Acupuncture for Sleep
A common sleep disorder is insomnia. People with this condition often find difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep, or may wake up too early or too frequently and then have difficulty getting back to sleep. It can cause fatigue, brain fog, and other symptoms that can impact your day to day life.
If you’re one of the many who struggle with insomnia, acupuncture and East Asian medicine may be effective and safe methods to treat your sleep issues. Research and data increasingly supports acupuncture’s ability to aid in achieving better and more restful sleep.
Especially for patients whose insomnia or sleeping troubles are caused by chronic pain, acupuncture can be effective to help get better sleep. Data generally supports acupuncture’s ability to relieve chronic pain. A systematic review of studies and trials for acupuncture treatments’ affect on chronic pain-related insomnia showed significant results. They found that across studies, acupuncture treatment performed better than medication and placebo in treating both pain and pain-related insomnia with a dearth of adverse effects. They concluded that their data supported claims that acupuncture is an effective and safe method to treat chronic pain-related insomnia.
However, one does not necessarily have to be losing sleep due to pain in order for acupuncture to help treat sleep issues. One clinical trial found that while sleep quality and duration was improved by medication, placebo, and acupuncture, the group that received acupuncture treatment showed the most positive benefits and improvement in their sleep, including the quality of sleep and their ability to function well the following day.
In a study from 2009, researchers found that, “Acupuncture was superior to medications regarding the number of patients with total sleep duration increased,” meaning that acupuncture helped folks stay asleep longer than the medications they tested against. They also found that, “Acupuncture appears to be effective in treatment of insomnia.”
A 2017 study showed similar support for acupuncture’s effectiveness. Patients involved in the study who were treated with acupuncture “improved dramatically,” with their overall sleep quality and duration improving following treatment. These improvements were noted at two, four, and eight weeks post-treatment.
If you’re one of the many who have issues falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early or frequently, research shows that acupuncture may be an effective treatment. Our providers would be happy to help devise a treatment plan that works for you to help get you a longer and more restful night’s rest. If you’re interested in learning more or would like assistance scheduling an appointment, email us at info@loveacu.net or call our offices at (503) 343 9851 so we can get you in.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911. Do not wait for an appointment with us. We are happy to help with chronic pain; however, we are not equipped for or specialized in urgent or emergent care.