Banish Insomnia Completely with Regular Rounds of Acupuncture Treatment

If you’re having difficulties falling and/or staying asleep, don’t resort to a prescription therapy; instead, go and check out acupuncture, a Chinese-developed form of healing used to address a host of health-related conditions.

In trying to treat insomnia, first things first; one needs to know what causes it. HelpGuide.org says that in spite of insomnia being the most frequently heard sleeping complaint, it is not just one type of sleep disorder. A better way to view insomnia is to see it as a symptom of other health problems. The underlying cause or causes of insomnia varies from person to person.

What type of stressors do you have in your life? Do you have a hard time managing stress? Do you have poor eating habits? Do you have a need to have meals late at night like an hour or so before going to bed? Do you drink a lot of coffee throughout the day? If you answer yes to most of these questions then chances are you are suffering from insomnia. However, the good news is that most types of insomnia are curable and with the right changes in your lifestyle and eating habits, you can cure yourself of your problem without the need for across the counter or prescription sleeping drugs or sleep specialists.

Acupuncture and Insomnia

Studies Reveal Acupuncture’s Effectiveness in Treating Insomnia

The Medical Acupuncture journal states that “Insomnia is frequently encountered in clinical practice, occurring in around 40% of the population. Acupuncture, although not normally used to treat this problem, has been found to be helpful in treating of insomnia and has an excellent safety and tolerability profile.”

The principle behind acupuncture is the notion that two opposing but complementary forces exist in nature called yin and yang energy which reside inside the human body. Energy flows through the body’s Yang areas during the day to keep the mind active and alert. The Yang energy, at night, should go back to the lower and deeper Yin areas of the body. The problem begins when the Yang energy remains in the Yang areas of your eyes and brain; these parts of your body are continuously energized preventing you from falling asleep resulting in insomnia.

A research work done in Taiwan around 2007-2008 had 33 patients participating who were all suffering from primary insomnia. The study saw that acupuncture was equally potent as zolpidem (a drug sold under the labels of Sublinox, tilnox, and Ambien). The subjects were either given 10 mg of zolpidem each night or treated with acupuncture once each week.

The conductors of the study discovered that both groups (the acupuncture and zolpidem group) showed significant improvements at a similar rate over time. This means that acupuncture is just as effective as pharmaceuticals sleeping drugs for the treatment of insomnia.

Pharmaceutical drugs are unfortunately the go to treatment for most insomnia sufferers in the United States. And it’s not just sleeping pills such as tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines, oral hypnotics and sedatives are also heavily used. The Medical Acupuncture state these drugs are highly addictive and are likely to be abused by users.

The drawback to tricyclic antidepressants is that they have undesirable and debilitating effects, such as heart arrhythmias, urinary retention, orthostatic hypotension, and dry mouth.

Insomnia May Require the Need for Repeated Treatments

While medications can have blanket effects on patients, practitioners of acupuncture tend to take a more individualized approach.

The founder of website Foot Under Foot, Melissa Sokulski, who is also an herbalist and acupuncturist herself said that “acupuncturists do a detailed history of their patient and this includes a tongue diagnosis, pulse assessment and questioning in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the patient as a whole. Treatment is always different for each patient even if they have the same underlying insomnia problem which more often than not is yin deficiency. The treatment is based on the constitution of the patient (the person’s type and strength og his/her health and body), and other relevant factors.”

Experts say that a person is likely to get a good night’s sleep right after an acupuncture procedure; however, after several days, the insomnia might come back.

The CenterAccupuncture.com says that “this is a sign that one should try acupuncture treatment for insomnia on a regular basis since it often requires several rounds of acupuncture treatment each week, for many several to cure chronic insomnia completely.”