Resolve to Put Insomnia to Rest

In our society we put a premium on our waking hours and have the tendency to underestimate the importance of full-night’s sleep. Millions of people who suffer from insomnia look for quick fixes instead of exploring the root causes of the problem. Sleep hygiene is an afterthought for many people. Evening is a time to allow our minds and bodies to turn inward to our subconscious. Sleep deprivation is the root of many health issues like memory impairment, a weakened immune system and stress that can lead to cardiac disease, heart disease and digestive disorders. 

Exposure to diminishing light at dusk helps regulate sleep hormones in the body. Excessive lightning at night, evening shift work, evening computing, video games, television and late-night eating all serve to counteract the body’s natural rhythms. It’s no wonder people have trouble sleeping. Rather than embrace nighttime as rest time, we tend to let our minds wander from one element of stress to another keeping us up for hours or perhaps an entire evening. We are then forced to approach the new day without having benefited from the regenerative powers that night time brings.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sleep occurs when the yang energy of the day folds into the yin energy of nighttime. Yin energy of the body is cooling and restorative. It is the time of day when our bodies turn inward and regenerate. This is the time we dream and explore the caverns of our unconscious mind. Conversely, daytime is yang, which is expansive. We expend the energy we have built up from the process of sleeping. Together, this is the cycle of yin and yang.

To apply this yin-yang concept to your everyday life try eating your last meal at least three hours before going to bed. For example, you can “cool” your yang energy down by avoiding hot and spicy food and drink. Avoid alcohol, coffee, chocolate and any other stimulants, especially late in the day.

To improve your sleep cycles, help circulate your body’s energy by working out or by gentle exercising. Build your body’s nutritive aspect by eating marrow-based soups and stews, dark pigmented vegetables and fruits. Avoid overworking or over rumination as well.

An invaluable tool to help your brain unwind is meditation. It helps the body create a sense of calm. Meditation can reduce stress, increase feelings of well-being, and improve overall health. It can help one 

increase alertness, relaxation and reflection even in “waking” states. Meditation is best practiced during the day to help improve your sleep patterns at night.

If you or someone you know suffers from insomnia call today to see what acupuncture and Oriental medicine can do for you.

 

The Modern Western Approach to Understanding Acupuncture Treatment, PART 2

This two part article series takes a look at acupuncture, an ancient Eastern practice, from a more Western medical perspective.

In our previous article post, we provided detailed explanations on acupuncture treatment and how its efficacy is explained from both an ancient Eastern and modern Western perspective. The acupuncturist in San Diego also presented some interesting facts about acupuncture treatment, highlighting its contemporary use in modern medical establishments. Acupuncture treatment a bunch of ‘hocus pocus?’ Not according to the World Health Organization, innumerable controlled scientific trials and the United States Army, Navy and Air Force! In this article, the final installment of this two-part series we shall take a look at the suite of diseases and maladies medical acupuncture has shown immense success in treating.

What is Considered an Acupuncture Treatment:

Acupuncture treatment is a medical art that dates back thousands of years. Its evolution over the centuries and its adoption by different cultures has resulted in the development of many different methodologies for its practice, explains the acupuncturist in San Diego. Medical acupuncture treatment is the term given to acupuncture when performed by a doctor who is qualified and licensed in Western medicine. An additional qualification in acupuncture isprovided to doctors by several tertiary academic and medical institutions in the United States. Ancient Eastern or ordinary acupuncture treatment follows more esoteric methods, or indeed what the West would consider more esoteric methods. These are based upon ancient Eastern teachings relating to energy meridians in the body, explains the acupuncturist in San Diego.

Acupuncture Treatment: What It’s Capable Of

Many people are quite skeptical of acupuncture treatment, believing it to be an approach to healthcare that is alternative to Western medicine and therefore ineffective. Nothing could be further from the truth, explains the acupuncturist in San Diego. Acupuncture treatment should not be viewed as ‘alternative’ to Western medicine; it should be viewed as complimentary to it! Acupuncture treatment has been scientifically proven – and recognized by the World Health Organization - to be effective in the relief of a vast number of symptoms, maladies and diseases, including:

• Muscular and neurological disorders: Headaches, neck pain, rib neuritis, facial tics, frozen shoulder, low back pain, tennis elbow, osteoarthritis, sciatica and various kinds of tendinitis.
• Digestive disorders: Spastic colon, diarrhea, gastritis, constipation and hyperacidity, says the acupuncturist in San Diego.
• Urinary, reproductive and menstrual problems
• Respiratory disorders: Bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, recurrent chest infections and sore throat.

 

Acupuncture treatment is perhaps best known for its applications in pain management, but, when provided by a highly trained and experienced practitioner, it offers a much wider range of benefits. Used alone or in conjunction with medical treatment, acupuncture treatment has achieved remarkable results in patients battling all manner of maladies, both physical and psychological. But, where this ancient Eastern practice has perhaps demonstrated the greatest ability, is in its resolution of physical illnesses and symptoms relating to stress, tension and emotional duress. These include high blood pressure and cholesterol, weight loss and management, sleep disorders and smoking cessation (amongst other addictions).

A Final Note on Acupuncture Treatment

In addition to its efficacy in the treatment of over 200 different conditions and diseases (200 that have been irrefutably proven that is), acupuncture offers patients with a straight-forward and relaxing treatment option for maladies that previously required medication that may have come hand-in-hand with unpleasant side-effects. This traditional Western medical approach involved the balancing of desired treatment results with tolerable side-effects. Acupuncture treatment, on the other hand, does not usually come with any side-effects and, if performed by a qualified and experienced practitioner, is pain free.