Understanding Insomnia: Causes | Types | Treatments | TCM Perspective
Understanding Insomnia: Causes | Types | Treatments | TCM Perspective
Causes of Insomnia
- Predisposing Factors
These include individual characteristics such as age, personality, and constitution that make a person more susceptible to insomnia. - Precipitating Factors
These refer to various life stressors, such as work-related stress, illnesses, and significant life events that can trigger insomnia. - Perpetuating Factors
These involve behaviours and beliefs that sustain insomnia, including poor sleep habits and incorrect sleep cognitions.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, sleep is influenced by the flow of qi and blood and the function of the five organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys). Sleep naturally will follow when qi and blood are balanced and the organs function properly. Conversely, if there is an imbalance in the organs' yin and yang or disharmony in qi and blood, insomnia can occur. Prolonged insomnia can lead to a disruption and depletion of the organs' qi and blood functions, creating a vicious cycle that accelerates ageing and potentially leads to various diseases. Studies also show that women are more commonly affected by insomnia than men, partly due to hormonal changes such as premenstrual syndrome, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
Types of Insomnia
- Acute Insomnia
This type of insomnia usually lasts for a short time, with a duration of less than 4 weeks. Acute insomnia is often caused by sudden stressful events or changes in the environment, such as a sudden increase in work pressure, family problems, or travel-related jet lag, leading to short-term sleep difficulties. - Subacute Insomnia
When insomnia symptoms last for more than 4 weeks but less than 6 months, it is called subacute insomnia. This type of insomnia is usually caused by ongoing stress or emotional fluctuations, and may be related to long-term issues at work, school, or in personal relationships, but it has not yet developed into chronic insomnia. - Chronic Insomnia
If insomnia symptoms last for more than 6 months, it is called chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia is often associated with long-term health problems or psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or chronic illnesses. Chronic insomnia not only severely affects quality of life but can also have long-term negative impacts on physical health.
How TCM Views Types and Symptoms of Insomnia
- Heart and Spleen Deficiency, Qi and Blood Insufficiency
Symptoms：Fatigue, Palpitations, Insomnia with excessive dreaming, Dizziness and forgetfulness, Poor appetite and abdominal distension, Scanty and pale menstrual flow in women, Sallow complexion, Pale tongue, Thin, weak pulse. - Fluid Deficiency with Intestinal Dryness and Qi Stagnation
Symptoms:Dizziness and insomnia, Dry mouth with bad breath, Dry and hard stools, Red tongue with scanty fluids and yellow, dry coating - Qi Stagnation with Disturbed Mind
Symptoms：Restless mind, insomnia with early waking, fullness in the chest and sides, reduced appetite, abdominal bloating and pain, rumbling intestines, difficult bowel movements, and a thin, greasy tongue coating. - Liver and Kidney Deficiency, Dysregulated Qi Transformation
Symptoms：Insomnia with many dreams, dizziness, dry mouth, feeling of heat in the palms, soles, and chest, dry skin, sore lower back and knees, dry stools, involuntary ejaculation in young men, and irregular menstruation in women. - Spleen and Kidney Depletion Cold
Symptoms：Difficulty sleeping while lying in bed, pale complexion, sore lower back and knees, feeling cold in the body and limbs, abdominal cold pain, diarrhea in the early morning, difficulty urinating, swelling in the limbs, and frequent nighttime urination. - Deficiency of Yang Qi
Symptoms:All night feeling half-awake, disturbed by many dreams, mental fatigue, reluctance to speak, fear of cold with cold limbs, forgetfulness, thin white tongue coating, and a deep, weak pulse.
How TCM Treats Insomnia
In treating insomnia, Kang Won Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioner adheres to the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment. A suitable treatment plan should be devised based on the patient's symptoms, causes, and constitution. TCM primarily uses herbal medicine and acupuncture to treat insomnia. Acupuncture stimulates key acupoints to achieve a calming effect. For instance, in patients with heart and spleen deficiency, Qi, and blood insufficiency syndrome, the treatment plan involves tonifying Qi and nourishing blood to calm the mind. This can be achieved through acupuncture and the use of Qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing herbs, complemented by dietary adjustments. Acupoint massage can also be employed to stimulate meridians, promoting the flow of qi and blood, harmonizing yin and yang, and aiding sleep. Massaging the Baihui (at the top of the head) and the Shenmen (on the inner wrist) can help relieve fatigue, calm the mind, and promote sleep.
Additionally, if you have long-term insomnia and habitually take sleeping pills to help you sleep, Kang Won TCM Practitioner advises caution to avoid addiction or dependence on medication. This is especially important for the elderly, whose liver and other metabolic organs often show significant decline. Therefore, they should follow the principle of using small, intermittent doses and taking medication under the guidance of a professional doctor.
In daily life, you can refer to the following tips from Kang Won TCM Practitioner for better sleep:
- Dietary Therapy
Recommended ingredients include sour jujube seed, biota seed, and red dates for making tea, which have a calming effect on the mind. Millet can soothe the stomach and calm the mind, which helps improve insomnia, and can be made into millet porridge. Avoid excessive consumption of spicy and fried foods, and maintain a light diet while avoiding overeating. - Regulating Routine
If you experience frequent dreaming and wake up easily, these are signs of an unsettled mind, often related to excessive mental and physical exertion during the day, which depletes qi and blood. It is recommended to allocate time properly between work, study, and rest to avoid overexertion. Adequate rest helps relax the body and mind, so consider taking a break to relax your mind. Engage in moderate exercise such as yoga, tai chi, walking, or swimming, but avoid exercising at night. - Good Sleep Habits
Establishing good habits can help the body fall asleep more easily and alleviate anxiety about insomnia. Here are some suggestions:
- Use the bedroom and bed only for sleep. Once you’re in the bedroom, prepare for sleep by turning off the lights and avoiding activities such as browsing on your phone, reading, or watching TV in bed.
- If you find yourself tossing and turning and still unable to fall asleep, get up and go to another room. Do some relaxing activities (avoid stimulating or physically demanding activities) until you feel sleepy, then return to bed.
- Maintain a comfortable bedroom environment, ensuring factors like light, sound, temperature, and bedding are to your liking.
- Use other activities to help establish a regular sleep cycle, such as taking a warm bath or drinking a cup of warm milk before bed. A consistent sleep pattern can improve sleep quality over time.
- Sleep just enough, but not too long, to avoid difficulties falling asleep the next day.
Foods able to aid sleep:
- Spine Date Seed: Calms irritability and stabilizes the nervous system (note: needs to be roasted).
- Chinese Arborvilae Seed: Nourishes the heart, calms the mind, and improves vision.
- Red Dates: Boosts qi, nourishes the blood, and calms the mind.
- Lily Bulb: Clears the heart, calms the mind, and improves nervousness.
- Longan: Calms the mind and nourishes the blood.
- Lotus Seed: Calms the mind, strengthens the spleen, and preserves the essence.
Kontea Recommendation Products
Calming Tea
Effects: Acacia flowers are capable of soothing our internal organs and mental state. Tea brewed with Acacia flowers has a pleasant aroma that helps destressing and improves sleep quality.
Suitable for:Depression, anxiety, chest pain, insomnia.
Good Night Paste
Effects: Spine date seeds, when stewed with platycladi seeds and Poria mushroom with host wood, have the effects of calming the body and promoting peaceful rest, increasing the quality of sleep for people of the modern era.
Suitable for:People who dream and sleep poorly; people struggling with restlessness and anxiety.
Digestive Comfort Soup Pack
Effects:Lotus seed nourishes the stomach, strengthens kidneys, improves lungs, and boosts metabolism. Chinese yam can improve digestion and treat diarrhoea-related diseases, as well as remove toxins and help with the overall complexion. Other than that, Chinese yam contains allantoin, which helps repair the gastric mucosal barrier and improves digestive functions. Gordon Euryale Seed nourishes the liver, strengthens bones, strengthens the immune system, and promotes longevity.
Suitable for: Easy defecation, dampness in the spleen, insomnia, skin darkness, swelling in the lower body, bloating in the face in the morning.
American Ginseng Soup
Effects: American ginseng has the effects of replenishing energy and clearing heat. As people are living such fast-paced lives, they tend to get nervous and anxious, and American ginseng soup can help to calm their nerves. American ginseng is great against fatigue and to improve metabolism. If someone is experiencing bad sleep quality, forgetfulness, and symptoms of anxiety, they can use this soup to recover quickly.
Suitable for: Nervousness, frequent insomnia, constant dreams and easily startled out of sleep, as well as cold sweat.
Weight Controller Soup
Effects:Bamboo fungus contains high levels of amino acids, vitamins and nutrients. It is a nourishing ingredient that revitalises the body and mind, strengthens the immune system, improve liver cell performance and helps prevent liver diseases. It also helps reduce fat accumulation. Bamboo fungus can also be used to combat cancer during cancer treatment.
Suitable for: Obesity, insomnia, weak immune system, mind workers, diabetic, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and cancer patients.
Kang Won Herbalist
Kang Won TCM Practitioner also recommends seeking medical attention as soon as rheumatic symptoms begin to appear. Early consultation allows us to provide you with suitable treatment and prevention plans based on your symptoms and underlying causes.
Our TCM Practitioner specializes in diagnosing and treating various internal health issues in the internal medicine field. We are dedicated to balancing the body's energy flow to alleviate internal problems and improve overall health. Therefore, if you have any concerns about rheumatic diseases, we welcome you to consult with us in person to learn more.
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