Acupuncture and Herbs for Insomnia: Natural Solutions for Better Sleep
By the Acuworx Team
Why Sleep Matters for Your Health
If you’re reading this blog and it’s 3AM and you can’t fall asleep, it may be worth pointing out that March is national sleep month. Considering this, it seems appropriate to write an article that explains a little about how acupuncture and herbs can help anyone suffering with Insomnia. According to www.sleepfoundation.org, up to 30% of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. There are many causes of insomnia, but the most obvious is stress. Chronic stress keeps us in a constant state of “fight or flight” which puts an enormous strain on the nervous system. If we don’t find a way to enter the “rest and digest” state every night, then we invite a whole host of health issues.
How Acupuncture and Herbs Treat Insomnia
For people who have difficulty sleeping, acupuncture and herbs may be a great solution. Acupuncture can counter the negative effects of stress by immediately allowing the body to enter “rest & digest” mode. Most people are surprised when they fall asleep on the table with needles in them, but it makes perfect sense. When the body wants to recharge and heal, it naturally needs to tone down the overactive sympathetic nervous system state of “fight or flight” and enter the more calming state of parasympathetic “rest & digest”. Acupuncture achieves that as quickly as any medication, with fewer side effects. Herbal formulas can also achieve this but the effect is usually more sustained over a longer period. Herbs need to be matched to a person’s individual presentation. Not every case of insomnia will require the same formula. But when the match is correct, the combination of herbs and acupuncture can have both short term and long- term benefit.
We must provide our body with an environment that can adequately respond to the demands of a hectic society and lifestyle. The only way to do that is to balance the incessant stress and activity with “quiet time for the brain”. Sleep is the most obvious way to achieve that. We spend upwards of 8-9 hours a day shutting everything down so our body can recharge and regroup for the demands we put on it. More important that the number of hours is the quality. Not everyone needs the same amount of time, but when we sleep, we should fall asleep easily, stay asleep, and awake feeling refreshed. If we don’t, then stress is more likely to have a negative effect on our health, which negatively affects our sleep, which makes the stress worse, which makes our sleep terrible, which…you get the idea. It’s a vicious cycle.
What You Can Do to Improve Your Sleep Health:
Get acupuncture & herbs regularly. Once or twice per week is often needed to establish a new healthy pattern in the body.
Turn off all electronic devices and don’t keep them anywhere near your head. You can use an old-fashioned alarm clock
Try to get to bed at the same time every night. It may not be possible but do your best
Soak your feet in warm water for 10 minutes before bed. Then use a lavender essential oil(we have it available in the studio). Put 1 drop on each temple, 1 drop on each forearm about 2 inches up from where the palm and wrist meet, and 1 drop in the center of the chest.
Try This Simple Mindfulness Exercise for Better Sleep
Meditation is the other way to conserve energy. I’ll write an article on meditation later, but for now this is one of the most powerful ways to quiet the mind. Just sit or lie quietly and pay attention to your breath. Inhale through the nose gently. Notice any tension in your body. Then exhale through the nose gently and add 2 or 3 seconds to the exhale to make it longer than the inhale. Start at your head and work your way down to your feet. You will lose your focus many times. That is fine. Just keep coming back to your focal point which is your breath/body. That is the exercise. No winning or losing or failure, just be.