Let’s talk about insomnia. It’s a bigger problem in our society than a lot of people realize.
Chronic Insomnia and Western Medicine
Because poor sleep is so common, it’s been a bit normalized. People forget it doesn’t need to be this way. When getting a checkup they fail to mention it to the physician. These issues can then go unchecked for a long time.
Especially in a primary care physician to patient frontline scenario, there are not a lot of effective, sophisticated tools to deal with insomnia.
Maybe it’s sleep apnea? There are tests for that, and a machine to sell you if you have it. But oftentimes it’s not that.
Then western practitioners get into sleep hygiene, which is a whole discussion unto itself. And patients give that a shot. And again, often it’s still not working.
So at that point a lot of western doctors are at their end. So they go, “Okay, fine, here is a pill.” This will make you sleep, but with its own drawbacks. And a lot of people don’t like that either.
Combining Chinese Herbs, Mind-Body Techniques and Acupuncture For Insomnia
Chinese medicine attacks sleep problems more holistically. Instead of trying to get you to sleep, Chinese medicine figures out what is keeping you from sleeping and focuses on stopping it.
Chinese medical practitioners look for patterns. Do you have problems falling asleep? Problems staying asleep? Both? Neither? Do you only sleep for four hours and then you’re up? In Chinese medicine, each of these are different problems with different causes. Therefore each require different needle protocols, herbs and mind-body techniques to unbury you from it. So in dealing with insomnia patients, often it ends up being very specific to what each patient happens to be going through.
Everyone’s insomnia is their own, so it’s often not effective to have just one tool. Everyone is different. If you’re interested in figuring out what your insomnia pattern is, and what Chinese medicine can do for you, give us a call today.
Supporting Articles:
Acupuncture for primary insomnia: Effectiveness, safety, mechanisms and recommendations for clinical practice, Sleep Medicine Reviews, Volume 74, April 2024
Acupuncture at Back-Shu point improves insomnia by reducing inflammation and inhibiting the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway, World J Psychiatry, Jun 19, 2023
Treatment of insomnia based on the mechanism of pathophysiology by acupuncture combined with herbal medicine: A review, Medicine, March 17, 2023
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