Looking for a way to have a healthier, more focussed and happier teen in your life?  While the majority of those seeking acupuncture tend to be adults, the benefits to young adults of this modality are many.  As acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine continues to grow in popularity, with access increasing and more insurance offering coverage, I talk regularly with my patients about encouraging the teenagers in their lives to incorporate this practice into the wellness routines.

Here are but a handful of reasons why:

General Awareness of One's Body

This is a very important reason why every teen and young adult should experience acupuncture. It is never too early or late to get to know your body and understand the signals your body is giving you. Acupuncture can help bring you into your body to give you a better understanding of how you are handling certain situations, how food affects your mood and overall health and what helps you feel most optimal.  

Healthy Digestion

This is huge! This is usually the top complaint from my young adults.

The brain and the gut are like "BFF’s". If you are depressed and lethargic, your gut can be too, creating symptoms of constipation, bloating or indigestion. If you are riddled with anxiety, your gut will feel the same often creating unease in the gut and giving symptoms of stomach aches and diarrhea.

In essence, if the gut is not healthy, then it creates a cascade of events, like dominoes, and it can lead to other health issues now or later in life. Acupuncture can be extremely effective in restoring balance back to the digestive system, alleviating symptoms, allowing for better absorption of nutrients.

For thousands of years the Chinese have known that gut health is vitally important for a functioning brain, optimizing energy and for healthy hormone and immune response.  

Boosts Immunity

Acupuncture can boost immunity and modulate the immune system. It can play an important role in children with asthma and allergies and can be used in the prevention of colds, flus and other common childhood illnesses. Acupuncture not only help prevent illnesses, but it’s also effective in shortening the duration of time children are symptomatic.  

Balancing Hormones and Mood

During adolescence, sex hormones are shifting greatly. During this time, teens can experience a multitude of symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, depression and a lower tolerance to handle stress. Acupuncture is an effective and safe way to help manage and alleviate these symptoms. It is also a great way to help young girls have healthier and less painful menstrual cycles.  

The Benefits to Sleep are Many

While we sleep our body goes into recovery mode, physical and cognitive restoration. Sleep is crucial for everyone but especially imperative that our children are sleeping well. During sound sleep, neurodevelopment is happening. Teens need about 8-10 hours of sleep to function optimally. Disturbed sleep or lack of sleep is linked to insufficient learning, lack of concentration and ultimately leads to poor outcomes academically. It can also be linked to poor choices and behavioral issues.  

Don't Forget Acne and Skin Needs

Unfortunately, acne is commonly synonymous with the word “teen.”  By restoring proper hormone balance, improving sleep quality and improves digestion through acupuncture treatments, we find that we are able to help reduce breakouts. There are also Chinese herbs that we can use to help combat acne.  

Pain Relief

Pain is the number one reason adults first seek out acupuncture. However, it’s not often thought of when it comes to our children, and it should be! With the increasing incidence of opioids being prescribed for pain and the addiction that can result, it is necessary to teach our youth their are healthier options for pain management.

Acupuncture can be an ideal way to handle musculoskeletal pains, sports injuries, juvenile arthritis, headaches, sinus pressure painful periods and growing pains.

Care Consideration: Just a reminder that the above information is not a substitute for medical care and is not a substitute for medical advice or recommendations  from a healthcare provider.  This information is not intended to treat, mitigate or cure any disease.  That said, we encourage you to connect with an Acupuncturist in your community to learn more about this and other Traditional Chinese Medicine options.  If you’ve got questions about Chinese herbal medicine or getting started with an Acupuncturist, feel free to connect with us on hello@mydaolabs.com. 

Harmony Brown, AP, L.Ac, CFMP is an Acupuncture Physician, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Meditation Instructor, and Wellness Coach. She is the owner of Boynton Beach, FL-based Reclaim Wellness, where she integrated holistic and functional medicine with her intuitive understanding of the physical body and emotional health, the root of who we are, and their connection to health and healing.