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Why NYC summers wreck your sleep, what the body is actually doing at 3 AM, and how acupuncture works on the root, not just the symptom

The case for acupuncture as one of the most effective tools for chronic stress and anxiety, particularly in a city that runs at NYC's pace

Why migraines and tension headaches respond so well to acupuncture, what the research says, and what to expect at AB Acupuncture on the Upper West Side Acupuncture is one of the more successful interventions for recurring migraines. If you live with migraines or chronic headaches, you've probably tried a lot of things — over-the-counter painkillers, prescriptions, blue-blocker glasses, eliminating triggers, dark rooms, sleep tracking. Some of it helps; none of it solves the u

here's what acupuncture actually does for back pain — a drug-free approach that tends to work when other things haven't.

If you've ever noticed that your joints, muscles, or old injuries start talking to you as New York shifts into its humid summer mode, you're not imagining it. There's real physiology behind weather-related pain, and there's a lot that can be done about it before the worst of the summer heat and humidity arrives. This is the time of year I start having this conversation with patients — because how you feel in July and August often depends on what you do in May and June. Why Hu

If you're a migraine sufferer, spring in New York City is not the relief it is for everyone else. For many people with migraines, the season change is one of the most reliable triggers of the year — and May in particular, with its wild barometric swings, pollen surges, and rapid temperature shifts, can be brutal. If you've noticed your migraines clustering or intensifying right now, there's a specific reason for that. And there's a treatment approach that addresses it at a le

If you're somewhere in the menopause transition — whether you're in the thick of perimenopause, recently menopausal, or navigating the longer post-menopausal chapter — you may have noticed that conventional medicine doesn't have a lot to offer beyond hormone therapy and a list of things to manage. For many women that's not enough. And for some, HRT isn't an option or isn't something they want. (Although most of my patients - myself included- use a combination of both) I work

If your allergies feel worse this year than they used to, you're not being dramatic. Allergy season in New York City has genuinely intensified over the last decade — longer, earlier, and more severe than most of us grew up with. And if you're someone who has been managing with antihistamines and nasal sprays and finding that they're working less well, or that you're just exhausted from the constant management of it, there's another approach worth knowing about. Why Allergies

There's a moment I always love when a new patient looks at me — a little skeptical, a little hopeful — and asks, "But how does it actually work?" Click the image to get to the Times article It's the right question. And this week, the New York Times published a piece that gets us closer to a real answer than Western medicine ever has. I'd encourage you to read it — [click the image to get to the article]. It's worth your time. The short version: researchers have discovered tha

By Annalisa Brown, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac. | AB Acupuncture | Upper West Side, NYC Every year around this time I start hearing the same thing from patients: "I should be feeling better — it's finally warm out — but I'm exhausted." If that resonates, you're not imagining it, and there's nothing wrong with you. Spring fatigue is a real physiological phenomenon, and in New York City it hits particularly hard. Why Spring Can Feel Worse Before It Feels Better We tend to think of seasonal