Did you know that 1/3 of Australians suffer from insomnia at one point in their lives?
Insomnia or any kind of sleeping disorder is never a good thing. It keeps individuals from having full hours of restful, rejuvenating, and restorative sleep — a thing that is primary in ensuring one’s optimum wellness.
A good sleeping habit is essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It could be extremely problematic for you and your family if you’re having a hard time when it comes to falling asleep and sleeping. This is something that can be easily resolved. You can opt to consult your doctor. You can also opt to visit an acupuncturist. This article will explain how acupuncture can help you in treating insomnia and maintaining good sleeping habits.
People with insomnia experience the following symptoms:
You possibly have insomnia if you’re experiencing any of the following:
- You have a hard time falling asleep
- You wake up too early
- You wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time returning back to sleep
- You still feel tired after a night’s sleep
- You feel tired all day long
- You feel sleepy all day long
- You suffer from poor memory
- You have a hard time when it comes to concentrating
- You suffer from depression
- You suffer from headaches
- You easily get irritated
Such symptoms can show up in a short period or through long periods of time. If you suffer from short-term insomnia or acute insomnia, symptoms can last for only a few days. Long-term insomnia or chronic insomnia is experienced at least 3 nights a week or for three months or more.
What could cause someone to suffer from insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by the following:
- Unhealthy sleeping habits like using gadgets hours before sleeping
- Keeping an irregular sleeping pattern
- Failing to relax hours before bedtime
- Sub-optimal sleeping space or environment
- Having nicotine, caffeine, and medicine hours before bedtime
- Poor stress management
- Sudden change in lifestyle
- Aging, seniors are more susceptible to suffering from insomnia
- Working in changing shifts
- Suffering from poor mental health
- Having underlying medical conditions like hormonal changes, digestive issues, and urinary issues.
How is insomnia treated with conventional medical therapy?
Medical doctors treat insomnia by doing the following:
- Promotion of good sleep hygiene
- Stress reduction
- Diagnosis of underlying health condition
- Medication
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Stimulus control therapy
- Sleep Restriction
- Light therapy
- Relaxation exercises
6 Ways Acupuncture Can Help With Insomnia
Acupuncture can also greatly help in treating insomnia. Acupuncture is a kind of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been practiced for over 3,000 years. It originated in China and is now widely practiced all over the world including Canada, Australia, and the United States. You should check out the services of TCM Centre if you need acupuncture in Perth. Acupuncture is all about maintaining an individual’s healthy flow of energy (qi). When the energy flow in one’s body is blocked, it creates discomfort and poor health. Acupuncturists devise ways to unblock such flow through the use of hygienic needles that are safely placed in target points in one’s body. Once energy flow is balanced and kept well, one’s body becomes healthy and free from diseases. Acupuncture has also been recorded to help in improving one’s fertility and pain management. A recorded number of women who have been having a hard time getting pregnant found themselves successfully becoming mothers through the help of acupuncture.
Studies have recorded that people suffering from insomnia and sleeping disorder have been helped by acupuncture through the following:
- Acupuncture helps in the increased secretion of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps in regulating the sleep cycle. People who undergo acupuncture have been recorded to have increased levels of melatonin without having to take melatonin supplements. Such increased presence of melatonin helps them recover from insomnia.
- People who undergo acupuncture have also been recorded to have an increased level of opioid production. Such people have also been recorded to have increased µ-opioid receptor activity. Such recorded activities help in the stable management of pain. As the body experiences less pain through acupuncture, it also becomes easy for the body to relax and fully rest during sleep.
- Acupuncture also greatly helps in the improvement of blood flow in the body. So much so that the blood flow in the cerebrum also increases. Such an increase promotes sleep wellness because it allows the brain to effectively inhibit activities in the brain’s parts that get easily stimulated. When the brain is not as stimulated, better sleep is promoted.
- Acupuncture lowers the activity in the sympathetic nervous system. When activity in the sympathetic nervous system is lessened, an individual finds it easier to rest and relax. Hence, better sleep is easily promoted.
- Acupuncture has also been recorded to help in the regulation of neurotransmitters. When one’s neurotransmitters are regulated, one’s brain chemistry and overall mood become better. One becomes free of tension and fully relaxed. Neurotransmitters that affect sleep are as follows: GABA, serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and neuropeptide Y.
- People who have undergone acupuncture have also been recorded to have increased levels of nitric oxide in their bodies. They also have increased nitric oxide synthase activity. Such recorded improvements help in promoting one’s sleep.