How can I help you with insomnia?

Sleep – Essential for Yoyr Health and Wellbeing.

Sleep is vital to our existence and for maintaining the health of body systems, including the hormonal system, immune system maintenance, heart function, blood pressure regulation, memory, energy restoration, and mental health. It is commonly said that the average person spends one-third of their life sleeping.
The required amount of sleep changes with age: young children and teenagers need at least 10 hours of sleep, while adults over the age of 25 need 7–9 hours.
Sleep occurs in two phases: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and non-REM sleep, which itself includes three stages. Throughout the night, we experience several sleep cycles.
Sleep is regulated by two biological mechanisms:

• Homeostatic control – the body’s mechanism to maintain stability in essential functions such as sleep, blood pressure, and temperature. The longer we stay awake, the greater the sleep pressure; conversely, after a night of good restorative sleep, we feel less sleepy.

• Circadian rhythm – a 24-hour internal clock that responds to environmental cues such as light and darkness. In the evening, darkness triggers the pineal gland to release melatonin, signaling the body to enter sleep mode. Exposure to light, on the other hand, suppresses melatonin and raises cortisol (the stress hormone), disrupting sleep initiation.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is defined as insufficient or poor-quality sleep, accompanied by impaired daily functioning or emotional distress. It can manifest as difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night and struggling to fall back asleep, early morning awakening, or shallow, unrefreshing sleep.
Insomnia can be acute – short-term, Chronic – lasting more than three months, Intermittent – appearing and disappearing over time.
Women experience insomnia twice as often as men, and its prevalence increases with age—reaching up to 50–60% in older adults. Over age 65, the prevalence doubles.

Insomnia is divided to Primary or Secondary. 

• Primary insomnia – not directly linked to a health condition.

• Secondary insomnia – linked to underlying health issues such as hormonal changes (e.g., menopause), heart failure, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, stress, or external causes such as medications, caffeine, alcohol, or certain medications.

Insomnia has significant direct and indirect consequences on health and quality of life. Studies have shown associations with:

• Cognition and memory: impaired concentration, increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Metabolic health: higher risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes (via reduced glucose tolerance and elevated cortisol levels), hypertension, and obesity (via increased ghrelin, the hunger hormone).

• Hormonal system: disrupted secretion of key hormones such as growth hormone (GH), cortisol, and reproductive hormones (LH and FSH).

• Immune system: reduced immunity, greater vulnerability to infections, higher inflammatory cytokines, and increased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and even cancer.

• Mental health: strong links between insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Insomnia is a predictor of worsening mood disorders.

• Cardiovascular system: vagus nerve stimulation can impact heart rate, blood pressure, and blood supply to the heart. Insomnia and short sleep duration double the risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.

Western Medicine Treatments for Insomnia

Current treatments for primary insomnia include hypnotic medications (benzodiazepines and related sedatives) that may help initiate and prolong sleep but do not improve sleep quality. They often cause daytime drowsiness, raising risks of accidents, falls, and fractures.
These medications act also on the GABA receptor in the brain, leading to tolerance (requiring higher doses over time), dependence, withdrawal challenges, and neurotoxicity.
Other options may include melatonin supplements (immediate or slow release) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is very effective but often costly.

Insomnia in Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine views sleep as one of the pillars of health and longevity, alongside proper nutrition, breathing, and movement. Nighttime corresponds to Yin, while daytime corresponds to Yang. Yang activities (work, eating, exercise) should occur during the day, while Yin activities (rest, cleansing, sleep) belong at night.
Sleep quality is closely tied to the Shen (mind/spirit), rooted in the Heart. When the Heart is strong and the blood abundant, Shen is well-anchored, leading to restful sleep.
Chinese Medicine, like Western medicine, differentiates between:
Difficulty falling asleep
Sleep quality (with/without dreams, type of dreams)
Timing of awakening
Each pattern relates to different organ systems, leading to individualized treatment.

 

How Can I Help You Sleep Better?

Treatment begins with a comprehensive consultation to uncover the root cause, including pulse diagnosis, tongue observation, facial and abdominal diagnosis. Based on this, a tailored acupuncture protocol is created.
A meta-analysis of 42 clinical trials including 3,304 patients compared different acupuncture methods with Western medications. Acupuncture was found more effective than drug treatment—and without side effects. Further studies show acupuncture helps insomnia caused by depression, menopause, and even cancer treatments.

Treatment often combines acupuncture, medicinal mushrooms and herbs (often as teas) and nutritional therapy – ensuring an anti-insomnia diet (avoiding foods that overstimulate the body at night, e.g., fried foods, cinnamon, stimulants) and Lifestyle adjustments – avoiding screens, violent movies, late emails, or intense exercise before bed, which raise stress hormones and suppress melatonin.

Don’t postpone addressing sleep problems— the longer they persist, the harder they are to treat.

 

Research Bibliography: 

1. Lin YF et al. J Integr Med. 2016 14(3):174-86. doi: 10.1016/S2095-4964(16)60248-0 

2. Huachong Xu et al. Evidence Based Compl Alter Med. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8961748

3. Dong B et al. Biomed Res Int. 2017. doi: 10.1155/2017/9614810

4. Fu C et al. Sleep. 2017 40(11). doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsx153

5. Garland SN et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019. 111(12):1323-1331. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djz050