Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFMCPPresident at Five Journeys, Functional Medicine & Wellness Provider, Best Selling Author, Passionate Champion for Health

How Deep Pressure Touch Affects Your Brain & Body

5 Sept 2025 · 0 min

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A short conversational explanation of how deep pressure touch (applying weight to the body) produces rapid calming effects via neuroendocrine changes: release of serotonin (which the speaker says converts to melatonin), reduction in cortisol, and improved sleep onset. The content is experiential and framed as both physiological mechanism and user-reported feeling of safety and calm.

Questions this video answers

Release of serotonin (noted to convert into melatonin) and a reduction in cortisol.

Improved sleep onset latency (faster time to fall asleep).

Can you talk about.
What happens from a sympathetic perspective in the body when you put weight on the body?
Yeah. There have been so many studies done on deep pressure touch. What's happening simply, or what we feel, is that there is a release of serotonin, the happy hormone. And serotonin naturally converts into melatonin, which is why you have that improvement in sleep onset latency. And at the same time, there's a reduction in cortisol. So we know that's the stress hormone. And so I can speak for myself. This is a very experiential product. And you put it on and within a matter of moments start to feel something happening. And you start to feel peaceful and calm and safe in a surprising and unexpected way.
Interesting. Okay. And I mean, obviously if you're sleeping better, then your brain's going to work better, you're going to have more energy, you'll be more focused, you'll be more productive, you'll probably have a better workout. And then you start this feed forward cycle for mitochondrial health that you do more, you can do more. And if you can do more, you can do more. So it continues to build on itself, which is fantastic.