Robin Costello Acupuncture Exeter

30/10/2025

Have you visited an art gallery lately? My favourite is always Tate St Ives. Research from King’s College London, suggests that viewing original works of art in a gallery setting can reduce key saliva markers associated with stress and chronic disease.

Volunteers were recruited from staff and students at Kings College. Half the group spent twenty minutes viewing original artworks at The Courtauld Gallery. The other half viewed reproductions of the same paintings in a matched, non-gallery environment. Participants were monitored for heart rate variability and skin temperature to track levels of interest and arousal. Saliva samples were collected before and after viewing.

Levels of cortisol, a key stress hormone, fell by an average of 22% in the gallery group, compared to 8% in the reproduction group. Those viewing original art also had more dynamic heart activity, indicating that art engages the body through both emotional arousal and stress regulation.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are linked to stress and a number of chronic diseases, dropped by around 28% for those viewing original art, while no change was observed in the reproduction group. This suggests art has a potential calming effect on the body’s inflammatory responses.

Dr Tony Woods from Kings said, “Our unique and original study provides compelling evidence that viewing art in a gallery is ‘good for you’ and helps to further our understanding of its fundamental benefits. In essence, art doesn’t just move us emotionally — it calms the body too."

More at https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/longevity-health-preservation/

22/09/2025

Happy Autumn Equinox. The sunshine has returned this week, so as the scales now tip in favour of the Yin & the days shorten, try to find time for regular outdoor activities. It seems that even sun on the skin may stimulate serotonin production to help buoy up our mood. Here are some photos I took on our autumn walk last week.

11/08/2025

Here's an excellent article from Cycling UK on the benefits cycling has to offer arthritis sufferers. It's impressively comprehensive, and even reminds you to protect your joints from cold and damp in the cooler months, which as an acupuncturist, I would always advise. https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/cycling-arthritis-how-do-it-and-why-you-should?utm_source=Dynamics%20365%20Customer%20Insights%20-%20Journeys&utm_medium=email&utm_term=N%2FA&utm_campaign=CycleClips%20Members%202025%2008%2008&utm_content=CYCLECLIPS%20members%202025%2008%2008 =2e2375ee-ea40-420a-8711-d41fc0b20100

22/05/2025

Good news for all gardeners: we know that gardening is associated with better mental & physical health, partly due to exercise, fresh air & contact with nature. A new mechanism has been emerging though, and that's contact with soil. The University of Helsinki has recently shown that this can improve our immune regulation & levels of anti-inflammatories in our blood. (Wear gloves whenever you're waiting for a cut to heal though.) Details at https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/longevity-health-preservation/

30/04/2025

Researchers at Aston University School of Optometry have called for more advice to be given to young people about preventing dry eye disease. Sufferers may have gritty sensations, itching or stinging, redness, sensitivity to light and blurry vision. There are several risk factors for dry eye disease, including stress & wearing contact lenses. In the 18-25 age group, a major risk factor though is screen use, & the young people in the Aston study averaged 8 hours a day on screen.
If this sounds like you, then take regular screen breaks, consciously blink while on screen, & drink plenty of water. A diet including sources of omega-3 fatty acids, such as oily fish, is also important, as is regular sleep.
If you wear contact lenses, get regular check-ups. More at
https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/eyes/

10/04/2025

The Acupuncture Academy is an accredited acupuncture training college in Leamington Spa. They recently analysed referrals to GPs made by their clinical year students, and the results can probably be extrapolated to the acupuncture profession as a whole. These referrals often led to life-changing medical interventions, including early detection of cancer, and identification of untreated hypertension, thyroid disorders, diabetes, and significant vitamin & mineral deficiencies. Notably, 31% of referrals were due to medication concerns – a sign that acupuncture students are paying close attention to drug side effects, long-term use issues, and drug interactions. A recurring issue was long term use of omeprazole, a common drug I will often need to talk to my patients about. The Academy says their findings challenge traditional divisions between western medicine and acupuncture. Instead of being seen as alternative, acupuncture should be recognised as a valuable partner in disease detection and preventative healthcare.

12/02/2025

I frequently see patients who for various medical reasons, have been recommended to use an oral iron supplement. If this is you, then I've just summarised all the tips for taking it so that you can maximise its absorption and hopefully feel the benefits sooner.
https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/longevity-health-preservation/

29/01/2025

Today is the second new moon after December's winter solstice. That means it's Lunar New Year today and for the next 15 days. So Happy New Year to you as we usher in the Year of the Snake (or Serpent). It should generally be a year of promise & potential. Rabbits, Dragons, Horses, Sheep, Monkeys, Roosters, Dogs, Rats & Oxen are forecast to have a particularly successful 12 months ahead of them.
The fact that this festival is tied to a new moon, explains why it moves around in our calendar. Easter also of course shifts around, because Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. So both of these ancient festivals remain linked to the rhythms of our solar system.

24/01/2025

Deep in the winter, we should all be getting plenty of sleep. If however your sleep quality leaves something to be desired, research published in 2023 showed that consuming two kiwi fruit an hour before bedtime, could improve sleep quality, probably because kiwi contain melatonin. Details and other useful foods at https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/insomnia/

12/12/2024

I spent a stimulating evening with my lovely acupuncturist colleagues last night, watching this film. Made only in 2021, it tells in just one hour the story of acupuncture's establishment in the west. Download it from Amazon or Vimeo for £3-99.

What do we misunderstand about Chinese Medicine? An award-winning documentary that challenges the representation of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture in the…

23/09/2024

Yesterday was the autumn equinox, but tomorrow is autumn equilux. That's not a term I had come across until recently, but here's a little explanation if you're curious. You may have noticed from sunrise and sunset times, that day and night are actually not equal on the equinox. In the northern hemisphere, this is instead achieved a few days after the autumn equinox and a few days before the spring equinox. Why the difference? Firstly, an equinox is agreed to be when an imaginary centre point on the sun's disc rises and sets 12 hours apart. Sunrise however is defined as when the first bit of this disc appears over the horizon, and sunset as when the last bit of the disc slips below the horizon; this gives us a few extra minutes of daylight in most latitudes. Secondly, atmospheric refraction bends the sun's rays over the horizon slightly so that we see it a bit sooner than we should in the morning, and for a bit longer than we should in the evening. Again that makes an equinox day slightly longer than an equinox night. I hope you followed all that. To see how to adjust your lifestyle from the autumn equinox onwards, see my seasonal tips at https://www.acupuncture-exeter.co.uk/category/seasonal-tips/

12/08/2024

To help lower our risk of cancer, some recommended lifestyle changes have emerged from a large US study published last month. In essence, stop smoking, keep to a healthy weight, be physically active, keep alcohol intake right down & avoid excess sun exposure. You knew all that didn't you, but these weighty statistics back it up: 40% of all cancers are attributable to the potentially modifiable risk factors the researchers studied.

Longevity & health tips based on modern medical research but which resonates with centuries-old Chinese teachings. A wealth of information to help you.