Guest Blog with Ilana Green Garsin Acupuncture

Acupuncture for natural support for hormones, sleep, stress and energy

If you’re in your 30s/40s and trying to improve your health, you may be wondering:

“Why doesn’t my body respond the way it used to?”

You’re eating well.
You’re making better choices.
You’re trying to look after yourself.

Yet you still feel tired, inflamed, overwhelmed, or stuck.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining it.

Perimenopause is a time of significant hormonal change, and it can affect far more than just your periods. Many women notice changes in:

• Weight and digestion
• Sleep quality and night sweats
• Energy levels
• Hot flushes
• Mood, anxiety and emotional resilience
• Brain fog and concentration
• Headaches, joint pain and inflammation
• Itchy or sensitive skin

This is where acupuncture can offer gentle, natural support.

Why healthy habits don’t always work in perimenopause

Many women I work with are already doing “all the right things” — eating well, taking supplements, exercising regularly — yet their body doesn’t seem to respond.

That’s because perimenopause often arrives during one of the busiest, most emotionally demanding phases of life.

This stage commonly overlaps with:

• Career pressure
• Raising children or navigating empty nest syndrome
• Supporting ageing parents
• Managing a household and mental load
• Questioning identity, purpose and direction

At the same time as all of this, your hormones are shifting.

When the body is under constant pressure, the nervous system stays in “survival mode”, releasing stress hormones such as cortisol. High cortisol can worsen symptoms like:

• Anxiety and overwhelm
• Poor sleep or insomnia
• Hot flushes and night sweats
• Headaches
• Brain fog and fatigue

When the body is stuck in this stress response, it becomes very difficult to:

• Lose weight
• Sleep deeply
• Reduce inflammation
• Heal properly
• Respond well to food, supplements and exercise

How acupuncture supports perimenopause

Acupuncture works by calming the nervous system and supporting the body’s natural hormonal rhythms.

It helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system — often called the “rest and repair” state. When the body feels calmer and safer, symptoms naturally begin to ease.

By reducing stress hormones like cortisol, acupuncture can support:

• Better, deeper sleep
• Improved digestion
• Fewer hot flushes and night sweats
• Clearer thinking and improved mood
• Reduced pain and inflammation

Acupuncture can be used safely alongside HRT, helping with symptoms that may still be present.

It can also be used as a natural alternative to HRT for women who choose not to take it.

Sleep problems and night sweats

Sleep disturbance is one of the most common — and most exhausting — perimenopause symptoms.

Many women struggle with falling asleep, waking in the early hours, or being drenched in night sweats.

Acupuncture supports better sleep by:

• Calming the mind and nervous system
• Reducing night-time cortisol spikes
• Supporting natural melatonin rhythms
• Regulating body temperature

For many women, better sleep becomes the turning point for overall improvement.

Hot flushes and flushing

Hot flushes are linked to hormonal shifts, stress responses and temperature regulation.

Acupuncture helps by:

• Supporting communication between the brain and hormones
• Improving circulation
• Reducing stress-triggered flushing
• Helping regulate internal temperature

My patients find their flushing and sweats stop or significantly reduce.

Itchy or sensitive skin

Hormonal changes during perimenopause can lead to dry, itchy or reactive skin.

Acupuncture supports skin health by:

• Improving circulation
• Supporting hydration from within
• Reducing inflammation
• Calming stress responses that worsen sensitivity

Skin often feels calmer and more comfortable as treatment progresses.

Anxiety, mood changes and brain fog

Hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause affect neurotransmitters involved in mood, focus and emotional balance.

Acupuncture has been shown to:

• Increase calming neurotransmitters such as serotonin and endorphins
• Reduce stress hormones
• Improve sleep quality

This helps reduce:

• Anxiety and emotional overwhelm
• Irritability and low mood
• Brain fog and poor concentration

In addition, I send my patients home with ear seeds to continue the work after they leave the clinic. My patients feel more mentally clear, emotionally steady and resilient.

Joint pain and stiffness

Joint aches and stiffness are very common during menopause and are often linked to:

• Reduced oestrogen (which normally helps control inflammation)
• Increased inflammation
• Chronic stress
• Poor sleep

Acupuncture helps joint pain by:

• Reducing inflammation
• Improving blood flow to muscles and joints
• Releasing tension
• Supporting the nervous system’s pain pathways

This makes acupuncture particularly helpful for knee pain, back pain, neck pain and frozen shoulder. In addition to acupuncture, I often use electroacupuncture and my Infra Red Therapy heat lamp.

Supporting the whole system — not just symptoms

Rather than treating one symptom at a time, acupuncture supports the whole body.

As sleep improves, fatigue lifts and hormones stabilise
As stress reduces, anxiety and flushes ease and weight loss becomes easier
As inflammation settles, pain and headaches reduce, movement feels enjoyable again
As circulation improves, brain fog and skin symptoms calm.

This whole-body approach is why many women say they finally feel “more like themselves” again.

Acupuncture works with your healthy lifestyle

Acupuncture doesn’t replace good nutrition or exercise — it enhances them.

Acupuncture provides the foundation your body needs to respond fully to healthy food, supplements and exercise.

A calmer, stronger, more balanced you

If you’re looking for acupuncture support during perimenopause, I’d love to help.

I’m on this journey too

I want you to know you’re not alone in this.

I’m also going through menopause myself, so I truly understand how confusing, frustrating and exhausting this stage can feel — even when you’re doing everything “right”.

Alongside my own experience, I bring over 15 years of clinical acupuncture practice, supporting women through hormonal changes, fertility, menopause and midlife health. This combination of professional knowledge and lived experience allows me to support you with both expertise and empathy.

Here are just a few examples of what my perimenopause patients have said:

"I have been seeing llana due to my hot flushes, connected with my menopause. In 3 treatments she has managed to significantly reduce my hot flushes and I am now feeling much more comfortable and enjoying life. 

What a relief to have found Ilana!! After a few acupuncture treatments my exhausting hot flushes and night time sweats have abated, I'm sleeping through the might again, and I'm no longer contemplating HRT. So grateful."

You can read more real patient reviews on my website and google.

In addition to acupuncture on the body, I also use Auricular (ear) acupuncture protocols.

Auricular acupuncture uses specific points on the ear to support both physical symptoms and emotional wellbeing.

It can help with:

• Hot flushes and temperature swings
• Stress, anxiety and overwhelm
• Sleep problems
• Emotional eating and food cravings
• Sugar dependence
• Addictive patterns such as vaping

This can be particularly supportive during lifestyle changes and self-improvement programmes.

I’m walking this journey alongside you — with over 15 years of experience supporting women through hormonal change — and you’re very welcome to visit my website to read patient reviews or book an appointment to start building a healthier, more balanced foundation

🌿 Please use your discount code EBFB10 for 10% off.