According to the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health, about 30-40% of adults say they have some symptoms of insomnia within a given year, and about 10-15 percent of adults say they have chronic insomnia
Insomnia is more than tossing and turning. It’s more serious than an inability to fall asleep early and has more debilitating effects than are commonly recognized. An estimated 32 million people suffer from insomnia in the U.S. Insomnia refers to difficulty sleeping or sleeping satisfactorily. This difficulty includes not being able to sleep at all, trouble getting to sleep, waking up in the night with difficulty returning to sleep, unrefreshing sleep and/or waking up too early in the morning.
The problem might last a short while and be the result of some situational factor such as anxiety over a big test. Or, insomnia can be long-lasting and more serious. If insomnia persists and the loss of sleep begins to interfere with a person’s ability to function during the day, the condition could require professional treatment. People with insomnia can experience fatigue, lack of energy, morning headaches, poor concentration, loss of productivity and irritability.
What Acupuncture Can Do For Your Sleep:
Oriental medicine, with its focus on healing whole syndromes rather than individual symptoms, is widely used as an insomnia remedy and has shown great success treating those who experience insomnia.
Acupuncture has a calming effect on the nervous system. It clears obstructions in the muscle and nerve channels, facilitates the flow of oxygen-enriched energy and relaxes the system. Common noted benefits of acupuncture include deeper breathing, improved digestive abilities, better sleeping patterns, decrease in various pains and a general sense of well being, which are all excellent treatments for insomnia. If physical pain or discomfort is a factor in the inability to fall asleep, don’t put up with it. Acupuncture has proven successful in treating pain associated with arthritis and many other physical conditions. General acupuncture protocol for the treatment of chronic insomnia includes 10 initial treatments at two to three treatments per week, followed by a two to four week observational period and possibly one treatment per week.
Chinese herbs and herbal medications are also useful in combating insomnia. An Oriental medicine practitioner can recommend an insomnia remedy to best suit individual insomnia symptoms.
Insomnia should not dictate when or for how long you sleep. It can be frustrating and scary when any disease or disorder takes away control. Oriental medicine will lead you back to a place of balance and calm, giving you the power to lay insomnia to rest.
If you believe your poor sleep quality is affecting your work performance and daily tasks, please call us at (425) 392-8881 and schedule for your free consultation to find out how drug-free, all natural alternative medicine can help you to regain your sound sleep!
