The power of a good nervous system "reset"

I often tell people that one of the "side effects" of acupuncture is stress relief. It had been a while since I had experienced this first hand, so it was wonderful to be reminded of how powerful this effect really is, when I received a treatment recently. I knew that my nervous system needed a good "reset" and only afterwards did I realized how much stress I had been holding in my body. 

Many of us lead over-scheduled, fast-paced, and deadline-driven lives, and just because it's summer, this pace doesn't necessarily slow down. In general, our bodies have very little time to rest and recover from stress, but receiving acupuncture gives the nervous system a break and acts like a "reset" button.

Even if you are otherwise healthy, receiving acupuncture is a great way to protect against the impact of stress, because it helps the body switch from sympathetic (fight-flight) dominance into parasympathetic (rest-digest) dominance. And that's why you always feel more relaxed - and sometimes even a little euphoric - after a treatment.

Protecting against stress

The other way that acupuncture can help during stressful times, is that it can lower cortisol levels.Cortisol is a hormone which is released in response to stress. There is a growing body of research that shows the detrimental impact of elevated cortisol levels over prolonged periods of time. Acupuncture lessens the impact of cortisol on our bodies and will protect our health in the long run. 

For many of us, self-care is the first thing that we sacrifice during stressful times but actually this is the time we need more support than ever.When using acupuncture to manage stress, you might consider getting treated more frequently during stressful times.A good interval would be to come in every 1-2 weeks until things settle down.This way the nervous system gets a break, cortisol levels can be lowered, and tension doesn't build up over long periods of time. 

Once stress levels come down, treatment frequency can go down, too. During those times, scheduling a treatment once every 4-6 weeks can be sufficient for a routine "reset" for the nervous system, and prevent stress building up in our bodies for too long.