Natural Sleep Remedies: Regaining Peaceful Nights and Restful Sleep with Acupuncture
Updated: Jul 16
What is Insomnia | Acupuncture for Peaceful Sleep | What Science Says | Acupuncture for Sleep Apnea | Acupuncture for Anxiety-Related Insomnia | How Often | Try it Now
Tossing and turning all night? Millions struggle with insomnia, leaving them exhausted and yearning for a natural solution. Acupuncture for insomnia offers a natural peaceful sleep remedy, helping you achieve the rest you deserve. Read on to discover how acupuncture can unlock the door to rest well again!
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder. People suffering from insomnia often have trouble falling and/or staying asleep, waking up too early, followed by fatigue and other symptoms during the day. Such symptoms vary from:
lethargy
irritability
difficult concentrating
depression (in the most severe and chronic cases)
It is extremely common. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people suffers some sort of insomnia, which affects their ability to function during the day.
Insomnia can be short-term (acute), lasting from 1 night to a few weeks. While chronic insomnia involves experiencing sleeping problems at least 3 nights a week for 3 months or more.
Some of the most common causes of insomnia include:
Stress and anxiety
Medical conditions, such as Sleep Apnea
Chronic pain
Shift work & irregular sleep schedules
Unlock Peaceful Sleep: How Acupuncture Can Help You Ditch Insomnia
While nowadays it’s considered an “alternative” treatment, acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Acupuncture has a holistic approach, so it’s about treating the whole body, not just insomnia. Sleeping problems are likely to be a symptom of the body being out of balance.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the waking-sleeping pattern is an extension of the yin/yang cycle. Therefore different types of sleeping disturbances are linked to particular disruptions in this cycle.
Through an in-depth consultation, acupuncturists identify the Chinese pattern of imbalance. Then, they choose different insomnia acupuncture points to needle, so they can get your body functioning again at its best.
By diagnosing the root cause of a client’s problem, practitioners may determine that sleep problems are related to stress. They’ll then select acupuncture points that correspond to that diagnosis. As a result, you may start to rest well and restore a peaceful sleep.
Moreover, as a pleasant side effect, you may also experience better digestion, more energy throughout the day, and improved cognition.
There are 4 main Chinese patterns of sleep imbalance, which are:
Difficulty falling asleep, but sleeping through the night
Falling asleep easily, but waking through the night and have difficulties to fall asleep again
Waking up very early with a buzzing mind, which makes it impossible to go back to sleep.
Restless sleep, vivid dreams, nightmares, anxiety at night.
What Science Says
According to the science, from a biological standpoint, acupuncture is thought to be a neuro modulator.
It affects the nervous system, calming it down and regulating stress hormones, which are both very important factors to treat sleeping problems. Therefore it can be quite effective as a natural sleep remedy.
Recent studies have shown how different areas of the brain light up on a functional MRI. This made visible the influence of acupuncture on the brain which has appeared to be fairly widespread.
Acupuncture for insomnia can tone down the brain’s perception of sensory signals, including pain, with no side effects, unlike most sleeping tablets.
Another double-blind study in 2013 showed that acupuncture was very effective when compared with the pretreatment baseline. People experienced peaceful sleep, more sleep time and better daytime functioning.
These positive effects were well maintained even when the intervention ended, unlike those who got sleeping medications (in this case the sedative medication estazolam) instead of acupuncture.
In particular, it seems that acupuncture for sleeping problems was most beneficial to those suffering from:
sleep disturbances
sleep apnea
pain
anxiety
depression
restless legs syndrome
Thanks to being a drug free treatment, Acupuncture for sleeping problems is gaining a lot of popularity. They would only be meant as a short-term solution because they cause lethargy and often create addiction.
Unfortunately most people take prescribed medications for insomnia such as benzodiazepines long term as their insomnia is often chronic and tend to misuse, abuse, and get addicted to these sleeping tablets.
Some people use THC pens to help them fall asleep due to the sedative effects THC can have. THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, can promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, and induce drowsiness in some individuals.
However, it's important to note that while THC can aid sleep in the short term, chronic use may disrupt sleep patterns and lead to dependence. Some studies also suggest that THC can reduce the amount of REM sleep, which may interfere with restorative sleep quality over time.
Instead, from our clinical experience most of our clients say that they feel calmer and can sleep better for several days after the acupuncture session. So why not try it?
Can Acupuncture Help Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can affect your energy levels as it is a condition where you stop breathing while you’re sleeping.
This oxygen deprivation throughout the night can create a sense of lethargy and tiredness during daytime activities, even though one doesn’t have difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Research found very similar conclusions. A 2020 review of nine studies and another 2016 review of six studies found that acupuncture for sleep apnea can significantly improve its symptoms, ratings of sleepiness, and oxygen saturation levels, especially for those people with moderate to severe cases.
Peaceful Sleep Awaits: Exploring Acupuncture for Anxiety-Related Insomnia
Insomnia is very common among people suffering from anxiety and depression.
Research is limited about this subject, even tough there are few studies proving the efficacy of acupuncture to help with feeling of anxiety.
A study conducted in 2020 found that most patients suffering from depression and insomnia found some relief thanks to receiving 3 weekly sessions of electroacupuncture, a type of acupuncture that uses electric currents.
They said that acupuncture helps them to rest well and improves total sleep time and the feeling of depression.
How Often Shall I Get Acupuncture For Sleeping Problems?
We usually recommend our patients to try at least 3 to 6 acupuncture sessions.
Sometimes it may take several sessions to reap the benefits of acupuncture, while some people do begin to rest well and enjoy a more peaceful sleep after the first session.
We often recommend to combine this type of acupuncture with paired with cognitive behavioral therapy, as it is a type of talking therapy that can aim to treat underlying causes of insomnia.
Our acupuncturists will also advise you on any lifestyle changes that may help you to get better faster and restore restful night sleep faster.
We can guide you and give you ideas on how to truly prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep, recommending activities that create a sense of positivity, calm and peace in whichever way is appropriate for you.
This could include taking a warm bath, reading a calming book, or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation. Additionally, listening to relaxing sleep music can be a powerful tool to lull you into a restful slumber.
Try This Natural Sleep Remedy Now!
Book today your first appointment, and make insomnia a distant memory as you embrace a new life of tranquility and balance.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts about this article! Please share your experience with us if you have had acupuncture for sleeping problems and whether you found that it truly helped you to rest well, regain vitality, and improve your sleeping patterns.