6 Ways Acupuncture Can Help in Treating Insomnia

The quality of your life highly depends on the quality of your sleep. Nothing could simply go as planned and as envisioned if people involved in any kind of activity had not been sleeping well. The fulfillment of your dreams depends literally demands that you sleep well and have sweet dreams. It’s impossible to have it though if you’re suffering from insomnia. If you’ve been suffering from insomnia and you’ve run out of options on how to heal it, this post is perfect for you. We’re going to suggest a wise and effective alternative that is chemical-free and has been used for over 3,000 years. Read on to learn more.

What is insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep order experienced by individuals who find it hard to sleep at night. Such individuals have a hard time with the following:

  • falling asleep
  • staying asleep
  • returning to sleep after waking too early

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old healing method that is part of the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It involves the use of needles that trigger special points of the body to affect healing.  Traditional Chinese Medicine healers go by the foundational concept that all humans have ‘qi’ or energies in their bodies. Humans suffer from illnesses, like insomnia, when the flow of ‘qi’ is blocked. When the ‘qi’ is blocked, it becomes hard for the body to function properly. This is the very thing that acupuncture solves. Through the use of sterilized needles inserted on specific body points, blocks of energy flows are released. It is then that wellness ensues.

What are the symptoms of insomnia?

People suffering from insomnia experience the following:

  • Difficulty to reach a sleepy state
  • Difficulty in maintaining a sleepy state and falling asleep
  • Waking up at too early hours
  • Waking up in the middle of the night
  • Struggling to return to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night
  • A feeling of tiredness all-day
  • Feeling sleepy all-day
  • Poor focus
  • Poor memory
  • Poor concentration
  • Stress from sleep deprivation
  • Headache
  • Depression
  • Irritability

People can suffer from long-term or short-term symptoms. Such symptoms can also come and go. Insomnia is chronic if it is experienced for more than 3 nights a week for longer than 3 months.

The following people are likely to suffer from insomnia:

  • People who drink too much caffeine before bedtime
  • People with irregular sleeping patterns
  • People with no relaxing pre-bedtime routines
  • People with no structured daily routines
  • People in sub-optimal sleeping spaces
  • People suffering from stress
  • People with work problems
  • People with financial problems
  • People with relationship problems
  • People that are grieving
  • People that are already elders
  • People with mental health issues
  • People with digestive issues
  • People with urinary issues
  • People undergoing hormonal changes
  • People experiencing physical pain

How is insomnia treated with the use of Western medicine?

Insomnia is often treated by Western medicine doctors by recommending the following:

  • Patients are advised to have good sleeping hygiene that is sustainable and realistic
  • Patients are advised to avoid consuming stimulants before sleeping
  • Medicines can be prescribed if a patient’s daytime functioning is already affected
  • Cognitive behavioural therapy can also be recommended

How can acupuncture help in treating insomnia?

Acupuncture helps in treating insomnia through the following:

1. Acupuncture increases the secretion of melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that helps in promoting one’s sleep. It is a natural sleep hormone that the brain releases into the bloodstream. It is the pineal gland that produces it and it gets prompted to do so when it is dark. Melatonin production can be stopped with exposure to light.

2. Acupuncture boosts blood flow in one’s cerebrum

The cerebrum takes up the largest chunk of the brain. It promotes good sleep when it is in a good condition. Acupuncture helps in conditioning the cerebrum by allowing a flowing supply of qi. One visit to an acupuncture clinicand you’d easily feel that this is truly the case.

3. Acupuncture promotes opioid production

Acupuncture helps the body to produce natural opioids that help in the healthy management of the body of any kind of physical pain. Sleep is easier for people with relaxed bodies that feel no pain.

4. Acupuncture regulates neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are signaling molecules that allow different parts of the brain to connect and interact with each other. Regulated neurotransmitters can easily allow the brain to activate a sleeping phase. Acupuncture helps in regulating one’s neurotransmitters through the promotion of healthy qi flow in the body.

5. Acupuncture decreases the activity of one’s lower sympathetic nervous system

It is impossible to sleep when one’s nervous system is activated. This is why it’s important for anyone who wants to sleep well to maintain a relaxing pre-sleep routine that can cue the body to already be at ease. Acupuncture is greatly helpful in this concern as it can effectively decrease the level of activity in one’s lower sympathetic nervous system which can easily promote sleep.

6.  Acupuncture increases one’s nitric oxide levels

An increase in the nitric oxide levels in one’s brain can help easily trigger a sleep state. This is because a person with good nitric oxide levels has healthy neurotransmitters that promote synapses that allow the brain to have healthy blood flow. This is something that acupuncture can do by particularly triggering special points in the body.