Scottsdale Acupuncture

Blog

Get A Better Night’s Sleep By Visiting Your Acupuncturist

Posted Sunday, April 17th, 2016 by

acupuncture, sleep, insomnia

If you regularly suffer from issues of sleep deprivation or insomnia, you should strongly consider the use of acupuncture to normalize your sleep schedule. An acupuncturist is one of the very few professionals who can help to affect your sleep quality after just a few treatments. People go to acupuncture for a variety of reasons for physical and emotional ailments. While many people assume that acupuncture can only be used for pain management, it has an overwhelmingly positive effect on achieving a better sleep as well.

So what is insomnia?

Insomnia is described as a difficulty for maintaining sleep, at least, three nights a week. Many people have severe insomnia, where they find it difficult to sleep almost every night. By missing out on this much-needed sleep that often leads to serious issues for the daily management of your life, it can make you sluggish, it can make work difficult, and it can put stress on the personal relationships you have in your life.

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in the world, and it affects up to 10% of the population of the United States. Most sleep scientists recommend getting, at least, eight hours of sleep per night, but it’s estimated that just 35% of adults across the United States can get this amount of rest. With so many people in the minority of getting the correct period of rest, it’s important to remember that acupuncture can help you to feel more rested and improve the quality of your sleep. Not only will you feel more alert at the right time(s) but you will improve the quality of sleep, which can improve your quality of life.  Acupuncture can help normalize your sleep and have a proper rhythm to your sleep schedule that will provide many benefits.

Rather than experiencing symptoms of insomnia like:

  • Non-refreshing sleep
  • Inability to sleep even if you are tired
  • Consistent drowsiness, your ability, fatigue, and concentration decline
  • Feeling anxious about sleep
  • Ongoing tension headaches

You can get out of this cycle with the help of regular acupuncture treatments. Instead of being stuck feeling terrible, acupuncture can help you find a balance, and this means with your sleep schedule as well.

The great part about using acupuncture to normalize your sleep schedule is that you can avoid some of the main side effects of sleeping pills. Many people across the United States are accustomed to taking sleeping pills in the past, but although they are effective in the short-term, they can sometimes cause ongoing side effects.

Side effects of sleeping pills:

Depending on popular sleeping pills like Valium, Xanax, Librium and more can lead to a long list of potential problems such as a change in appetite, dizziness, headache, heartburn, constipation, dry mouth, stomach pain, mental slowing and weakness just to name a few. With acupuncture, you can avoid some of the side effects while completely normalizing your sleep schedule again.

How can acupuncture improve sleep?

Acupuncture works to improve the functions across the body and improve its natural self-healing process. Insomnia can be due to several different imbalances and with acupuncture, it is possible to stimulate various bodily functions to normalize your sleep schedule. If there is a potential hormonal imbalance, disruption in your body from a particular organ or pain issue, acupuncture can help the body to heal itself, which requires sleep. This balance helps us to find our natural sleep rhythm, which improves the quality of sleep and the healing properties of sleep.

How long will it take to notice the difference in sleep?

Many would suggest that it takes several treatments to actively improve your sleep. You may notice a slight change after the first one or two visits, but to start experiencing the major changes, you need to have a qualified acupuncturist take you through a series of treatments for your sleep issue. Going into acupuncture with an open mind and working with a trained acupuncturist will help to make sure that you get the most out of your sessions.

In a report published in the year 2004 on the effective nocturnal melatonin secretion with acupuncture treatments, acupuncture improved the total sleep time, sleep efficacy, release of melatonin for naturalized sleep schedules and overall patient happiness as well.

Many acupuncture sessions start off with a few intensive sessions followed by maintenance sessions, which are less frequent. If you don’t experience the difference after the first 4 to 5 sessions, try a different practitioner or ask how your treatment plan can be modified so you can experience better results.

As we can see, a loss of sleep is something that many people experience. With the help of acupuncture, however, it possible to seek intervention without the assistance of medication.

Schedule an appointment online »