Acupuncture for Back to School: Stress reduction and Immune boost

    I can’t believe it but it is that time of year again… School is just around the corner and for some schools it starts this coming week! Where did summer go?! Going back to school can be a stressful transition for kids, parents, and even the teachers! The change from summer to routines, early mornings, and homework can feel chaotic. With this stress, also comes a decrease immune system, leading to all of the dreaded back to school sicknesses! But there are ways to help make the transition smoother for everyone involved! So teachers this post is for you too, not just for the families getting ready for Back to School season!
    As adults we are better equipped than children to handle changes and stress, and often children don't even know that is what they are feeling, but Back to School can even be a challenge for the most equipped!. Below are some too for families and teachers to help their children and themselves through this transitionary period.


    1. Parents and teachers this one is for you: Self Care! Yes that’s right when children see you taking care of yourself to manage your stress they learn better habits to handle their own. This can be done through taking time for yourself either through meditation, exercise, or acupuncture to help manage your stress levels. You can’t give with an empty cup! 
    2. Spend time outside and play: this is great for kids and adults as we start the transition from summer into fall, while it’s still warm enough after school spend time outside. This can be spending 30 minutes to an hour playing games, eating dinner, or just taking a walk as a family outdoors! The vitamin D will help boost the immune system too!
    3. Get enough sleep: With more stress and less sleep our bodies hormones cortisol and adrenaline get elevated and our immune response is decrease. If you have read any of my previous blogs you know that acupuncture is great for regulating hormones and decreasing stress. Adrenaline and Cortisol are part of the bodies “fight and flight” response and when this response is active the “rest and digest” response can’t happen, making it harder to sleep and digest food.
    4. Eat the Rainbow: what this really means is making sure you and your family are eating a balanced diet. This may be hard to do with homework and after school activities, but it is also best to eat at a time when you can actually sit and eat without distractions, no TV, phones, grading or doing homework, and not in the car while driving, it makes it easier to digest and our body can better extract the nutrients we need from the food. Regular meals and snacks also help to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. And of course eating more fruits and veggies help boost our immune system and make it easier to handle stress, because a hefty body leads to a health mind!
    5. Acupuncture: you had to know this one was coming;) Acupuncture can help decrease stress by slowing down the bodies stress hormones, and helping the body reach and stay in the “rest and digest” system longer! Also the down time on the table is a perfect way to take a break from the day when you can’t find the time to do it on your own! Acupuncture can also help to boost the immune system, making it easier to fight off those pesky back to school germs.


    Other stress relieving activities for teachers, parents and children: breathing techniques, qi gong or yoga, coloring, guided meditations, taking walks. 


    As a wife of a special education middle school teacher and as an Acupuncturist, I really have a strong passion for the amazing benefits of acupuncture as preventive medicine! It is so much easier to boost your immune system and reduce stress, then it is to fight once you are already sick!


    To get yourself or your kids in for a treatment! Call 720-593-8218 or book online at DenverMindBodyEssence.com!


    Teachers! To thank you for all you do I am offering 20% off your first treatment, just show your school ID! Valid through September 28th!