Acupuncture for sleep and insomnia

 

Sleep, or lack of sufficient, good quality sleep, affects us in countless ways. Most obviously, it affects our energy and mood, but it also impacts our blood sugar, our appetite-regulating hormones (and thus weight), our productivity, our nervous system and other stress hormones, our heart health, our ability to exercise effectively and recover from training, our likelihood of accidents, and our overall lifespan! Check out this podcast or other stuff by Matthew Walker if you need more convincing!

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Sleeping well has been one of my personal challenges over the years, so I can empathise with the struggles of insomnia and understand the frustrations of what can turn into a vicious cycle at bedtime.  There are plenty of well-known hints and tips about sleeping that insomniacs have probably already tried (again, see the above link), but many of these things go out the window in the holiday period.  Warm nights, long journeys, jet lag (some helpful tips here), drinking more alcohol, eating too late, or adjusting to new work or childcare schedules, etc. All of these factors can affect our sleep, and sometimes we need a bit of extra help to get back into a healthy, good-quality sleep routine. 

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Acupuncture has been proven to help with insomnia and improve sleep quality. I love seeing the improvement in my patients’ sleep when they come for treatment, even if that is not their primary concern!.  From a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) perspective, there are many different imbalances which can contribute to disturbed sleep, so for effective treatment, it is important that each individual receives a course of treatment based on their individual diagnosis. 

 

Many studies show the benefits of acupuncture in addressing sleep issues. A preliminary report in 2004 showed that acupuncture increased nighttime melatonin production and total sleep time in patients with anxiety. Patients who received acupuncture also fell asleep faster, were less aroused at night, and experienced less stress. Other studies have shown that acupuncture also helps improve sleep for people with insomnia without significant other health problems, for example, this study in 1999.  A key point in this and other studies is that “true and individualised acupuncture” shows efficacy in primary sleep disorders, meaning that each patient may be treated differently, depending on their TCM diagnosis, by a qualified holistic Acupuncturist. 

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If you need help with your sleep, please get in touch to discuss how Holistic Acupuncture can support you.