acupuncture for insomnia Bondi Junction Sydney clinic acupuncture for insomnia Bondi Junction Sydney clinic acupuncture for insomnia Bondi Junction Sydney clinic
Specialist in Acupuncture & Chinese medicine since 2000
Wonder Life Consultation Lounge. We love to hear your problems.
About Insomnia
Sydney, Bondi Junction
PH 02 9386 1018
Definition
Insomnia has becoming a common health
problem in our community as our lifestyle becomes increasingly stressful
and we found ourselves "unable to switch off" is the most common term
heard from the patients.
Insomnia is a term expressed when a
person is unable or has problem falling asleep. It may also include poor
sleep or light sleep that can be waken up easily.
Sleep is the only time that our body goes into a resting state. "Unable to sleep" or poor sleep can have
serious effects on our physical and mental health. Therefore, insomnia
is a problem that needs to be treated seriously. In our clinical
practise, there are strong linkages between poor sleep/ insomnia with
overweight, over-eating and obesity as well as anxiety, fatigue and
depression.
Accompanying signs
& symptoms
Key symptoms: Unable to fall asleep,
can be wake up easily, having problem going back to sleep, does not wake
up fresh in the morning, "unable to switch off"
anxiety, uneasiness,
nervousness, agitation and impatience, food craving, binge eating,
uncontrolled appetite, shallow breathing, snoring, rapid weight gain,
fluid retention
Accompanying symptoms include: thinking too much, worrying too
much, feeling tense and uptight, unable to concentrate, headache, neck
and shoulder tensions, stiff neck and shoulders, hair loss
Possible Causes
Stress,
tension
Menopause or hormonal imbalance
Pressure from work, family or relationship
Unpleasant event
Environmental factors such as noise, busy surroundings
Accumulated physical and mental exhaustion
Poor diet and lifestyle such as smoking, excessive caffeine intake
Working night shifts and frequent changes in shift hours
Physiological
Mechanisms
Insomnia is very common condition seen in
clinic. It often combine with other health
problems including stress, anxiety, fatigue, food cravings, poor
digestions, depression.
Insomnia can be seen as a complication of poorly managed stress and
anxiety problems.
When a person is under stress either physically or mentally, the body
produced large amount of adrenaline, corticosteroids as well as other
stress related hormones. As the result, this rapidly increase the blood
sugar level, blood pressure and heart rate. This is known as the fight
or flight responses. Consequently, the person becomes agitated, restless
and hyperactive. This is also known as anxiety.
Working long hours is like an overheated car engine, unable to cool down
in time, therefore when the person goes to bed, the body is still "too
tense" or "too stressed out" to relax. He/she consequently has problem
to "switch off" and fall asleep.
Treatment
Modalities
Specialist acupuncture for 12 sessions. 2 sessions per week for the first 3-4 weeks.
Mechanism of
action of the herbs used
Acupuncture and Chinese
herbal medicine treats the
condition by doing the following:
Relaxing the
body
Regulating the balance and activities of our central nervous system.
Releasing muscle tensions
Reducing harmful hormones in the body
Correcting hormonal imbalances
Reducing physiological stress in the body
Promoting deep relaxation of the body
Calming your mind and spirit
Health Advice
Reducing the intake of caffeine and
cigarette smoking
Eat a balance diet
Establishing a regular eating habit
Encouraging moderate, regular and outdoor exercises
References
Longman
concise medical dictionary, 1994
Chinese-English Manual of Common-Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Ou Ming, 1995
