does acupuncture help stress & anxiety?

As well as reducing existing stress levels acupuncture may also have a protective effect.  Studies have shown reduced stress hormone response with acupuncture (Eshkevari et al. 2012; Eshkevari et al. 2013) with continued protection 4 days after treatment despite ongoing stress (Eshkevari et al. 2015). Protection against stress-related addiction has also been demonstrated (Yoon et al. 2012) and it is thought that acupuncture may work by blocking the stress response (Roh et al. 2018). Not all studies demonstrate benefit from acupuncture but some of the positive results are listed here.

Acupuncture and auricular acupuncture may be effective for…

acupuncture for work related stress, compassion fatigue & more…

Studies suggest that acupuncture may improve performance by reducing burnout, emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue as well as improving sleep and anxiety.  Auricular (ear) acupuncture can be performed in any private workspace without requiring a treatment table.

  • 5 auricular acupuncture sessions resulted in significantly reduced anxiety and improved work engagement and dedication (Buchanan et al. 2018)

  • healthcare workers receiving 5 auricular acupuncture treatments reported reduced stress, anxiety, burnout, and compassion fatigue, and improved courage and patience (Reilly et al. 2014)

  • stressed university students and staff received 12 weeks acupuncture resulting in significantly reduced stress with effects lasting at least 3 months after treatment finished  (Schroeder et al. 2017)

  • medical students receiving acupuncture for work related stress reported improved sleep, and reduced emotional exhaustion and cynicism and depressive symptoms (Dias et al. 2012) (Dias et al. 2014)

acupuncture for fertility stress & anxiety

  • women receiving 3 treatments of acupuncture during IVF had reduced anxiety following embryo transfer (Smith et al. 2019)

  • 6 acupuncture treatments reduced fertility related stress and anxiety (Smith et al. 2011)

  • 4 sessions of acupuncture reduced anxiety scores in women undergoing IVF (Isoyama et al. 2012)

  • improvement in depression and anxiety scores in women with PCOS treated with acupuncture (Stener-Victorin et al. 2013)

  • reduced stress levels with acupuncture treatment during IVF has been linked to improved pregnancy rates (Balk et al. 2010)

During pregnancy acupuncture may offer a way of relaxing and reducing stress and anxiety at a time when you would prefer to avoid taking medication.