INSOMNIA ACUPUNCTURE IN BONDI JUNCTION SYDNEY

For those who live with insomnia or have experienced episodes of it, you very quickly realise how important sleep is for us to function physically, mentally and emotionally. Without a regular good night’s sleep we don’t think as clearly, we don’t feel as strong or energetic, we’re more sensitive to pain, we don’t recover as quickly from injury or exercise, we have a shorter fuse or can feel more anxious. 

 

Insomnia can be broken into two main categories:

 

1. Onset insomnia - where there is difficulty falling asleep initially.

2. Maintenance insomnia - where there is waking during the night.

 

Then, there are some unlucky people who experience a combination of both.

 

Insomnia can create a vicious cycle for some where an anxiety of going to bed and not being able to sleep develops. You’re afraid of laying there awake, not getting enough sleep and you know that it will mean you’re going to struggle the next day. This anxiety increases the sympathetic fight or flight response which readies your body for action and keeps you alert and awake. You reinforce your fear by being unable to sleep and the cycle repeats itself.

 

Sleeping tablets are often prescribed and may help for short term situations, but are not an ideal long term solution for those experiencing chronic insomnia. Often people may report waking up feeling more groggy the next day after taking medication. Someone with insomnia is really just looking for a way to sleep well tonight and every other night, naturally.

 

How do we use acupuncture for insomnia?

 

In Chinese medicine we have Yin Yang theory. Each day of our life has day and night, so there should be an expansion, activity and engagement with the world, that is balanced with a returning to root, resting and recharging the self. When there is insomnia, our mind and body is stuck in too much of the expansion and activity phase, and we are having difficulty initiating and/or maintaining the returning and recharging phase. It’s like you’re trying to plug in your phone to recharge but you’re having trouble actually plugging the cable into the socket or the cable is not securely plugged in so it keeps coming off charge.

 

Your acupuncturist’s job is to figure out how your recharging ability is being compromised and help you restore a better rhythm between rest and activity. For each person this may be different. For some, there may be stress factors that need to be considered. Others may have an internal imbalance where their mind-body is keeping them awake. Many will be a combination of both. There may also be complicating factors like pain, inflammatory conditions, sleep apnoea, medications like steroids, etc. Your acupuncturist will work with you as a whole person, not just an insomnia case.

 

At Acupuncture Grove in Bondi Junction Sydney, we use acupuncture for insomnia tailored specifically to you. Typically if it’s going to be helpful for you, we will know very early on within the first 4-6 treatments (often earlier). That doesn’t mean that you will be sleeping like a baby within that time, but you should feel some early signs of improvement from the acupuncture if it’s going to help. Once we know how you’re responding to the acupuncture, we’ll then work out a treatment plan for you. The ultimate goal would be to get you to a place where you don’t need acupuncture anymore, or it’s just something you do for maintenance.

 

Chinese herbal medicine may also be a useful adjunct when working with insomnia as it’s something to keep treatment going each day. It’s the same idea as acupuncture, we use it for a period to help address certain imbalances, but as you improve, we aim to get to a point where it’s no longer necessary. If it’s something that we feel will help you along, we’ll discuss it as part of the treatment plan. 

 

If you would like to try acupuncture for insomnia with Acupuncture Grove in Sydney’s Bondi Junction, please book online here or contact us with any questions.