Sleep disturbances can result from many different causes, such as hormonal imbalances, blood sugar problems, physical pain, and stress, to name a few. If this problem occurs only occasionally, it is not of great concern. However, continued sleep loss and the resulting fatigue lead to imbalances throughout the body’s systems and significantly damage the quality of life. Emotional, activity, and dietary imbalances as well as mental sluggishness and muscle pain are frequent results
There are hundreds of sleep aides available on the American market-how to know what is the best approach to take? I suggest that when making this decision, you need to first understand the cause of the problem. Simply taking a sleeping pill, whether in a prescription or over-the-counter form, can be very counterproductive. This approach is simply masking the underlying problem, which may cause it to progress, unchecked, until it, too, becomes of clinical concern. A holistic assessment performed by a well-trained acupuncturist can pinpoint the imbalances that are causing the sleep disturbance. Frequently, only 1 or 2 treatments are required to resolve the problem and restore the patient to a healthy sleep cycle. If more assistance is required, the acupuncturist is highly qualified to recommend appropriate herbs, nutritional supplements, or dietary changes.