It?s 3 a.m.. You?re tossing, turning, can?t get to sleep. You try counting sheep, drinking warm milk, thinking pleasant thoughts?nothing works. Perhaps you shouldn?t have eaten that chili dog for lunch, you wonder. Or maybe it?s the work overload that just got dumped on your desk and you?re under the gun to complete it for your boss?yesterday. Whatever the case, if you have experienced any of these, you?re not alone in the insomnia department. Everyone has experienced some type of insomnia in their life, chronic, transient or acute. It?s also a condition that can be treated through a variety of methods within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is by definition a chronic state?it is an inability to fall asleep or remain asleep over a decent amount of time. TCM looks at insomnia as a broadband term covering many types of symptoms: inability to fall asleep easily, restless sleep, waking up very early in the morning, excessive dreaming, and waking up in the night. It also sees insomnia as a disharmony not only between the fundamental substances: Qi (vital energy) and Blood, Yin and Yang, Jing (essence) and Shen (spirit) but also imbalance between specific organs: Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney. More often than not these imbalances are caused by external or temporary causes.
What are some of the causes of insomnia?
The quality and the amount of sleep depends first on the state of the mind, and especially the relationship between the mind and body. With insomnia however, we are talking about a mind-body disconnection.
1. In our fast-paced, instant ?everything society, the number one reason for insomnia is worry and anxiety. When we mentally fret, habitually churning things over and over non-stop, can eventually due damage to our Heart, Spleen and Liver. All become either energy deficient or lead to a fiery restless state. Either way, the mind becomes agitated, the spirit wanders and insomnia results.
2. Stress and overwork are next. Many of us work long hours, under pressure or stressful conditions, and do not get enough rest or sleep as a result. These types of conditions can weaken Kidney energy, ultimately affect the heart as well. Kidney-Heart disharmony is also often seen peri-menopausal situations or in the elderly.
3. Along with stress, worry and work pressures, we tend to have poor or irregular diets. Eating on the run, eating poorly, unbalanced meals, or over-eating all contribute to a case of over-heating in the Stomach, which in turn agitates the mind.
Of course, other factors can certainly contribute to insomnia: side effects of specific medications, sudden stressful situations such as divorce, death or illness, psychological conditions such as depression, or chronic physical conditions such as fibromyalgia.
Can Acupuncture help?
Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities can absolutely help in dealing with insomnia. Acupuncture promotes a natural sleep pattern, and can help increase serotonin levels in the body, which helps with sleep. Unlike sleeping pills, acupuncture treatment, is free from negative side effects. A combination of methods such as acupuncture, diet, and lifestyle medication usually creates the quickest, most effective results.
We all want sweet dreams and nothing more than waking up refreshed and happy in the morning. If you have difficulties with your sleep, consider giving acupuncture and TCM a shot. There are alternatives and drug-free approaches available. What have you got to lose, other than more sleep?
