Cultivating Good Health

This is the first in a series of 3 or 4 newsletters with the theme of cultivating good health.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has a concept called Zheng Qi, loosely translated as Upright Qi.  It is the vibrant energy coming from those who live a healthy life. Health is often a lifestyle choice — little “right” decisions that incrementally build health.

Upright Qi is cultivated.  But how?  The first step is getting adequate restful sleep.  Past generations used to average 9 hours of sleep nightly.  Nowadays, people often tell me that they only sleep 6-7 hours nightly.  Predictably, they do not awaken refreshed.

Here are just a few benefits of good sleep:

• It improves and consolidates memory.  It is very important to sleep well before a school exam!
• Sleep also guides our decisions, allowing us to tap into our intuition.
• Sleep regulates ghrelin and leptin, the hormones responsible for the feeling of hunger and satiety.  Lack of sleep upsets these hormones leading to weight gain.
• During sleep, fluids in the brain wash away dangerous waste materials, such as amyloid beta.  Amyloid beta is a protein produced in the brain that is implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease, a dreaded form of dementia.

For more, go to:  https://www.naturalizerhealth.com/insomnia/

How Acupuncture Helps:

According to TCM theory, insomnia is a sign of an imbalance of Qi, the active energy of life. This imbalance can stem from a number of causes such as stress, anxiety, medications, depression, and chronic pain.

• Health equates to energetic equilibrium.  Acupuncture restores the normal flow of energy to restore balance.
• It works by addressing the body as a whole.
• Acupuncture reduces stress, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, depression and pain.
• Acupuncture is drug-free.