Acupuncture Treatments for Insomnia

Insomnia is a frequent complaint in western society. We are subjected to more stress than people in other cultures, which often results in anxiety, depression and insomnia.

There are eight root causes of insomnia in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM.) They are worry, which gets two counts, overwork, difficulty with or making too many decisions, blood loss from childbirth, anger, poor diet, and unresolved heat from a fever. When we use the TCM system to determine the cause, we arrive at a diagnosis that is very specific, and consequently, the insomnia treatment is tailored for the individual.

Each cause affects an organ system (which is a slightly different concept in TCM than our western definition of organ.) Seven out of the eight causes affect the heart system's relationship with another organ system.

For example, overworking affects the Heart-Kidney relationship and Yin deficiency results. The relative excess of Yang will leave a person feeling awake and active, and they may awaken repeatedly during the night. A diet of too many sweet, greasy or spicy foods will affect the Stomach-Heart relationship causing Phlegm-Heat to develop. This results in excessive dreaming, restless sleep, agitation and possibly palpitations. Worry can lead to either an excess condition of Heart-Fire or a condition of Spleen-Heart Blood Deficiency.

Unresolved anger affects the Heart-Liver relationship and may include headache, tinnitus, irritability along with restless sleep and excessive dreaming (probably nightmares.) Blood deficiency can result from either heavy menstrual flow over a long time or from childbirth, and affects the Heart-Liver relationship. This person may have difficulty falling asleep, feel dizzy, have poor memory, anxiety and be easily startled.

As always, we plan our treatments to relieve the symptoms and signs as well as the root causes. Because of the way the organ systems are affected, insomnia is one of the conditions that almost always requires herbal treatment along with acupuncture for successful resolution, and together, they are very effective.