How to overcome Insomnia – a Sleep disorder? Insomnia is a sleep disorder, leading to daytime sleepiness, especially in aged people.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder.Insomnia usually leads to daytime sleepiness, lethargy, and generally feeling unwell, both psychologically and substantially. Insomnia is mostly seen in elderly / aged people. But youngsters are not excluded as well. Presently, young generation is also the victim of Insomnia.
Types:
Insomnia is causes wide variety of sleeping ailments, from lack of sleep quality to sleep quantity. Generally, Insomnia is of three types:
• Transient insomnia – occurs when symptoms last up to three nights.
• Acute insomnia – Symptoms persist for several weeks.
• Chronic insomnia – this type lasts for months, and sometimes years.
Common causes of Insomnia includes:
• Changes to sleeping environment (temperature, light, noise)
• Excessive worry over a life event (the loss of a loved one, divorce, job loss etc.)
• Too much caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine
• Keeping an irregular sleep schedule
• Jet lag
• Exposure to light from televisions and smart phones prior to going to sleep can affect natural melatonin levels
• A small nap in afternoon can disturb the sleep at night.
• Consumption of certain medicines for longer time.
Insomnia can also occur as a result of certain medical conditions, including:
• Mental health problems (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder)
• Medical conditions that cause pain (arthritis, vertebral stenosis)
• Nerve disorders (Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease)
• Other sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome etc,)
Acupuncture approach to insomnia:
As per Acupuncture, Insomnia can be divided into 4 types:
Insomnia due to indigestion:
For many people, eating a big meal – especially rich, heavy and spicy foods, before bed can undermine quality of sleep or cause insomnia. When the digestive system is very active, the body will be restless and it will be hard to fall asleep. Such people should try to avoid eating too late and also last meal of the day should be light and less spicy.
Insomnia due to Blood Deficiency:
If a person have poor digestive system, it results in inability to properly digest food and produce enough healthy blood. The quality of the blood is important for memory and mental activity. The feature of blood is also significant for heart and mind to have a sound sleep. With insomnia due to blood deficiency, it may be hard to fall or stay asleep.
Insomnia due to Yin Deficiency:
The yin is the body’s cooling system. The yin, or yin fluids refer to the protective lining of all body tissues and nerves – it is a measure of the proper hydration of the body tissues. If yin “runs out”, the body overheats, leading to symptoms like afternoon fever, night sweats, and insomnia.
The kidneys are the body’s natural reserves of cooling fluids and are depleted after long hours of work. If those fluids is less, the heat can go unchecked and get increased, tossing heart and mind.
Insomnia due to Liver Stagnation and Heat:
In this situation, there will be a constant exposure to stress, which will then cause agitation in the nervous system, leading to heat in both the liver and the heart. Patients may have bad temper, anxiety and face difficulty to fall asleep
The way that the body adapts and responds to stress is closely related to the way that Qi (energy) moves through the body, so high stress would be diagnosed as Qi stagnation.
Liver is the primary organ that works on the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body, so this type of insomnia is identified as a type of liver Qi Stagnation. Additionally, irritability is often a sign of heat in the liver, or an agitated nervous system. Here we need to nourish the Heart and the Liver and give the nervous system more resources to deal with stress and relax into sleep.
DR. VENKATESH PRASAD K. N. and DR. GOWRI B. N.
Rishi Health Care
Acupuncture Clinic
No.2, 1st Cross, 7th Main Mathikere, Near Canara Bank, Bangalore – 560 054.
Contact : 9844265625 / 9986073931
E-mail : rishiremedies@gmail.com
