Acupuncture and the Autonomic Nervous System
Stress for the modern human is much more pervasive than what our ancestors experienced thousands of years ago. It can be working in a job we feel unaligned with, constant exposure to distressing events, isolation from our community, interpersonal trauma and living in a capitalist society that devalues human life and the environment.
Acupuncture is one tool that can give the body cues of safety by regulating the autonomic nervous system. This system includes our sympathetic nervous system, or “fight or flight” response and our parasympathetic nervous system, or “rest and digest” response.
Our sympathetic nervous system is activated when there is a perceived threat. It stimulates functions that help us avoid danger, such as increasing heart rate, releasing stress hormones, and shunting blood away from our digestive and reproductive organs to our muscles for a swift exit. During an acupuncture treatment, sympathetic response decreases as parasympathetic function takes over. The parasympathetic nervous system promotes feelings of relaxation, restful sleep, proper digestion, hormone regulation and immune health.
Nervous System Dysregulation
While small amounts of stress can be beneficial, repeated sympathetic activation can lead to a chronically dysregulated nervous system. This keeps the body in a state of fight or flight, making parasympathetic function inefficient and homeostasis difficult. Oftentimes long term nervous system dysregulation can lead to other health problems and many symptoms can overlap with other conditions. Acupuncturists are trained in identifying when additional healthcare resources are needed.
Possible signs of nervous system dysregulation include: insomnia, bloating, irregular BMs, painful/irregular menses, frequent colds, fatigue, mood swings, anxiety, poor memory, constant tension, high/low appetite, low libido.
What does the research say?
Research shows that acupuncture can lower cortisol levels (a stress hormone), reduce elevated heart rate, increase endorphins and regulate serotonin.
Several systematic reviews (the gold standard in research) in the past decade support the use of acupuncture for reducing generalized anxiety and panic attacks. For example, a 2016 systematic review of acupuncture and anxiety “…showed positive and statistically significant effects from using acupuncture for treating subjects with anxiety."
Another, more recent systematic review from 2018 took a look at an even larger group of studies, several of which compared acupuncture to pharmaceutical treatment. They concluded that, “Overall, there is good scientific evidence encouraging acupuncture therapy to treat anxiety disorders as it yields effective outcomes, with fewer side effects than conventional treatment."
How many treatments?
Acupuncture is cumulative. This means that after each treatment, the goal is for you to feel a little bit better, for a little longer, until you get to a place where symptoms have resolved or feel more manageable.
A lot of people feel relaxed and less anxious after one acupuncture treatment. To make that feeling last, however, multiple treatments are needed.
It always depends on the person, because everyone is different. Generally the recommendation is once a week for 6-8 treatments. Then we'll try two weeks between treatments. Acupuncture is incredibly helpful at preventing anxiety flare ups once we've got it under control, so once a month maintenance visits are highly recommended at that point!
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With care,
Kecia Fox, MSOM, LAc
Ready to try acupuncture for nervous system support?