Many people don’t see anxiety as a big problem, as it is a natural facet of life. However, many health concerns come from the devastation of stress. A lot of the world’s biggest health concerns come from the severe effects of continuing stress on the body. Heart problems, obesity, headaches, sleep disorders, nervousness disorders, depression, and digestion issues have been directly connected to stress. We all want to lead a healthy and happy life, but sadly for many, stress creates myriad of health conditions that lead to a less-than-optimal situation in their own lives.
People cope with stress in various ways. A number of these ways may be just as (or more) damaging than the strain. If you are abusing drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, or food to relieve stress, then you are definitely on the path of body destruction. If you’re coping with stress or nervousness in a manner that’s either ineffectual or actually harmful, you should consider acupuncture and its associated treatments. Until recently, there was a lack of biological evidence proving how acupuncture affects the body and relieves stress. A brand-new study on anxiety and acupuncture is giving new insights to the biological procedures that occur.
According to study researcher Dr. Ladan Eshkevari, who’s an associate professor of nursing at Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, this new research investigates the biological mechanisms associated with acupuncture’s anxiety-relieving properties, and helps us understand what is going on at a molecular level (which could help explain acupuncture’s benefits). The researchers found that anxiety hormones were lower in rats who had received electronic acupuncture. Their results were published in the Journal of Endocrinology.
The human body secretes a cocktail of hormones to the blood stream in response to stress, whether negative or positive. The researchers were able to measure the same hormones in rats under stress. They checked bodily hormone levels secreted by the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal gland, and also measured a peptide associated with the fight-or-flight response. The researchers found that the acupuncture the rats received blocked the chronic, anxiety-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY path.
Now we can see there’s a biological foundation for the favorable results people have been undergoing for centuries. Acupuncture and its related therapies are a definite positive for anybody who’s dealing with chronic stress or nervousness, or the health problems related to stress or anxiety. Consider getting a few treatments to experience the advantages of acupuncture first-hand…book today with Trudi or Carleen, both registered acupuncturists at Muscle Elements Health & Wellness.