Restoring Calm After COVID

Acupuncture for Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances

Welcome back to Dr. Ark’s Healing Tribe!

The post-COVID era has brought many new complications that the medical world is still working to understand and address. I have discussed several of these symptoms and conditions in previous posts.

Yet, based on my anecdotal clinical experience, I continue to see a recurring pattern: many patients come into my office after recovering from COVID describing persistent anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms may appear immediately after the acute phase of the infection or sometimes several weeks later. Many patients do not initially realize or connect the dots that these symptoms may be secondary to post-COVID or long-COVID changes in the body.

Some patients report constant chest tension. Others notice that their minds race at night, leading to overthinking that makes it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. Even individuals who never struggled with anxiety before COVID often report that their nervous system feels more sensitive or reactive than it did before the illness. 

How do anxiety and insomnia affect your body?

From a Western medical perspective, these symptoms are often associated with nervous system dysregulation following viral illnesses. COVID can trigger prolonged stress responses in the body, impacting hormones such as cortisol and disrupting the natural sleep–wake cycle. Inflammation and immune system changes may also influence brain chemistry, making it harder for the body to fully relax and restore itself during sleep.

TCM View on Anxiety and Insomnia

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), emotional balance and sleep quality are closely connected to the Heart, Liver, and Kidney systems.

The Heart houses what Chinese medicine calls the Shen, often translated as the mind or spirit. When the Shen is calm and settled, sleep is deep, and emotions remain balanced. However, when the Heart becomes disturbed after illness or prolonged stress, symptoms such as anxiety, racing thoughts, and insomnia may arise.

The Liver plays an important role in maintaining the smooth movement of Qi throughout the body. When stress causes Liver Qi to stagnate, tension and irritability often develop. This stagnation can prevent the body from relaxing at night, contributing to restless sleep and emotional imbalance, creating a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break.

Meanwhile, the Kidneys represent the body’s deepest reserve of energy. After a significant illness, Kidney energy may become depleted, leaving the body feeling exhausted while still unable to fully settle into restorative sleep.

From this perspective, post-COVID anxiety and sleep disturbances reflect a body that is still working to restore balance between these interconnected systems.

Treating Post-COVID Anxiety and Insomnia

Acupuncture helps regulate the nervous system and encourages the body to shift from a heightened stress response into a calmer, restorative state. One way it does this is by supporting the restoration of the body’s natural circadian rhythm.

By stimulating specific points along the meridians — as well as empirical points commonly used for sleep and anxiety — acupuncture helps improve communication between organ systems, enhance circulation, and allow the mind to settle.

Many patients notice that after several treatments, their sleep becomes deeper, anxiety begins to ease, and their overall sense of emotional balance gradually returns.

Additional therapies such as visceral massage, cupping, gentle movement, and breathing exercises can further support this process by releasing tension within the body, improving circulation, and helping the nervous system return to a calmer state.

Recovery after illness is not only about clearing the virus from the body. True healing involves restoring the natural rhythm of the nervous system, allowing the mind to relax and the body to replenish its deeper energy reserves.

When the Heart, Liver, and Kidneys return to harmony, sleep improves, anxiety settles, and patients begin to feel like themselves again.

From my hands to your healing,

— Dr. Ark