Acupuncture, Stress and Heart Rate Variability
You might have heard me or other people say how acupuncture can help you manage stress. People often ask, “how does it work?” or “how does it do that?” I often tell my patients that it helps to calm the nervous system down but one of the measurable ways we can see that it does that is increasing your heart rate variability (HRV).
According to Wesley Healthcare, “heart rate variability (HRV) measures the variation in time between heartbeats.” Many fitness tracking watches and devices offer this reading on its list of functions so that wearers can use it as an indicator of how well your body deals with stress and your ability to relax. A higher HVR is considered better as it shows your body’s ability to balance going back and forth from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’.
A 2013 study looked at the use of earseeds (acupressure ear beads) and heart rate variability on those who experience insomnia. It was found that heart rate decreased significantly during and after acupressure on the ear shenmen point, known for its ability to calm the nervous system. Additionally, HRV showed increase during stimulation. (Wang, et. al) Earseeds are great because they can be easily administered, self-administered, non-invasive and can be worn for a few days at a time.
Another study looked at the use of acupuncture and moxibustion at acupuncture point zusanli (ST36) and (ren12) which showed a decrease in heart rate which was also sustained post-treatment. The study suggests that acupuncture can be useful for stress management and overall health maintenance. (Li et. al, 2025)
There is a lot happening in the world at large today and it is very distressing, not to mention the things we all deal with individually on a day to day basis with work, family, relationships. While acupuncture cannot stop those things from happening, it can help your body and immune system become more resilient to the many stressors we come up against.
You might also be interested in reading: Acupuncture and the Vagus Nerve, Acupuncture Improves Sleep, Menopause and Chinese Medicine
Li, L., Liang, S., Bai, J., Zeng, Y., Zhang, M., Li, Z., Yan, D., Hu, Y., He, L., Liu, Y., Liu, Q., Zhang, Y., & Feng, M. (2025). Regulation of autonomic nervous system by acupuncture: A heart rate variability study on physical stress. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 19, Article 1676863
Wang, L., Cheng, W., Sun, Z., Xu, Y., Cheng, G., Gaischek, I., Kuang, H., & Litscher, G. (2013). Ear acupressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability in patients with insomnia. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, Article ID 763631
Wesley Medical Center. (2025, April 7). What does heart rate variability tell us about stress? Healthy Living Blog.