/ Health Concerns / Mental Health

Insomnia

Basics

Insomnia is a condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. Symptoms include short sleep durations, waking up feeling tired, waking up too early, and trouble falling asleep. Insomnia can be chronic (occurring three or more nights per week for over a month) or acute (short-term). It is often a symptom of an underlying health issue (secondary insomnia), but it can also be a standalone condition (primary insomnia).

Diagnostic Patterns

In Chinese Medicine, the treatment of insomnia is based on identifying the individual's specific diagnostic pattern rather than addressing insomnia as a general condition. Common patterns include heart fire, heart qi deficiency, liver fire, damp-heat in the middle jiao, and spleen qi deficiency. Frequently used acupuncture points for insomnia include HT7 (Shenmen), KI1 (Yongquan), KI3 (Taixi), SP4 (Gongsun), SP6 (Sanyinjiao), and BL15 (Xinshu). Herbal formulas often used for insomnia include Ganmai Dazao Tang, Gui Pi Wan, Xiao Yao Wan, and Suanzaoren Wan.

Acupuncture is superior to medication for treating insomnia, influencing neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, melatonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and beta-endorphin. Zhao (2013) indicated positive evidence of acupuncture's efficacy. A systematic review by Shergis (2016) found acupuncture to be statistically superior in 27 studies.