Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine for

Insomnia

Beit Shemesh

Insomnia Beit Shemesh:

Anyone who has suffered with insomnia or sleep issues understands firsthand the frustrations involved. When sleep is a problem, almost all other areas of life are impacted. We feel less productive, more irritable, depressed, and anxious. Our immunity goes down, we don’t heal properly, and we tend to make poorer choices.

Sleep Issues affect a large segment of the population, whether that means you have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or getting good quality sleep.

How does Acupuncture Improve Sleep?

Research is demonstrating that acupuncture improves sleep. There are several studies showing this to be true. In one such study, patients suffering from anxiety along with insomnia received regular acupuncture treatments. It was found that the patients had an increase in endogenous melatonin secretion, which led to improved sleep.

This means that acupuncture stimulated the brains own production of the main hormone needed to sleep well.

In our clinic, we don’t treat all cases of insomnia the same way. If you are suffering from insomnia then there are many possible reasons why this could be. Like with any condition, our first step is to assess you to find out why you can’t sleep properly. Once we know the reason for your insomnia we can treat you accordingly.

This means that acupuncture stimulated the brains own production of the main hormone needed to sleep well.

It is very important to understand that insomnia is a symptom of a deeper health issue.

It is our job to establish the correct diagnosis in order to give you the correct treatment.

For example, there is a common link between cardiovascular function and insomnia. Often a patient will present with insomnia, anxiety, and palpitations. We then form our treatment around improving sleep via treating dysfunction in the cardiovascular system. We pick our acupuncture points or herbs accordingly.

Of course there are many other possible causes for your sleep issues, and it is our job to establish the correct diagnosis in order to give you the correct treatment.

How a Lack of Sleep Affects Your Health:

Aside from the obvious feeling of fatigue that comes along with poor sleep, there are many serious health risks that can also occur over time:

Accidents:

Sleep deprivation is a leading cause of disasters. Lack of sleep leads to drowsiness and slow reaction times. Poor sleep has shown to be a factor in work place accidents and injuries.

Decreased Cognitive Function:

Sleep is critical for cognitive function. Lack of sleep negatively impacts your ability to think and learn. It also leads to impaired attention, concentration, reasoning, judgment, problem solving, memory, and focus.

Cardiovascular Disease:

Lack of sleep is associated with heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and stroke.

Diabetes:

Chronic sleep loss is also associated with diabetes.

Decreased Sex Drive:

Lack of sleep is a factor with low libido. Fatigue, and high levels of tension can play a role, but lack of sleep is also a cause of lower testosterone levels.

Depression and Anxiety:

Chronic sleep disorders can lead to depression and anxiety. Clinically they go hand in hand, as we see this on a very consistent basis in our clinic.

Skin Aging:

Chronic sleep issues lead to poor skin luster or “shen” as we call it in Chinese medicine. As well, poor sleep leads to increased fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes. Inadequate sleep leads to elevated levels of cortisol, which eventually break down skin collagen. This breakdown of collagen causes a decrease in skin elasticity.

Weight Gain:

Lack of sleep is related to increased hunger and appetite. On top of that, poor sleep leads to higher cortisol levels. Cortisol is a fat storing hormone produced in the adrenal glands.

Increased Risk of Death:

Severe reduction in sleep over a long period of time shows an increased risk of death by cardiovascular disease, by as much as two times.

Sleeping Pills:

The majority of sleeping pills are classified as “sedative hypnotics”, and are used for both for inducing sleep and maintaining sleep. This class of drugs includes benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and hypnotics. Sleeping pills can be addictive, and can lead to problems with memory and focus. If taken in overdose, barbiturates can be fatal.

Sleeping pills can pose a risk for people who suffer from chronic lung issues such as asthma, emphysema, and COPD.

Many patients come to our clinic for insomnia because they don’t want to take sleeping pills indefinitely. This is understandable when considering the side effects listed above, along with the strong dependency one may be at risk of developing. Furthermore, sleeping pills often don’t improve sleep quality, and can leave a person feeling drowsy once awake.

Many patients come to our clinic for insomnia because they don’t want to take sleeping pills indefinitely

Treatment for Insomnia

Helping someone achieve better sleep can be a complex process, because there are many reasons why people do not sleep well. Day to day worries, past traumas, physical pain, organ dysfunction, chemical imbalances etc. can all lead to sleep issues.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are safe and effective treatment methods. Therefore we highly recommend them as a first option for insomnia. They can help a patient become healthier, and they can improve sleep naturally. It is worth trying this method before settling for long term use of harsh medications.