A good sleep is primordial for a healthy living. Many internal causes can leave the body restless and avoid a good sleep. In acupuncture we use root treatment to balance the body’s functions and also specific point that have a calming effect to bring the body to a good resting point.
Liver excess.
Each of the functional system have a time during the day where it’s energy is predominant. At night the Liver energy reach a peak. It is therefore frequent to have sleeping issues when the Liver function is not regulated. Waking up in the middle of the night is usually a sign of such imbalance
Spleen and Heart imbalance.
The Blood is the rooting of the Spirit. At night , if the Blood is deficient, the Spirit is not quiet and keeps wandering in endless thoughts. The Spleen is the source of the Blood and the Heart controls it. When this Spleen-Heart axis is not regulated or deficient, the Blood cannot house the Spirit at night. In this case, difficulties to fall asleep is the main symptom. Late meals should be avoid.
Nervous system imbalance with sympathetic dominance.
Late night sleep, stress and overuse of stimulant ( coffee, “energy” drinks, chocolate .. ) bring the nervous system in an ‘over-ride’ state. Functions that need a good para-sympathetic function of the nervous system ( like digestion and sleep ) are therefore diminished. The body runs on empty (i.e : starting the day without food until afternoon) and get to an exhaustion point. The sleep is compromised and the problem is that to get out of the exhaustion point, the body needs a lot of sleep. Acupuncture can help breaking this viscious circle by re-enforcing the para-sympathetic side of the nervous system and calming the sympathetic excess.
Homework
During the treatment, symptomatic point that induce sleep are also used. Those points can be stimulated and treated daily at home by the patient. A daily routine can improve the efficiency of the treatment and restore a good sleeping pattern.
