Insomnia and Acupuncture (Berkeley Acupuncture)
At Tao to Wellness we certainly see a lot of patients with trouble sleeping. In Chinese medicine, sleep is one of those magical times that you put ‘deposits into your bank account’ or as they say in ancient times, it’s when you replenish your righteous Qi (energy). Without quality sleep, a patient’s vitality, reserves, immunity and ability to handle stress gets disrupted.
We see people who have trouble falling asleep initially, people who wake up multiple times in the night and people who wake up too early and can’t fall back asleep. We see them all. What do we do? A few things…the biggie is acupuncture. Even when a patient is coming for something completely different, let’s say fertility or low back pain, they ALMOST ALWAYS say that the night of the acupuncture session they sleep deeper and wake up feeling fantastic. A lot of times that trend continues for up to a week (remember acupuncture is a cumulative therapy, it takes time at first). So, this we know, the balancing that is done with acupuncture helps a person sleep. Herbs are the second thing we LOVE to prescribe for acupuncture, which herbs you ask? Hard to say, it’s all based on a person’s constitution and their exact issue in the slumber department. Either way, we find the right herbal formula for the patient and start working with the other side of coin (Acupuncture being the first side) Lastly, we look at their cortisol levels, because when cortisol (the stress hormone) is high at night, there can be many sleepless nights. This is a very Western take on things, but we work with the whole body at Tao to Wellness and we don’t want to leave any stone unturned. So, with a saliva test we can see what your cortisol trend is and if the rhythm is off go from there with supplements.
These are the three things we do when it comes insomnia and it works! We’ve had endless satisfaction in this area, so if you or someone you know is struggling with their sleep send them in!
Much love,
Christina “Mei Wen” Martin, L.Ac., Dipl.AC, MTOM, FABORM.
christina@berkeley-acupuncture.com
Christina Martin is the founder of Tao to Wellness. She is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Teacher and has been in practice for fifteen years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is a fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine. Christina entered Acupuncture school without ever having an Acupuncture treatment. She simply felt it was her calling.
