Insomnia
Recommended Treatments
Insomnia in Chinese medicine can be treated with excellent success using acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine whist some patients require stronger treatment by combining acupuncture with herbal treatments. Acupressure is also strongly recommended for some patients in the form of facial or body acupressure and ear-seed acupressure.
How Can Chinese Medicine Help with My Insomnia?
Chinese medicine aims to treat insomnia by helping to restore calm and balance in the state of mind. In order to address your sleeplessness appropriately, Lily will ask you a number of questions related to the characteristics of your sleep including questions centred around how easily you fall asleep, whether you dream frequently, or whether you wake up frequently during the night. The answers you provide help Lily to see what energies in the body need to be balanced in order to help her choose the appropriate treatment for you and ensure that the treatment focuses on the root of the problem as well as addressing the sleeplessness itself.
From a Western medical perspective, acupuncture and certain herbal medicines can regulate the autonomic nervous system and increase the amount of certain substances in the brain such as serotonin which promote relaxation and sleep within the body. Clinical studies of patients with sleep disturbances have suggested that acupuncture and acupressure can help patients with varying degrees of insomnia by enhancing sleep quality and decreasing awakenings through the night.
Acupuncture for Insomnia
Acupuncture points that are selected for insomnia tend to be located on the hands, wrist, legs and the scalp. This will, however, depend on your individual presenting condition as the points are chosen according to which imbalances are occurring in your body. Ear acupuncture, or auricular acupuncture, may also be performed whereby a maximum of five acupuncture points will be stimulated on the ear and retained, as in body acupuncture, for approximately 20 minutes.
Acupressure for Insomnia
Acupressure involves the stimulation of acupuncture points using finger and hand pressure instead of needles. This is particularly useful for patients who have a phobia of needles and for children. This is a deeply relaxing treatment which uses the same points as acupuncture and can be provided as a treatment by itself or pose as a useful complement to the main acupuncture treatment. Depending on where the acupressure is being performed, soothing oils may also be incorporated into the treatment designed to promote a sense of relaxation and calm.
Ear-seed acupressure may also be used which involves placing a small plaster containing the Chinese herbal seed vaccaria onto certain acupuncture points on the ear. This allows you to give yourself acupressure by pressing each point on a daily basis so that you can continue on the effects of the acupuncture treatment in between your sessions with Lily and is a common adjunct to acupuncture or herbal medicine treatments.
Chinese Herbal Medicine for Insomnia
There are various Chinese herbal medicines that can be used in the treatment of insomnia. You will usually be administered patent herbal medicine which are ready-made herbal medicines designed to help with insomnia. These must be taken on a daily basis and not simply on nights when you cannot sleep. This allows the energies in your body to re-connect in order that your mind can rest peacefully and result in a good night's sleep.
Course of Treatment
You should generally expect your sleep to benefit within five or six weekly acupuncture treatments with many patients reporting an immediate improvement in sleep after the first two sessions. Chinese medicine treatments are designed to help your body heal itself naturally. Once a consistent quality of sleep over a period of several weeks has been achieved, further weekly treatments are not necessarily required to sustain sleep quality and it will then be possible to either gradually reduce the treatments to once fortnightly, once monthly, or for you to stop your treatment altogether.
Chinese herbal medicine can take effect as quickly as within one week of administration but some individuals require several weeks before they can feel the full benefit. Again, once your sleep quality has improved consistently over a certain period, it will be possible to either gradually reduce the dosage of your herbal medicine, or for you to stop taking the herbal medicine completely.
Self-Help Techniques
Below is some additional advice that Lily often provides to her patients to help them get a proper night's rest.
• Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up the same time every morning.
• Avoid naps during the day.
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine and chocolate towards the latter part of the day as these are stimulants and can stop you falling asleep.
• Avoid alcohol as this will prevent you from getting deep sleep.
• Get regular exercise but try to avoid any exercise three hours prior to sleeping.
• Make to-do lists if you are worrying about what you need to do the next day.
• Avoid using your bed for daytime activities like watching TV, working or eating.
• Relax before bedtime by reading, taking a bath or doing breathing or yoga exercises. This helps to prepare your body to wind down and prepare itself for sleep.
• Make sure your bedroom is comfortable, dark, quiet and at the right temperature. Generally speaking, the bedroom should be slightly cooler in temperature. If light is a problem, try to wear an eye mask. If noise is a problem, use ear plugs or turn a fan on during the night to create a background noise.
• Don't eat a heavy meal late at night.
• If waking up to go to the toilet in the night is a concern, try to reduce the amount of fluids you take during the evening and sip only on a little water if you are feeling thirsty.
• Go to sleep only if you feel tired, relaxed and ready to sleep - don't sleep if you are stressed and wound up.
• If you can't sleep, get up and do something quiet and relaxing like yoga or breathing exercises. Go back to bed only when you feel tired again.
• Don't worry about sleeping - try to make sure the clocks in the room are non-illuminated to prevent you from watching the clock as this can cause you to worry more.
• If you think your medication is preventing you from sleeping, speak to your doctor about it who will be able to advise you further.
References
Sok SR, Erlen JA, Kim KB. Effects of acupuncture therapy on insomnia. J Adv Nurs. 2003 Nov;44(4):375-84. Review.
Suen LK, Wong TK, Leung AW, Ip WC. The long-term effects of auricular therapy using magnetic pearls on elderly with insomnia. Complement Ther Med. 2003 Jun;11(2):85-92.
Tsay SL, Cho YC, Chen ML. Acupressure and Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation in improving fatigue, sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients. Am J Chin Med. 2004;32(3):407-16.