Natural Therapy for Insomnia

Don’t put up with sleepless nights, natural therapies such as acupuncture can get you rested and feeling refreshed in no time.

Insomnia is a disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or both. Lack of sleep can affect our ability to function, concentrate, leave us with little or no energy, and put us in a bad mood. Our overall quality of life suffers when we don’t get enough sleep. How much sleep can vary from person to person and most adults need about 7-8 hours a night.

Symptoms of Insomnia	Causes of Insomnia
Difficulty falling asleep at night Waking up throughout the night Waking up too early Not feeling rested Daytime fatigue or sleepiness Irritability, depression or anxiety Difficulty concentrating Headaches Ongoing worries about sleep	Significant life changes: new job, death of a loved one, change in relationship, moving Illness or physical and or mental pain Some medications Travel to another time zone or jetlag PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome Long term stress Environmental factors

Why Sleep?
When we sleep at night, our bodies take this opportunity to repair tissues that are damaged throughout the day as well as properly regulate hormones and metabolism. When we don’t get enough sleep due to significant life change, hormones, metabolism and general homeostasis are thrown off.

Possible long term effects of sleep deprivation:

Tissue repair does not occur – over time we can begin to experience more body aches and pains,
Our bodies remain in a state of fight or flight stress response due to high cortisol levels,
Metabolism can begin to slow down
Increase in weight gain around the midsection
Fatigue
Less activity of neurotransmitters leading to feeling of depression, anxiety and irritability
Suppress your immune system

Acupuncture works to calm your nervous system down, rebalance your hormone/endocrine system and effectively get your body to a state where sleep is no longer an issue. Studies have found that acupuncture increases certain central nervous system hormones ( such as beta-endorphins, serotonin, ACTH, and norepinephrine)which are produced and help us feel calm, happy, peaceful and more at ease. These hormones also address our limbic system and proper levels of melatonin (effects your sleep and wake cycles). Since acupuncture helps the body and mind to relax, most people fall asleep during the treatment. In addition to the acupuncture there are many safe, effective, non-habit forming herbal formulas and supplements that are extremely effective at treating insomnia.

When working with insomnia it’s important to get on a proper sleep routine and find time for exercise.