“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”  ~Irish Proverb

Sleep is one of the most important aspects of life and it is something that the average person spends about a third of their life doing.  Just as every person differs, sleep is a highly individualized affair as well.  Everyone can agree however that one feels awful if they do not get enough of it.  Even if for some people 5 hours is sufficient and for others 10 hours is required to feel “normal.”

The Perfect Sleep:

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the “perfect sleep” is likened to a mini death.  One should enter sleep easily and wake 7-8 hours later completely rested and refreshed having absolutely no recollection of any dreams.  Highly fantastical dreams like flying, slaying dragons, etc relate to the HEART and the KIDNEY.  Rote, life-like dreams are usually related to the SPLEEN.  I’ve had people tell me that they dream about alphabetizing files at work or going about their day as usual busily performing tasks in their sleep as if the day never ended.  Usually dreaming leaves people feeling groggy in the morning.

Blood Volume and Heat:

In Traditional Chinese Medicine sleep is dependent the balance of one’s Kidney, Liver and Heart Qi and Blood.  Blood gives volume to the body and helps ground the shen or spirit whilst Qi directs blood throughout the body.  The organs work in tandem so if one organ is out of balance the rest will follow suit.

Generally speaking insomnia falls into two categories; those who have difficulty falling asleep and those who have trouble staying asleep.

Difficulty Falling Asleep:

Generally speaking people who have trouble falling asleep may be blood deficient and experience some of the following symptoms:

• Bruising easily
• Fatigue
• Dry or Brittle hair and nails
• Bloating, digestive issues
• Weight gain
• Excessive dreaming (usually an extension of the days activities)
• Sugar, caffeine cravings
• Foggy thinking
• Overthinking, ruminating
• Tendency to become obsessive

Difficulty Staying Asleep:

Those who have trouble staying asleep often are suffering from too much heat and may manifest some of the following symptoms:

• Waking between the hours of 1-3am
• Early rising
• PMS
• Irritability
• Need to exercise
• Night sweats
• Teeth grinding
• Anxiety
• Palpitations

Ways to treat insomnia:

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses acupuncture, herbal therapy and dietary therapy to treat both the underlying cause (root) and the symptoms (branch) of insomnia.  A practitioner will evaluate each individual’s symptoms and create a hand-tailored treatment plan.  I usually recommend one month of treatment for every year that one has been suffering from an issue.

Some general suggestions:

Difficulty falling asleep:

• Getting regular acupuncture treatments
• Eliminating wheat, sugar and/or dairy
• Adding organic, free range red meat to your diet
• Adding dark, green leafy vegetables
• Molasses
• Floradix
• Getting in bed before 10pm
• Avoid TV, computer stimulation after 8pm
• Soak your feet in warm water before bed
• Gogi berries

Difficulty staying asleep:

• Getting regular acupuncture treatments
• Meditation, Yoga, Qi Gong
• Avoid spicy, greasy foods
• Castor oil packs over the liver
• Fresh lemon and/or apple cider vinegar in water before breakfast
• Make sure you aren’t taking too many over the counter supplements as this can be difficult for your liver to process
• Hydrating with coconut water
• Chamomile tea
• Avoiding too much stimulation before bedtime
• Try to get in bed before you feel exhausted

We all understand the importance of a good night’s sleep, but for some of us it can be hard to achieve.  This is something we treat a lot at the Yinova Center and we’re very fortunate to have a big bag of tricks for this troubling issue.

When someone comes in with difficulty sleeping, we first figure out which Chinese medicine ‘type’ they are, then we get to work.  Here’s a brief description of the different sleepless types we see.  You may recognize yourself in one (or more) of these categories.  Take heart, help is on the way.

The first insomnia type is Spleen and Kidney insufficiency.  If you’re in this category, you’ll have a hard time falling asleep, sometimes spending a bit of time thinking obsessively before sleep does arrive.  Once you are asleep you may experience lots of dreams.  When you are awake, you might have a hard time remembering things, find yourself easily fatigued and may even experience a diminished appetite or a tendency toward loose stools.

The second type we see a lot of is Heart and Kidney ‘not-communicating’.  In this category, the ‘cooling’ kidneys (water element) and the ‘hot’ heart (fire element) are disconnected.   If this is you, you might toss and turn all night, rarely falling into a deep calm sleep.  Your sleep is fitful and you’re likely to perspire throughout the night.   Sometimes you may have flushed cheeks and warm, sweaty hands.

The third type is qi stagnation insomnia.   If this is you, you may feel easily irritated his throughout the day and at bedtime and have a hard time quieting the mind down enough to fall asleep.  Once asleep, it’s rarely a deep settled sleep.  During the day, it  may be hard to get a good, full deep breath, often feeling physical constraint in the throat or chest, letting out lots of sighs.  You may also notice you have cold hands and feet during the day and at night.

As many of our patients can testify acupuncture combined with a Chinese herbal formula can really help you get a good night’s sleep. Come on in and see us for a weekly treatment (preferably in the evening). We usually find that 6 acupuncture treatments do the trick. We’ll also give you some herbs that suit your particular sleep type.

Here is the advice we give out YinOva Patients

• Turn off your computer, tv and phone at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Reduce your body’s fat intake.
• Exercise regularly, (but not late in the day).
• Reduce or eliminate caffeine, especially late in the day.
• Establish a bedtime routine, including downtime before getting into bed.
• Try acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

Now, if it’s after 10pm and you’re reading this on your computer, turn it off and get ready for a good nights sleep!