Alternatives to Drugs for Sleep

Insomnia affects 50-70 million Americans, and 80-90 % of adults with significant sleep problems remain undiagnosed. This may be a good thing as most sleep disorders, conventionally treated, never address the root cause, but instead medicate patients into a false sleep process that is a type of “pseudo-sleep”. So you take the medications and get some rest, but never fully, and without the medication, the problem goes on and on.

There are around 90 distinct sleep disorders.

One size does not fit all so getting to the core problem takes looking deeper into a person’s health to find out the cause. One cause could be adrenal system disorders. The adrenal system helps regulate certain hormones related to restfulness and alertness known as the “fight or flight” syndrome. If the adrenal glands become weak, there are certain hormones that are activated and can wreak havoc on not just sleep but digestion, blood pressure, blood sugar, emotional states and much more. One way to test these glands is through a test known as the Raglan’s test. This involves taking the blood pressure 2 times. Once while sitting and once while standing. When you stand up, your systolic blood pressure (top number) should increase 6 point or more. If it stays the same or worse, goes down, your adrenal glands may be causing your sleep problems.

Acupuncture and Moxibustion to the Rescue

Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine researchers found acupuncture to be effective for the treatment of insomnia. In this study, specific acupuncture prescription points treated with moxibustion and TDP heat lamp therapy were used. Moxibustion is the use of a specific herb, mugwort, which is put topically on the acupuncture point and heated.

After one week of therapy, acupuncture with moxa and TDP produced a 67.5% total effective rate for the relief of insomnia. After two weeks, the total effective rate increased to 77.5%. The other interesting finding is that the acupuncture/moxa/lamp group saw greater results than using specific herbal formulas.

So if you want to get a good night’s rest, the key is to get to the root cause and think about natural solutions!

Dr. Kenneth Hoffman, DACM., L.Ac.

SOPHIA Natural Health Center

31 Old Route 7

Brookfield, CT 06804
Phone: 203-740-9300