Acupuncture and Alternative 
Treatment Options for Insomnia
By Luca Fioretti PhD
0208 123 7637
Chiswick Acupuncture
36 Devonshire Road
London W4 2HD
Tel: 0208 123 7637
The acupuncture clinic serving Chiswick, Hammersmith, Ealing, Brentford and Acton areas

Sleep disorders plague millions of British and can be attributed to a variety of causes. Perhaps the main cause of insomnia and restless sleep is the whirlwind pace that most modern people live with day in and day out. Our society emphasizes ‘doing’ much more than ‘being’. From the perspective of acupuncture, the yin aspect of life is quite depleted for the average modern British. In case you have never heard of yin and yang, these are the polar forces that are reflected in everything in the natural world. Yin is related to stillness, tranquility, and contemplation. Yang is related to movement, accomplishment, and function. We need yin and yang to be in balance within ourselves in order to experience true health and wellbeing. When we are yin deficient, we easily become restless, irritable, and excessively busy. Our ability to rest and restore is compromised, as we never seem to get a break from the constant activity in our minds and our lives. 

This is one of the main dilemmas that we face in terms of experiencing deep states of continuous sleep. We have forgotten how to turn our minds off due to the frantic speed of everything around us and we have become yin deficient. The common word is stress, but there is a lot more to this picture than is implied. Another way to look at this is that the sympathetic nervous system is on overdrive. We are stuck in fight or flight mode, as we are trying to keep up with our hectic schedules and myriad responsibilities. We have excessive amounts of cortisol and adrenaline in our systems, which keep us feeling amped up and unable to rest. With the pattern of yin deficiency and a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system, we often feel too warm, excessively thirsty, dried out, and anxious. This pattern is extremely common in menopausal women. Due to the fact that we are in fight or flight, we sometimes can’t tell if we are tired. We often feel wired or manic. Yet other times a deep-seated exhaustion is felt that penetrates into our bones. 

There are many other factors that contribute to insomnia, but this is the primary issue that many people are facing. Other potential inputs are nutritional imbalances, suppressed emotions, relationship troubles, hormonal imbalances, and energetic imbalances. Let’s take a look at a few of the top natural treatment options for insomnia: 

1) Acupuncture: All of the major organs of the body are related to specific kinds of insomnia. For instance, there is a Liver/Gallbladder insomnia in which one is kept awake strategizing, planning and scheduling their lives at night. This person often can’t turn their minds off unless they read or watch TV before bed. Likewise, there are Kidney, Heart, Lung and Spleen forms of insomnia that all have specific manifestations. Acupuncture is an excellent treatment option for insomnia, regardless of its etiology. For chronic insomnia, I generally recommend receiving acupuncture once a week for 5-7 weeks, then we can assess for progress. Acupuncture helps to restore balance to the central nervous system and harmonize Qi, the functional energy that underlies our general state of health. Qi can either become stagnant, meaning that too much energy is locked up in a certain area or organ, or it can become deficient, meaning that there is not enough energy in an area or organ. Either pattern can cause insomnia and both are treatable with acupuncture. 

2) Herbs: There are many Chinese and Western herbs that can be very helpful for insomnia. Chinese herbs are typically used in combination to create formulas that treat specific patterns of disharmony. The great thing about the use of herbs is that they don’t cause the drowsiness and disorientation that many of the Western sedative drugs do and also the patient does not become dependent from them. Once the symptoms are resolved the patient can go away without the need of keeping taking the herbs. 

I have experience in my clinical practice in completely resolving cases of long standing insomnia (20 years or so), with herbal medicine. These patients had completely lost any interest in their working lives and everything around them due to the stress, disorientation fatigue and lack of vitality this condition can bring about.

3) Meditation and Deep breathing: Meditation is a deeply restorative practice and can replicate many of the benefits of sleep. In fact, meditation is often considered to be even more beneficial because it can lead to a state of non-thought, which is said by many spiritual traditions to be the deepest state of relaxation and healing possible for human beings. In sleep, our minds are still processing and dreaming. Spend 15 minutes before bed meditating and it will quite likely allow you to fall asleep faster and to sleep more peacefully. 

5) Nutrition: 

Caffeine 
One of the obvious substances in terms of its effect on insomnia is caffeine. If you are drinking coffee, I recommend either cutting it out altogether for a period of time or switching to green tea. Coffee tends to irritate the nervous system, colon, and liver. It is very heating and stimulating and can be a major obstacle in healing insomnia. Green tea, on the other hand, is soothing to the gut and nervous system. It is cooling in nature and is loaded with antioxidants. While it does have some caffeine, it is still a much better choice than coffee. 

Sugar 
Another culprit in sleep disturbance is refined sugar. Regularly eating sugar causes increasing problems with the regulation of insulin and glucose, which will lead to hypoglycemia and possibly pre-diabetic symptoms. It has been clinically proven that blood sugar has a profound impact on the health of the nervous system. In order to keep blood sugar balanced, white sugar should be avoided or, at the very least, should be coupled with adequate protein intake. Sugar also causes inflammation in the body, which can adversely affect our ability to relax, rest and restore. 

Alcohol 
While some people claim that alcohol helps them sleep better, if you have chronic insomnia and drink regularly, it is certainly worth giving it up for a period of several weeks and see if your sleep improves. Alcohol also has an adverse effect on blood sugar and can easily irritate the liver, heart, and nervous system. Many people are sensitive to alcohol but haven’t identified it as a problem. 

The ideal diet 
Simply put, the best thing you can do to heal nutritionally from most chronic health conditions, including insomnia, is to eat an organic whole foods diet that is rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and fiber and to minimize processed foods, sugars, and refined carbohydrates. In particular a possible cause of insomnia can arise from a weakness in the digestive system. People don’t realise it, but eating and drinking heavily and late in the evening can be a cause of insomnia, we always recommend light meals in the evening not to overload the digestive system and sleep better in the evening.

Nutritional Supplements 
 
Melatonin: Has been proven to help people fall asleep, still controversial as to whether it helps with staying asleep. 
 
Fish oil: Essential fatty acids have numerous health benefits. They are often used in the treatment of emotional and mental imbalances. As such, they tend to compliment other treatments that are being used for insomnia. 

I should reiterate that it is extremely rare that any of these natural options cause the side effects seen in Western sedatives such as drowsiness, moodiness, or dream disturbed sleep. I commonly notice that the patient’s overall health improves while using one or more of these protocols. Insomnia is quite treatable using this combination of therapies. In particular, I would highly recommend acupuncture is you have never tried it before. It should also be noted that there is a wide disparity in the quality of nutritional products available to the consumer. I only use pharmaceutical grade products that have performed thorough clinical testing on their products. It is definitely worth it to pay more for higher quality products and to be diagnosed by a qualified healthcare professional in order to achieve maximum benefit

Call Chiswick Acupuncture today at 0208 123 7637 to set up your first appointment today!