Acupuncture for Insomnia

Wide awake, tossing and turning, kicking off the covers only to pull them back over yourself… 

Or perhaps you are startled awake, thoughts of the day’s activities blaring… or you suffer from sleep apnea, sinus, or throat congestion.

I understand the frustrations of a disturbed night’s rest. It is not only in the moment, but also the brain fog and sluggishness through the day, the effects on other systems and body functions… 

The traditional Chinese medicine approach to sleep comes from a few different angles. We aim to understand WHY your sleep is poor and what systems we can support to deepen and lengthen your sleep.

Here are a few possible reasons underlying your insomnia and how acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help with sleep:

1. Stress or Emotion-related Insomnia

Commonly, you’ll be waking up around 1-3am. Or waking up too early (4-6am)! There may be sympathetic nervous system hyper-activity and high cortisol levels… leading to anxiety-driven sleep disruption. 

TCM: retrain your nervous system out of its sympathetic and cortisol-driven state, ease muscle tension, and promote a deep and revitalising sleep

2. Overthinking or Rumination Insomnia

Similarly an emotion-related insomnia, often dealing with the brain’s limbic system and cognitive hyperactivity… this type involves emotions, behaviour, motivation and memory.

TCM: look at the different types of emotions affecting you (therefore different treatment approaches) and support the systems dealing with those emotions. We’ll work to quiet mental noise, improve single-focus throughout the day, and promote your brain’s ability to “switch off” at night

3. “Yin-deficiency” Insomnia - hot nights, light sleep

We see this more often in women, presenting with impaired thermoregulation (hot cold hot), hormonal imbalances, and/or “fight-or-flight” hyperactivity at night.

TCM: aims to stabilise nighttime physiology, settle heat, and support melatonin regulation

4. Pain-related Insomnia

Inflammation can naturally increase at night, leading to more pain.

TCM: reduce inflammation, release tension, improve blood flow, and modulate pain-signalling pathways

5. Sinus Congestion Insomnia

Blocked sinuses from excess mucus production, whether you’re sick or not, can lead to mouth breathing, snoring, and sleep apnea.

TCM: clear sinus pathways, reduce hayfever symptoms, reduce mucus production 

Auricular (Ear) Acupuncture

Points I commonly use for improving sleep include auricular points on the outer ear! They can stimulate the vagus nerve and other brain areas which regulate sleep, stress, and pain.

What can you do at home?

1, develop a healthy consistent sleep routine - low lights, no screens, mindfulness, early and light dinners, early sleep time, daily exercise and sunlight

2, gently press the acupuncture point “Yin Tang” which is between your eyebrows 

3, gentle gua sha from elbow to wrist on inner forearm