15 Jun Acupuncture for Sleep

Posted at 08:00h in Acupuncture, Sleep by MSDN Solutions 0 Comments

Acupuncture for sleep: Sleep is an essential phenomenon that recharges and refreshes one’s mind. Good physical and mental health are the greatest blessings one can ask for, and sleep is the most important factor that ensures these. One’s body cannot operate at an optimum level without good sleep. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys this blessing sometimes. CDCP (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that adults have at least 7 hours of sleep per day. Sleep physiology is multifactorial and depends on the central nervous system. The sleep-wake cycle is known as circadian rhythm and operates on a 24-hour cycle. Sleep-wake homeostasis is linked with the body’s internal functioning. If the body is not operating at its best then one will face sleep disturbances e.g insomnia.

In this article, you will get to know about a brief introduction to sleep, its disturbances, and the role of acupuncture for sleep.

Sleep Disturbances

There may be multiple causes of sleep disturbances:

Insomnia
Obstructive sleep apnoea
Narcolepsy
Snoring
Bruxism
Sleepwalking
Nightmares
Night terrors
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome

According to multiple pieces of research, these are the following techniques to cope with sleep disturbances:

Regular exercise
Avoid smoking
Avoid caffeine before going to bed
Avoid eatable and alcohol before going to bed
Avoid bright screens at bedtime
Follow a regular sleep-wake pattern
Treatment of any systemic or metabolic cause
Medications to induce sleep (These can only be prescribed by your healthcare provider if there are no contraindications).
Acupuncture for sleep proves beneficial in most cases as an alternative option without major side effects.

Not everyone can tolerate oral medications or take multiple medications. In such individuals, acupuncture for sleep is the safest option.

How Acupuncture Works

Acupuncture is the process of inserting microneedles into different strategic points on the body. Acupuncture is a form of therapy that is non-invasive, easily tolerated, and with fewer side effects. During the procedure, tiny needles are used to stimulate ligaments, muscles, and nerves to perform their functions at an optimal capacity.

Traditional practitioners of medicine think that the human body has plenty of sensitive points which are interconnected and play an important role in overall health. In medical terminology, these points are called meridians. Traditional acupuncture knowledge says that health issues occur due to the blockage of these connections and removing these may restore the health issues.

During this procedure, your acupuncturist will insert microneedles in specific areas and leave them for roughly around 60 minutes. Usually, the receipt doesn’t feel any discomfort and this procedure may need to be repeated for days.