Can myofascial release improve mental health and sleep quality?

For a long time, mental health has been shoved into the shadows. It was stigmatised, misunderstood, or flat-out ignored. People were told to “man up,” “get over it,” or just push through. The systems meant to help were either broken beyond recognition or didn’t exist at all. Nobody really talked about things like depression, generalised anxiety disorder, or complex PTSD. I didn’t either, until I had no choice. After getting injured while on deployment in the army, I was diagnosed with all three. Let me tell you, when your brain turns on you and there’s no support, it gets scary, fast. Everything closes in. It’s isolating as hell.

Lately, though, things are slowly changing. Mental health is getting the attention it’s always deserved. People are speaking up, from celebrities and athletes to your neighbour and colleague from work, and it’s making a difference. Every story shared chips away at the shame. We’re seeing governments and organisations finally start putting money into services. Sure, it’s not perfect yet, but it’s a start.

And then there’s a fascinating rise in breath work, cold plunges, and other wellness stuff. These tools aren’t miracle cures, and they’re definitely not a replacement for proper therapy or meds. But they can help. They give the nervous system a break. They offer little pockets of calm in the chaos. Especially for people carrying trauma (which, I'd wager, is many more of us than we'd like to admit), that sense of control, even briefly, can mean everything.

But is it possible that myofascial release techniques like foam rolling could also help? Myofascial release (MFR) is a method of manual therapy that supposedly zeroes in on the fascia, the stretchy web of connective tissue wrapped around your muscles. I wrote "supposedly" with emphasis because any kind of externally applied pressure to the body will affect all structures, from the top layer of skin down to bone. There is not, nor has there ever been, any therapeutic technique, exercise, or intervention that can target solely one structure to the exclusion of all others. So don't believe the Fascia Folk when they tell you that what they're selling affects only the fascia!

Anyway, the goal of MFR is to loosen things up, ease tension, and help you move better. Practitioners use slow, steady pressure on tight spots, encouraging the tissue to soften and regain its natural flexibility. It’s less about brute force and more about patience, intention, and knowing where to press. Research shows MFR can help with persistent pain (back or neck pain particularly) and improve how your body functions. It can boost your range of motion and lower muscle overactivity in sore spots (which makes a big difference in pain levels), especially when you pair it with a regular exercise routine.

Despite the name, MFR doesn’t actually "release" knots or tear through fascia like some kind of internal jackhammer, like many people suggest. That’s just not how it works. What we do know, thanks to some pretty solid research, is that it’s way more about the nervous system than the tissue itself [1]. When you apply manual pressure with MFR tools like foam rollers and massage balls, you’re not physically changing much. What you are doing is poking at the sensory receptors living in the fascia, which then fire off messages to the brain.

The brain, being the amazing command centre it is, takes that input and starts shifting how it perceives pain and how it controls muscle tone. That warm, fuzzy, “ahhh” feeling people describe like the tension is just melting away is probably because the brain’s easing up on the tight muscles, not because anything’s structurally changed down there.

Imaging studies and biomechanical tests back this up. They show that the fascia doesn’t really change in length or structure after "release" work, at least not in any permanent or meaningful way [2]. But that doesn’t make it useless. Far from it. The brain interprets the pressure and stretch as a signal that things are safe, and when that happens, it dials down the protective tension. The "release," then, is the brain letting go of tension. MFR is less about physically fixing tissue and more about sending the brain the right kind of message. It works because it calms your system down, not because it’s manually pulling knots apart. The real power lies in perception and brain-driven change, not brute force.

So, let’s talk about the mental health angle here, because yes, there absolutely is one, and it seems legit. A freshly published study just dug through ten recent scientific papers (from 2021 to 2024) to figure out how MFR plays into mental health and sleep [3]. Spoiler: it helps. The author found that MFR can ease anxiety and depression, especially in people dealing with physical challenges like PMS, chronic pain, and postpartum issues. That’s a big deal.

When it comes to sleep, people who use MFR tend to sleep better, and that probably has something to do with the drop in pain and emotional stress. The conditions and that showed the most improvement included PMS (less pain, better rest), chronic pain like back issues and fibromyalgia (lower anxiety, better sleep), postpartum women (less pain, brighter mood), and other tough stuff like pelvic pain and dyspareunia (hello, better quality of life).

Although the effects of MFR are mostly modulated by the nervous system, and it certainly doesn't break up or release "muscle knots," this paper tells us about some remarkable chemical interactions happening under the surface. Let’s start with mast cells, which are fascinating immune sentinels hanging out in tissues all over the body, especially near blood vessels and nerves (basically, places where they can respond fast when trouble hits). They're like your body's overzealous security guards, always ready to jump into action. These cells are packed with granules loaded with powerful substances like histamine and heparin.

When an allergen or pathogen shows up and pushes the right buttons, mast cells go into full alert. They release their chemical stash, which sets off inflammation, sends up flares to summon other immune cells, and gets the body's defence system rolling. It’s a cool mechanism when it works right, but in allergic conditions, that response can spiral out of control and actually cause more harm than good.

Mast cells help with wound healing, protect against parasites, and keep the immune system on its toes. They start life in the bone marrow and finish maturing out in the tissues, shaped by whatever’s going on in their local environment and the immune signals they pick up. MFR seems to calm these cells down, which means fewer pro-inflammatory cytokines flying around your body. That’s important, because high levels of cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-alpha are linked to anxiety and depression. When MFR lowers those levels, your HPA axis chills out too, so you produce less cortisol. Less cortisol equals less stress and better sleep, which is a pretty great trade-off.

There’s also the vagus nerve to consider. MFR gives your vagal tone a solid boost, which means more acetylcholine gets released. That’s the neurotransmitter that tells your body to relax and lift your mood a bit. On top of that, MFR might activate endocannabinoid receptors in your fascia, which can reduce pain and anxiety, offering a powerful combo for people dealing with chronic stress or discomfort.

Fascia is packed with oestrogen and relaxin receptors, especially in fibroblasts. So, when hormones fluctuate, like during the menstrual cycle or perimenopause, fascia changes. That affects stiffness, pain sensitivity, and even how your body performs. For athletes or anyone with naturally flexible fascia, that’s a big deal. And without the stabilising effect of pre-menopausal hormone levels, people in perimenopause or menopause might be more at risk for conditions like fibromyalgia. All of this points to something pretty compelling: MFR is a sound therapeutic option with the potential to regulate your nervous system, reduce inflammation, and support your mental well-being and sleep, all through mechanisms your body already knows how to use.

Like with any kind of research, we’ve got to talk about where it falls short. Even though some of the findings around MFR are genuinely exciting, the current research has some issues that we can’t ignore. For starters, the study designs are all over the place. A lot of them skip the kind of solid, controlled methodology (like randomised-controlled trials) that we really need to trust the results. And then there’s the lack of consistency in how the techniques are actually done. That being said, however, different people use different methods, for different amounts of time, and that makes it tough to compare anything or say what really works. Honestly, I think it's hard to push for standardised protocols when it's obvious that people react to physical treatment in completely individual ways. We've never nailed down a single approach that works for everyone in any kind of training or rehab. So why would MFR be the exception? On top of that, dosage guidelines are kind of a mess. Some studies report treatment frequency and duration, others don’t (or they do it differently) so there's a lot of guesswork involved. It’s confusing and frustrating, and it makes moving forward more complicated than it needs to be.

I think an important part of  the success of any therapeutic intervention is making people aware of what MFR can do for them, because when they understand that, they’re more likely to stick with it and see it through. That kind of buy-in matters. But each treatment plan needs to be tailored to the person: who they are, what they’re dealing with, and what they need. For example, someone with a very low pain threshold won't do too well with a very hard plastic massage ball, but will cope much better using a soft, spongey roller that spreads the pressure across a greater surface area of the tissue. If we combine MFR psychosocial support and relaxation techniques, there's a chance we can start making a tangible difference to the mental health of so many people.

Has MFR, stretching, or some other intervention helped your sleep and/or mental health? Let me and other readers know by leaving a comment down below, or reach out to me by email at dan(at)flexibilityresearch(dot)com.

Yours in flexibility,

Dan

References

[1] Behm, D. & Wilke, J. (2019) 'Do self-myofascial release devices release myofascia? Rolling mechanisms: A narrative review.' Sports Medicine, 49, pp. 1173-1181.

[2] Schroeder, A., Best, T., & Best, T. (2015) 'Is self myofascial release an effective preexercise and recovery strategy? A literature review.' Current Sports Medicine Reports, 14(3), pp. 200-208.

[3] Takefuji, Y. (2025) 'Exploring the impact of myofascial release on mental health and sleep quality.' Sleep and Vigilance. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41782-025-00301-1