its published rates — “I could never compromise our standards or cut our programs because we no longer could be who we are,” Mr. Zuckerman said — is tinkering with pricing.

Canyon Ranch in Tucson is offering credits of up to $350 for stays of at least four nights (which start at $3,770 a person, based on double occupancy) to out-of-towners, to help offset airfares. Its sister property in Lenox, Mass., has a fifth-night-free deal through April — in effect a discount of as much as $1,000 depending on accommodations and time of week — and is also offering 15 percent in savings when two guests who have never stayed at a Canyon Ranch resort share accommodations.

Last year, in New York, Ian Schrager, the trendsetting hotelier who is designing a new spa brand for Marriott, suggested another way spas could improve business — add spaces where spagoers can hang out.

“These are places where people can meet and socialize before or after spa treatments,” he said in a keynote address. “People feel good when they come out of the spa and spas can take advantage of that.”

Spa owners have no more insight than anyone else into how long tough economic times will last. “I have no idea whether we got another year or two or three years ahead of us,” Mr. Zuckerman said. But in the last few weeks, Canyon Ranch bookings have been picking up ever so slightly, he said, which he takes as “the message that people still want and need what we have to offer.”

For the nail-biting stress victim who still has enough money left to relax at a spa at all, this may not be entirely the worst of times.

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