Does Acupuncture Help with Low Energy and Fatigue?

When you're constantly tired, even the simplest things seem impossible. You may want to exercise, go out with your friends, or play with your kids, but fatigue prevents you from leaving the couch. Acupuncture treatments could help you boost your energy level naturally.

Controlling Fatigue with Acupuncture

Do you constantly feel drained and exhausted? Fatigue and low energy can be related to a busy lifestyle, but may also be caused by:

• Poor Diet
• Stress
• Anxiety and Depression
• Allergies
• Insomnia
• Health Issues
• Pain
• Lack of Exercise
• Dehydration

A Qi imbalance or deficiency could also be the reason you feel tired and lethargic. In traditional Chinese medicine, Qi is an invisible energy that moves through the body in pathways called meridians. Removing Qi blockages, improving deficiencies, and balancing yin and yang (competing forces necessary for good mental and physical health), may help you feel more energized.

Your acupuncturist balances Qi and eliminates blockages by inserting thin needles into your skin at specific areas in a meridian. Depending on your diagnosis, the needles may be removed after a few minutes or remain in place for 20 minutes or longer. Hair-thin needles make acupuncture a comfortable experience, although you may feel a slight ache or tingle when the needles are first inserted.

Common acupuncture sites for energy include the legs, abdomen and feet.

Acupuncture treatments reduce fatigue by:

• Improving Sleep. Overcoming fatigue is impossible if you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. Acupuncture treatments trigger the release of serotonin and endorphins, hormones that help you relax. Improving yin-yang balance with acupuncture resets the body's sleep/wake cycle and may reduce insomnia symptoms. An article published in Sleep Medicine Reviews in 2024 notes that acupuncture offers a safe, effective way to improve sleep quality and duration.
• Keeping Energy Flowing. Balancing Qi with acupuncture ensures a continual flow of energy throughout the body. Thanks to your acupuncture treatments, you'll feel more alert and energetic and may notice improvements in thinking and memory.
• Decreasing Stress. Stress can be a major factor in fatigue. Your body releases large amounts of cortisol and adrenaline during stressful situations. These hormones offer a short-term energy boost, but your energy level plummets once the stressful situation ends. If you're chronically stressed, it's not surprising that you feel exhausted. In a research study published in the Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies in 2017, researchers noted that college students and staff who received 12 weeks of acupuncture treatments were significantly less stressed than study participants who only received sham acupuncture treatments.
• Easing Pain and Discomfort. Sleeping well is difficult if you experience pain or other symptoms due to a disease or condition. Whether you suffer from back pain, headaches, fibromyalgia or other ailments, relieving pain with acupuncture can help you sleep better and feel well-rested. Treatments help regulate your digestive system and could ease heartburn, diarrhea, constipation and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Did your energy problems start after receiving chemotherapy? Acupuncture helps reduce nausea, vomiting and fatigue caused by chemotherapy medications.

In addition to your acupuncture treatments, your acupuncturist may recommend dietary and lifestyle changes that could improve your energy level and reduce fatigue. Herbal medication may be part of your treatment plan. Chinese herbal medications support your acupuncture treatments and can be a powerful tool in managing fatigue.

Ready to finally feel more energetic? Get in touch with our office to schedule an acupuncture appointment.

Sources:

Science Direct: Sleep Medicine Reviews: Acupuncture for Primary Insomnia: Effectiveness, Safety, Mechanism and Recommendations for Clinical Practice, 9/30/2024

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S108707922300148X

PubMed: Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies: The Effectiveness of Acupuncture Therapy on Stress in a Large Urban College Population, 1/2017

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28712475/

Science Direct: Complementary Therapies in Medicine: Traditional Chines Medicine for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials, 8/2014

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965229914001022