Sleep disorders of all kinds are extremely frequent, in particular, insomnia, which affects 30%–40% of the population. Inadequate treatment of insomnia can easily transform an occasional poor sleeper into a patient with chronic insomnia, who, quite often, will become dependent on the regular use of medication. Obviously, the long-term health hazards of pharmaceuticals for treating sleep disorders are greatly ignored, as most have been on the market for only a few years. It is, therefore, urgent to propose an integrative and holistic approach to sleep-related problems.
Although acupuncture has proven its efficiency for treating insomnia, unfortunately, most clinicians revert to standard “recipe-type” point combinations rather than designing personalized treatments for their patients.
In Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM), the inner synchronizers that help patients to adapt to outer changes are the Eight Extraordinary Channels. A comprehensive approach based on the diagnosis of these channels can be an excellent option for developing individualized acupuncture treatments for patients. Western neurohumoral theories and discoveries about sleep are detailed and compared with classical Chinese concepts to deepen the understanding of the energetic aspects of sleep. Finally, a more effective acupuncture treatment approach is proposed. A proper diagnosis of insomnia based on CCM principles increases the efficiency, and reduces the number and duration, of acupuncture treatments.
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