The effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for insomnia at a Korean medicine clinic?!
Table of Contents
Insomnia is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms, affecting a large number of people. The main symptoms reported include difficulty falling asleep (sleep onset insomnia), frequent awakenings and difficulty returning to sleep after falling asleep (sleep maintenance insomnia), and resulting daytime sleepiness and fatigue due to insufficient quantity and quality of sleep. Many people take sleep aids, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers for insomnia. However, due to issues like dependence and tolerance associated with various medications, there is a growing societal desire to minimize drug use while effectively treating insomnia. Today, I'd like to introduce a study on acupuncture treatment for insomnia, as offered in Korean medicine clinics.
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Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Treatment on Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This study reports on the improvement patterns of insomnia before and after acupuncture treatment, achieved by needling various acupoints used for insomnia. Commonly used acupoints include *Baihui*, *Shenting*, *Yintang*, *Anmian*, *Shenmen*, and *Sanyinjiao*. Please note that the document also indicates the needling methods and depths according to the acupoints.
It shows the acupoints primarily used for insomnia and sleep disorders. These include combinations of points from the Du Meridian (Governing Vessel), Heart Meridian, Spleen Meridian, and extra meridians. Many of these acupoints are located on the cranium and face, primarily helping to calm the nerves and promote deep sleep.
Research Results and Analysis
The results are being compared after acupuncture treatment was administered alongside a control group. Results were checked during 2 and 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment, followed by a 2 and 4-week follow-up after discontinuing acupuncture to monitor symptom changes.
As shown above, ISI stands for Insomnia Severity Index, which is a scale indicating the severity of insomnia. It shows that the ISI scale scores consistently decreased over 4 weeks of treatment. In other words, a clear reduction in insomnia severity was observed.
- 22-28 points: severe
- 15-21 points: moderate severity
- 8-14 points: subthreshold insomnia
- 0-7 points: no insomnia
SE stands for sleep efficiency. It generally refers to the ratio of actual sleep time to the total time spent in bed. The study shows that sleep efficiency improved through acupuncture treatment.
SA stands for sleep awakening, referring to the number of times one wakes up during sleep. Frequent awakenings fragment the sleep pattern, leading to reduced sleep efficiency. It can be observed that the number of awakenings during sleep also gradually decreased.
TST stands for total sleep time. It also showed improvement in total sleep time. This essentially indicates both quantitative and qualitative improvements in sleep across these three aspects. Notably, these changes were sustained not only during the course of acupuncture treatment but also for 2 and 4 weeks after its completion. It is therefore considered important to undergo approximately 4 weeks of consistent treatment for acupuncture to be effectively beneficial.
Improvement in Depression and Anxiety
SDS stands for Self-Rating Depression Scale, and SAS stands for Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Insomnia often co-occurs with depression and anxiety disorders. This pattern is particularly prevalent in chronic insomnia. Consequently, many patients take antidepressants, tranquilizers, and anxiolytics along with sleeping pills.
The results above indicate that symptoms of anxiety and depression also decreased with acupuncture treatment. This demonstrates that the effects of acupuncture treatment are not limited to sleep but can also effectively address co-occurring symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, by considering these various accompanying symptoms and aiming to reduce dependence on tranquilizers, patients can receive therapeutic benefits that encompass improved sleep efficiency, restored daytime vitality, and more.
Today, we discussed the effects of acupuncture treatment for insomnia in Korean medicine clinics.
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