Insomnia

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. Over 100 million Americans are estimated to have occasional sleep problems, and about 1 in 6 have chronic insomnia and consider this a serious problem. Insomnia can be described in terms of both duration and severity.

Symptoms of insomnia can be different for each individual, and people with insomnia might experience a variety of symptoms, such as:

	Difficulty falling asleep, which can mean lying in bed for up to an hour or more, perhaps tossing and turning, wishing for sleep to begin.
	Awakening during sleep and having trouble getting back to sleep.
	Awakening too early in the morning..
	Feeling unrefreshed upon awakening.
	Daytime irritability, drowsiness, anxiety, and/or nonproductiveness.

It's common for older adults to sleep less deeply and for less time than they did earlier in life, and to experience fragmented sleep.

Insomnia can be caused by:

	Stress related factors - significant personal events, such as losing a job, marital problems, stress and worry.
	Restless leg syndrome - an unpleasant tickling, burning, pricking or aching sensations in the muscles of the legs.
	Lifestyle factors -. Excessive caffeine consumption, alcohol and drug abuse, poor sleeping habits, shift work change and misuse of certain medications
	Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder - (Sleep-wake Disorder), which occurs when your internal clock gets out of sync with your sleep schedule.

In traditional Chinese medicine insomnia is related to disturbance of the Kidney or "spirit". The Heart "house" the Kidney, which includes the "mind" and the mental process. When the Kidney is not "housed properly, it "floats", the mind becomes agitated, and sleep is disturbed. The Blood nourishes the Heart and the Kidney; thus weakness of Heart Blood can lead to insomnia. Any condition of emotional or mental turmoil may disturb the Kidney.

Acupuncture: Some reports suggest that acupuncture may have a nearly 90% success rate for the treatment of insomnia. Through a complex series of signals to the brain, acupuncture increases the amount of certain substances in the brain, such as serotonin, which promote relaxation and sleep.

Acupressure: Studies of elderly people with sleep disturbances suggest that acupressure enhances sleep quality and decreases awakenings during the night. An acupressure practitioner works with the same points used in acupuncture, but stimulates these healing sites with finger pressure, rather than inserting fine needles. Acupressure has long been known to enhance relaxation and improve sleep patterns.

Herbs: Herbal remedies have been used safely for centuries for insomnia. In modern herbal medicine, the leading herb for insomnia is valerian. Valerian root makes getting to sleep easier and increases deep sleep and dreaming.

	Acupuncture Promotes Sleep in Insomnia Patients ...sleep efficiency and nighttime melatonin levels increased, in the week following the last acupuncture session....
	Acupuncture and insomnia ...Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that true and individualized acupuncture indeed shows efficacy in primary sleep disorders ...
	Acupuncture And The Treatment Of Insomnia ...Acupuncture treatment was individualized based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and was reassessed during treatment. Auricular and body points were used. Statistically significant pre- and post-treatment values were noted for amount of sleep, time awake, and sleep quality...
	Chinese Medicine Cures Insomnia ...In my 20 years of studying and practising acupuncture I have treated many patients suffering from the trials of sleeplessness. Some of these people had been experiencing insomnia for years and, most of them found acupuncture treatment to be extremely helpful...

	Service the San Francisco Bay Area since 1994. Voted the best acupuncturist in Sunnyvale!