How Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal medicine can help with insomnia and sleeping disorders.

ENCINO, Calif. - Sept. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- Treating Insomnia and Sleeping and Disorders with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.

As a board certified Acupuncturist and Herbalist I find insomnia and sleeping disorder cases one of the most interesting to treat. It’s not necessarily the treatment that intrigues me but rather the cause of sleeplessness which captures my attention. I find that most sleeping disorders or insomnia cases are very different in that the root cause of the problem comes from a different place.

In many cases it is stress that plays an enormous role in our sleepless nights. Sometimes as soon as our heads hit the pillow our minds begin to race, and our worries begin to settle in and begin to have an effect on us. Believe it or not this is extremely common and many Americans suffer from this daily for years. Unfortunately our main means of treatment has been “sleeping pills” like Ambian or Lunesta. And we settle for the horrible side effects thinking that is the only way to fix the issue when in reality we haven’t really “fixed” anything, rather just masked the problem because as soon as we stop taking the medication we will be back where we started if not worse. Please visit us at www.balancewithinyou.com to book you session to treat your insomnia or sleeping disorder at one of our locations in Encino, West Hollywood or Beverly Hills.

Other things that can cause insomnia or sleeping disorders:

1.) Changes in any type of other medication. Generally pharmaceutical drugs can have a big impact on our sleeping patterns and taking them or changes in the dosages we take can have a big affect.

2.) Caffeine is also a huge culprit in our inability to sleep. Especially in our society where we live in a “go go” environment. We find ourselves constantly needing a pick me up to help us push through our day. Well, if we do this on a daily basis this caffeine can build up in our system and eventually begin to affect our sleep. Now please keep in mind that everyone is different and has a different tolerance for caffeine, so what might happen to one person does not necessarily mean it will happen to another.

3.) Living a life with internal anxiety can traumatically affect our sleep. Many Americans today suffer from anxiety and again, what we usually turn to is taking a pill so we don’t have to feel it or deal with it anymore. Please note again, that this does nothing to resolve the issue. Taking anti anxiety medication simply masks the issue so you don’t have to feel it. However, as soon as you stop taking it the anxiety meds this issue arises again usually with a greater affect and in turn effecting your sleep and causing chronic insomnia or sleeping issues.

4.) Lastly, the lack of exercise can play a huge role in our sleepless nights.

Generally when we’re suffering from insomnia or sleeping disorders it can be explained like this:

         Our nervous system has typically two ways of functioning. Either in a “Sympathetic” state which is what happens to our body when we are under a great deal of stress or in harms way, or in the “Parasympathetic” state which is our “rest and digest state of functioning. The sympathetic state is our “fight or flight” state of functioning. For example, if we have a certain emergency happen and we need to run away, jump a fence, or have constant stress in our life it causes our body to function in this manner. This state of functioning gives us that adrenalin rush in order to do those things we normally couldn’t or wouldn’t want to do. It is our human “jet pack” in other words. Functioning in this state is when we are most aware, most active, and ready to take on anything. Therefore, living the lifestyles we live today where we are constantly challenged with stressful situations at work, or family and friends, our bodies becomes conditioned into running in this sympathetic state which makes it almost impossible for us to relax and fall asleep at night. On the flip side we also have the “Parasympathetic state”. This is the state our nervous system is functioning when we are relaxed. Either after a meal when we are digesting, or laying on a beach soaking up the sun, even after sexual intimacy with a loved one. In this state of functioning is where our body does much of its healing and rejuvenating. For more information on this please call or visit us at www.balancewithinyou.com to book your treatment at one of our locations in Encino, West Hollywood, or Beverly Hills California.

Now, how can acupuncture help with insomnia or sleeping issues? Well, Acupuncture has the capability of helping or guiding the body’s functioning from a sympathetic state into a parasympathetic state of functioning without the use of any drugs enabling the mind and body to relax and fall into a deeper state of sleep and relaxation. In some sever cases Chinese herbs can be used, but in my experience, many times frequent acupuncture treatments seems to do just fine.

As Acupuncturist we are able to use certain combinations of points depending on your diagnosis which allows us to tap into the body’s nervous system and bring it into a parasympathetic state. Specific points on the wrists, which are located around certain nerve plexus’s guide the body into this direction which eventually help decrease the frequency of sleepless nights and insomnia while conditioning the mind and body to stay in a deeper state of relaxation. There are many points and point combination your acupuncturist can use to help get you there. For example, many points around the feet can also have this same affect.

For more information, or to book your appointment today at one of our locations in Encino, west Hollywood, and Beverly hills, please visit us at www.balancewithinyou.com or call our offices directly.