University Students Achieve Better With Chair Massage

University campuses have long sought ways to make their students better absorb the information presented to them in their classes. They have tried everything, from creating student lounges and quiet areas, to giving them fun parties to help them de-stress and forget their worries. Universities know that pressure is not conducive to learning in most cases, but the reality is that exams must be administered to evaluate knowledge. Thus a balance has been sought between helping students to learn and helping them to relax so that the learning can sink in.

This is where chair massage can help. At many universities around the country, a policy has been adopted. Offer the students chair massage in a central location. Some universities have tried this with great success, while others have been unable to afford to pay for this service for their students. A new idea has burgeoned in the industry: offer chair massage to students at their own expense, on campus. This is a perfect match for those universities who have a smaller student body but want to offer them something special.

Having chair massage in a campus lounge would actually be the perfect setting. The students are used to being quiet in that space, having the lights dimmed for napping or relaxing reading, and it is usually visited often enough that most students would know that chair massage was available to them. Most campuses will make an announcement on their website, allowing students to register and pay for their own massages with the massage company directly. This makes it easy for students to learn about and schedule massage sessions on the day that they are available. Email blasts often accompany such an event, since the university will want as many students as possible to take advantage of this opportunity for rest and relaxation.

What would be the best time to offer this type of service, you might ask? Some colleges offer it during finals week, or the week before. Perhaps midterms are more crucial at your school, so you can offer it then. At other colleges, the program is so popular that the school will offer it every month for their students.

If you expect that your student body would be receptive to this idea, the every month program is highly recommended. This way, every student that wants to have a chair massage is sure to be able to get one at least once in the semester. And since the school is simply providing the space, there is no difficulty in hosting this type of event every month. It would be occurring in a room the students use anyway, and little is required of the faculty aside from showing the massage therapists where they will be setting up. Everything else will be taken care of, including collecting the consent forms prior to each person’s session.

If you are the coordinator for student life at your campus, and looking for new and innovative ways to help your students feel that they made the right choice in coming to your college, this might be just what your school needs. The students feel appreciated and, more importantly, relaxed and better able to learn and retain what they have learned. (A successful chair massage event was held recently at Rutgers University - check out our blog by clicking here) Studies have shown that after chair massage, math and computation learning and retention is improved. This also undoubtedly applies to other subjects. This may well be just the worthwhile activity your school needs to bring everyone’s averages up and improve your school’s standing in the university community.