Chronic insomnia (CI) afflicts tens of millions of Americans. It can be caused by factors such as stress, anxiety, medications and physical issues. Western medicine’s answer to CI is usually through drug medications such as antidepressants, tranquilizers or sedatives. Acupuncture Overland Park is an effective and less harmful way of treating CI. It has a soothing effect on the nervous system and it helps cure the causes of insomnia without creating side effects. CI is one of the top problems acupuncturists are consulted on. People who complain about insomnia are often repressing deep emotional problems. Insomnia is just one manifestation of these repressed emotions. The stresses and tensions of modern day living really make it difficult for people to sleep well nowadays and one really needs a special kind of treatment in order for the mind and body to help one be able to experience calmness and relaxation again in his/her life. Acupuncture indeed helps the body and mind relax in a deep, soothing and fulfilling way.
Acupuncture is the treatment where hair thin needles are inserted into certain points in the body. These points are connected to energy channels called meridians and these meridians connect to various organs, tissues and other body parts including the heart and the brain. Needles stimulate these points giving various kinds of medical benefits to the body. In treating insomnia, points connected to the heart or pericardium meridians are used. Some needles are used to help relax the mind and enable the heart to pump blood more efficiently. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believes there are many forms of insomnia and there are specific herbal formulas for each insomnia condition. However, if one’s lifestyle causes one to become sleepless, then without a change of lifestyle, any kind of treatment, even if effective, will never let the symptoms disappear permanently. The key is to relax and do some light exercise, if possible. Doing this and together with acupuncture, the symptoms will go away and one is guaranteed a sound and relaxing sleep.
Some have difficulty going to sleep. TCM believes this is so because yang energy is having a difficult time entering the yin parts of the body leading to insomnia. For those who wake up often in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep, much internal heat is stored inside the body causing this type of insomnia. People who wake up early and cannot return to sleep suffer from poor lifestyle, which may have weakened the kidney yin causing excess of yang energy, which in turn, causes insomnia. For those who have very forceful dreams that wake up the person, the brain is over stimulated and cannot be subdued due to yang deficient liver or heart fire and this leads to insomnia.