Acupuncture for a Tired Nervous System

Breaking Free from Overdrive

We may consider stress as something mental or emotional—but in reality, it’s rooted deep in our physiology. It’s embedded in every corner of our body. These corners are our digestion, hormones, immune system, sleep, mood, energy levels, skin, muscles, and more. When we have a tired nervous system or it is out of balance, these other systems tend to follow.

In Western medicine, we often talk about “sympathetic dominance”—being stuck in the “fight or flight” aspect of the nervous system. When this happens, the body prioritises survival. Blood flow is redirected away from digestion and reproduction, muscles tense, the heart rate rises, and the brain becomes hyper-alert. This is a helpful response in short bursts, yet when it becomes chronic (as it commonly does in modern life), it can lead to all kinds of issues: gut imbalances, anxiety, fatigue, pain, inflammation, hormonal changes, and difficulty sleeping or focusing.

In Chinese medicine, we don’t use the same terminology, however we’ve been observing the effects of nervous system dysregulation for thousands of years. What we see today as “sympathetic dominance” can often reflect patterns in different channels in our body. Stagnation, deficiency, fluid blockages… each pattern has its own cluster of symptoms and organ systems affected. We can then feel tense, stuck, overwhelmed, or depleted. Over time, this stagnation can create heat, dryness, or internal cold.

How does Acupuncture help?

Acupuncture works by helping to move this stagnation, calm the nervous system, and stimulate the body’s functions to restore energy. What can this look like in practice? A shift back into parasympathetic mode—the “rest and digest” state—where the body can finally circulate, release, and start its recovery and regenerating processes.

After a treatment, people often notice a sense of calm, digestion waking up, and improved sleep. Over time, acupuncture helps to retrain the body and nervous system to access a more sustained and regulated state.

If your body feels stuck in overdrive, acupuncture can offers a road back to nervous system balance.