Insomnia

Most adults experience sleeping problems in their life at some point. Insomnia can be caused by psychological conditions, physical conditions (nasal problems, arthritis, asthma…), unhealthy sleep habits (unhealthy lifestyle) and some specific substances.

The symptoms of insomnia can be different for individuals.

  1. Difficulty with falling asleep, needs more than 30 min to fall asleep.
  2. Wakening up too many times and/or too long.
  3. Shallow sleep, deep sleep is less than 10% of total sleep time.
  4. Early wake-up, more than 30 minutes earlier than normal, total sleep time is less than 6 h.
  5. Lethargy, fatigue during the day.

Research

Acupuncture is widely used for insomnia in many places. It focuses on treating the body as well as the mind. A randomized controlled trial published in 2019 found acupuncture is effective for insomnia in menopausal women. (Li, 2019) A systematic review of studies on acupuncture for insomnia through 2008 also found that acupuncture appears to be effective in the treatment of insomnia. (Cao, 2009)
In Chinese medicine theory, there are 9 different types of insomnia. The treatment principle is different for individuals. The diagnosis methods include the assessments of symptoms, tongue and pulses.
How does it work?
Acupuncture focuses on you as an individual, the symptoms and pulses give clues to the root of the causes. Certain acupuncture points will be select to target different issues. Those points can activate Qi on acupuncture channels to balance the mind and body.

What can do by yourself to help?

Clear things irrelevant in your bedroom before you go to bed.

Have some relaxing time before sleep.

Don’t worry about your sleep.

Try to avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Some exercise during the day.

Do not exercise too much in the evening.

Do some meditation and breathing exercise.

Li S, Yin P, Yin X, et al. Effect of acupuncture on insomnia in menopausal women: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2019;20(1):308. Published 2019 May 30. doi:10.1186/s13063-019-3374-8
Cao H, Pan X, Li H, Liu J. Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Altern Complement Med. 2009;15(11):1171–1186. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0041