How acupuncture can treat sleep insomnia

If we are unable to get a good night’s sleep, it can cause obvious effects very quickly, such as tiredness, irritability and poor concentration and performance. Symptoms include delays in falling asleep, waking during the night, or waking very early in the morning, and in severe cases, sleeplessness over several nights.

Insomnia often only lasts a few days or weeks. Long-term insomnia can go on indefinitely unless the cause can be identified and treated.

Causes of sleep insomnia

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) describes insomnia as being concerned with or caused by at least one of the following:

1) Qi Stagnation

Stress and depression cause Qi stagnation in the liver system. Long-term liver Qi stagnation can turn to fire. The fire rises to disturb the heart and spirit and the person cannot relax and sleep.

2) Improper Diet

A diet of junk food will affect the stomach and digestive system. If you have a problem with your digestive system, you cannot sleep peacefully.

3) Deficiency of Kidney Yin

A weak body constitution or long-term chronic illness results in a deficiency of kidney Yin. The water of the kidney cannot rise up to nourish the heart fire. The heart fire increases to disturb the spirit and affect sleep.

4) Deficiency of Blood

Overthinking or overwork impairs the heart and spleen system, which can cause a blood deficiency. The blood cannot nourish the brain and heart. Women sometimes experience this condition after labour and elderly people can be prone to it.

How to treat sleep insomnia with Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture

People will often turn to sleeping pills when they suffer from insomnia, but it’s a temporary solution and can be habit-forming and can cause daytime fatigue.

At our clinic, we seek to find the underlying cause of insomnia and treat it from the root, creating a custom plan of treatment that is individualised to you.

Acupuncture is often our first recommendation in treating insomnia. It can regulate the meridian or channels of the body to re-open the stagnation of Qi, common points are Nei Guang, Shen men, Bai Hui etc.

Acupuncture can help not just with insomnia, but also with sleep disturbances, sleep apnea, pain, anxiety, depression, and restless legs syndrome. This is because it works by:

• Increase nocturnal melatonin secretion
• Reduce sympathetic (stress-related) nervous system activity
• Regulate the brain’s mood chemistry to help to increase relaxation

There is also a wide range of Chinese herbal remedies to treat insomnia depending on the causes. The main herbal products are AN SHEN JIAN NAO YE, ZAO womanmeditatingREN AN SHEN YE, SUAN ZAO REN TANG WAN, JIA WEI XIAO YAO WAN, etc. A combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs can work even better.