Acupuncture and Insomnia
Insomnia is defined as having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or waking up at different hours of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. It can be chronic, or acute especially in a stressful situation.
Insomnia is considered chronic if it happens for three or more nights a week for three months or longer. Insomnia affects 1 in 3 people, and can be extremely debilitating. A poor night’s sleep can mean a bad day at work, and poor work performance. Being fatigued can also mean not being able to participate in family life the way you want to. Many people with sleep problems go on to develop poor sleep habits, which can continue the cycle over again.
The causes of insomnia can range from stress, pain, anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, allergies, sensitivities to EMF (wifi), to chronic illness. When someone is chronically ill, especially if the illness involves pain or fatigue, then the adrenals can become overworked, causing “adrenal fatigue.” The most common pattern of adrenal fatigue includes being very tired in the morning, and more energetic at night, making it difficult to sleep. Most people with this pattern prefer to stay up and “do things” because this is when they feel their best. Unfortunately, staying up will only exacerbate the problem, and fuel the adrenal fatigue.
Chronic pain can also keep many people awake, and those sufferers are great candidates for acupuncture therapy, as it will help the pain, anxiety and sleep disorder.
Environmental factors such as ventilation, humidity, noise, light, stale air or an uncomfortable mattress can cause insomnia or reduce the quality of sleep, even when they don’t actually keep you awake. Caffeine, nicotine and ingredients in some nonprescription drugs for weight loss, asthma, and colds, can interfere with sleep.
Look at the Chinse organ clock and see which hour you usually wake up and may see a correlation with that particular organ and its represented emotion.
See the picture and read the descriptions for each of those night waking
Waking up between 11-1am has to do with your gallbladder and especially your ability to make decisions. Sometimes the inability to choose between different options leaves us stressed out and exhausted. The thought of missing out and “Are we actually making the right choice”?
Waking up between 1-3am has to do with the liver. One reason may be be from being toxic, exposure to allergies, diet, hormones, parasites or on the emotional side it has to do with anger and irritation. This can also be suppressed anger that we are not even aware that we are suppressing.
Waking at 3-5am is about the lungs and immune system. It can be related to having a cold/cough, asthma, weak immune system, environmental (inhaled) exposure to toxins or allergens. The emotional side to it has to do with grief and sorrow. These can be traumatic moments from years ago that weren’t properly dealt with and are now coming back to remind the body that things are not balanced.
Acupuncture is useful treatment approach for insomnia and has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). It has helped many patients with sleep disorders as it is a natural modality that has its potential to help. We at Voda Acupuncture Calgary would love to talk to you about your particular concerns and find the best treatment to help you improve your sleep and quality of life overall.
