Jan 032019
 

By Justine Myers, Lic. Ac

We treat people for insomnia frequently and it is usually helpful for sleep quality and duration. Some might find that supplements could help their insomnia and look out for phenibut HCL capsules for sale or pay a visit to their doctor for help. Improved sleep is also often a common unintended “side effect”/benefit of acupuncture, even when the points used aren’t specific to assist with sleep (for example, someone may come in seeking treatment for knee pain and find that they sleep better after receiving acupuncture).

Here’s one very interesting and informative research study showing the efficacy of acupuncture for sleep. This study was done on rats, which eliminates the possibility of a placebo effect.

A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials showed acupuncture to be a promising treatment for insomnia. “Based on the results of meta-analyses, the majority showed that compared with no treatment, sham acupuncture, or medications, acupuncture was significantly better on improving parameters in sleep quality and duration, and the combination of acupuncture and other interventions appears more effective than those interventions alone, though it was possible that the beneficial effect from acupuncture is overvalued because of the small sample size, flawed methodology of the included trials and the short follow-up duration.”

Although there is more research to be done, we are confident in recommending acupuncture for the treatment of insomnia based on our own experience providing thousands of treatments over the past 10+ years and results from studies like the ones above. Acupuncture is low-risk, non habit-forming and a pleasurable, relaxing experience for most people.

The next time you are suffering from a bout of insomnia or jet lag, we recommend trying acupuncture to get your sleep back on track. For chronic insomnia, regular acupuncture treatments are typically helpful for improving sleep quality and duration. If you’d like to try acupuncture for sleep we can recommend a treatment plan (number of treatments and treatment frequency) based on your particular sleep patterns. Hopefully you’ll find yourself sleeping better and feeling better overall as a result.

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Dec 222017
 
ashwagandha herb

Do you suffer from insomnia or poor quality of sleep? A popular ancient herb, widely used in Ayurvedic treatments, often referred to as the king of herbs, namely, Ashwagandha, was used for centuries in Ayurvedic line of treatment to promote sound sleep, say Indian researchers.

Their study showed that an active component of Ashwagandha leaves, ‘Triethylene glycol (TEG)’, reduces sleep related disorders. According to Mahesh K. Kaushik from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, the research team investigated the effect of various components of Ashwagandha (somnifera) on sleep in mice and recorded the electroencephalogram and electromyography. It was noticed that Ashwagandha significantly induces sleep and may revolutionise the natural plant-based therapies for insomnia and sleep-related disorders.

A water extract of the leaf of the plant, rich in TEG increased non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and slightly changed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

On the contrary, the alcoholic extract containing active withanolides showed no impact on sleep, while the sleep induced by TEG was as good as normal sleep. Further, TEG which is commercially available increased the amount of NREM sleep.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that TEG is the active component that induces physiologically sound sleep. Sleeplessness and other sleep disorders like restless leg syndrome are common complaints among the middle-aged population.

Insomnia is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders with an estimated 10 to 15 percent seen in general population, and 30 to 60 percent seen in elderly population. Insomnia is closely linked to certain other diseases including cardiovascular diseases, obesity, depression, anxiety, mania deficits etc.

The otherwise available over-the-counter medications for synthetic drugs often show severe side effects.

On the other hand, Ashwagandha crude powder with significant amount of TEG can help immensely in better sleep, without any associated side effects, researchers concluded.

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