Doctorate-Trained · Licensed Acupuncturist
Stress & Sleep Support
Acupuncture for anxiety, insomnia & burnout in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Stress & Sleep Support
01
Anxiety
Anxiety has one of acupuncture's more substantial evidence bases in mental health. Treatment works by calming the nervous system's threat response, and several large analyses have found meaningful symptom reduction for generalized anxiety specifically, with a strong safety profile.
Stress Relief
02
Everyday stress shows up in the body before it registers consciously — tight shoulders, shallow breath, a racing mind at 2am. Acupuncture interrupts that pattern by activating the parasympathetic nervous system directly, which is part of why people often feel immediately calmer during a session, not just after a course of treatment.
Burnout Recovery
03
Burnout is a slower, deeper depletion than ordinary stress — emotional exhaustion layered with a sense of running on empty. A randomized trial of health care workers found auricular acupuncture measurably reduced burnout and secondary traumatic stress, which matters because burnout research in general is still a young field. Treatment focuses on rebuilding the nervous system's baseline capacity to recover, not just easing symptoms in the moment.
Insomnia
04
Sleep is one of acupuncture's best-researched applications. Multiple meta-analyses show consistent improvement in sleep quality, total sleep time, and time to fall asleep — and some research has found measurable shifts in melatonin and cortisol alongside the subjective improvement, suggesting the effect isn't just placebo.
Nervous System Regulation
05
Heart rate variability — a direct marker of how well the nervous system shifts between stress and recovery — has been shown to improve with acupuncture across multiple trials. This is the clearest physiological explanation for why acupuncture affects mood and stress the way it does: it's working on the actual regulatory system, not just the symptoms sitting on top of it.
Chronic Stress
06
When stress becomes the baseline rather than the exception, the body's stress-response system stops resetting properly. Acupuncture has been shown to influence this system directly — supporting healthier heart rate variability and helping the nervous system's stress hormones return to a more normal rhythm.
Grief & Life Transitions
07
Grief and major life transitions aren't clinical diagnoses, and I want to be honest that there isn't a dedicated body of research on acupuncture for grief specifically. What I can say is that grief often produces the same physiological signature as chronic stress and anxiety — disrupted sleep, nervous system dysregulation, a body that won't settle — and that's the territory acupuncture is well-studied for. Treatment here isn't about "fixing" grief; it's about supporting the body through it.
PTSD
08
Trauma can leave the body stuck on high alert. Sleep fractures, the startle response stays sharp, and it is possible to feel wired and worn out at once. Acupuncture works on the nervous system's regulation of stress and fear. In a randomized trial of combat veterans with PTSD, a course of acupuncture reduced symptom severity more than sham needling and improved how the body unlearned a fear response. The research is still developing, so I offer acupuncture alongside trauma therapy or psychiatric care, never in place of it.
Citations
Anxiety
01
Sun, Q., Zheng, S. "Acupuncture for Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials." Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2026;82:479–494. doi:10.1002/jclp.70079.
DOI: 10.1002/jclp.70079
Anxiety (supplementary)
02
"Effectiveness of acupuncture on anxiety disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials." Annals of General Psychiatry. 2021.
PMID: 33516258
Stress Relief
03
"Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture in modulating autonomic nervous function: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." 2025.
PMID: 41230507
Burnout Recovery
04
"Effects of Acupuncture and Acupressure on Burnout in Health Care Workers: A Randomized Trial." Journal of Trauma Nursing. 2021.
PMID: 34766929
Insomnia
05
"The effects of acupuncture versus sham/placebo acupuncture for insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials."
PMID: 33186824
Insomnia (supplementary — endocrine markers)
06
"Sleep and endocrine effects of acupuncture for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." 2026.
PMID: 42023088
Nervous System Regulation
07
"Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture in modulating autonomic nervous function: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." 2025.
PMID: 41230507
Chronic Stress
08
"Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture in modulating autonomic nervous function: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." 2025.
PMID: 41230507
PTSD
09
"Acupuncture for Combat-Related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Psychiatry. 2024.
PMID: 38381417
PTSD (supplementary)
10
"Acupuncture for the Treatment of Adults with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 2018.
PMID: 28151093
"Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Brief Course of Acupuncture for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder." Medical Care. 2014.
PMID: 25397825
Visit
Phone
929-376-9584
Studio Location
141 S 5th Street, Office West, #5
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Hours
Monday - 10 pm - 7 pm
Tuesday - 10 am - 7 pm
Wednesday - 10 am - 7 pm
Thursday - 10 am - 7 pm
Friday - 9:30 am - 5 pm
Saturday - Closed
Sunday 11 am - 4 pm