Give Yourself the Gift of Healing: Why Christmas Is the Best Time for Acupuncture?

With the countdown for Christmas slowly ticking down to single digits, the time to enjoy with your friends and family is fast approaching. However, another thing synonymous with the holiday season is the toll it takes on your body. With stress, fatigue, digestive discomfort and anxiety being common health challenges, acupuncture during the Christmas time can be the gift that keeps giving.

Acupuncture is well-known to have numerous healing benefits not only for pain management and stress relief, but acupuncture self care is also incredibly helpful in improving your sleep and digestive health. With plenty more benefits for your health and well-being, booking an acupuncture session this Christmas is a no-brainer. However, if you are still on the fence about booking a session, we’ll cover all the reasons why you should. Read on to know more.

Why Holidays Can Worsen Stress?

It may seem strange to include both holidays and stress in the same sentence; however, the facts are what the facts are. According to a 2016 Harvard Medical Study, the pressure of keeping track of and paying attention to an increased number of responsibilities than usual can put the prefrontal cortex under more stress than normal.

Increased exposure to this can halt the production of new brain cells while your old brain cells begin to die. Due to this, symptoms such as digestive disturbances, anxiety, headaches, sleep irregularity and hormonal imbalances can occur. In times like these, a holiday stress-relief acupuncture session can be a great helping hand.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that uses thin needles to relieve stress and support overall health. These needles are inserted into specific points in the body to help improve overall health by balancing the flow of vital energy (Qi).

In the Western medicine culture, it is well-known to stimulate nerves, muscles and tissues to facilitate the release of natural painkillers and improve circulation. While acupuncture by itself is considered very helpful, combining it with other therapies such as cupping, gua sha, and massage can lead to even better results.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

From the outside, many might think that the acupuncture session is very painful, but in reality, acupuncture for pain relief is actually almost pain-free. Here is the complete process that is followed during the session.

• Initial Assessment: During this step, a practitioner will gather all the relevant information about the medical history and symptoms. This step of the process would include collecting all the information and medical history to gauge the problem areas properly and creating a tailored treatment plan to address them.

• Creating a Treatment Plan: Once the practitioner has all the necessary information, they will begin creating a treatment plan. They will determine the meridians involved, which acupuncture points to use, and how often the treatment should be performed.

• Needle Insertion: After the treatment plan has been created for your acupuncture during Christmas, the next step would be to begin the treatment. At this stage, the practitioner will insert thin single-use needles into the acupuncture points. During the insertion, you may feel slight tingling or warmth, which is a sign of the point being activated.

• Needle Retention: During this stage of the process, the needles remain in the body for about 15-30 minutes while you lie still and relax. While typically the needles are not moved before removal, some practitioners may gently twist them or apply heat to the area.

• Needle Removal: The final step in your natural healing holiday is to remove the acupuncture needles. These needles are removed without causing any pain. However, there may be some soreness and temporary redness.

What Are Some of the Holiday Time Health Concerns That Acupuncture Can Help With?

Holiday stress relief with acupuncture is considered one of the, if not the best, ways to ensure relaxation during stressful times. However, if you are not aware of some common health concerns aggravated by the Christmas season that can be reduced with acupuncture, you may not even give it a try. Here are some holiday-time health concerns that acupuncture can help with;

• Stress & Anxiety: Acupuncture is well-known for regulating hormones such as cortisol and boosting endorphins and serotonin. Through this, the body’s fight-or-flight response is reduced, which, in turn, reduces stress.

• Hormonal Imbalance: Being under constant stress, especially during the holidays, can have dire consequences for your hormonal health. However, with acupuncture during Christmas being a big help in maintaining cortisol levels, it helps a lot in ensuring your hormonal health.

• Digestive Disturbance: During the Christmas season, everyone is too busy to pay attention to their gut health. However, acupuncture for digestion is a big help in preventing digestive distress from heavy holiday meals.

• Improving your Sleep: Acupuncture relaxes your body and calms your mind down. Since sleep is always better when you are in a relaxed state of mind, acupuncture for sleep quality is essential during the stressful holiday times.

Is Christmas a Good Time to Start Acupuncture?

While it seems like holidays are not the right time to start a new treatment, experts argue that, given the increased stress levels, the time to start is now. During increasingly stressful times, an acupuncture session can calm your mind and relax your body in the long run.

Moreover, acupuncture sessions can be a great gift idea. Rather than a materialistic gift that is seldom used, you can book a massage and gift your loved one something that has actual health benefits.

Closing Out

During Christmas, when stress is at its peak, any little help that calms your mind and relaxes your body is a big help. And with acupuncture during Christmas, you can ensure you are ready to handle the stress and have a good time during the holidays.

If you are looking for a reliable and trusted acupuncture service in New York, check out Bonafide Acupuncture & Herbs. Check out their website and enjoy savings on packages.