Acupuncture May Be More Effective than Insomnia Drugs at Treating Sleep Disorders
Could acupuncture be the best treatment for sleep issues including insomnia?
Insomnia will affect most people at one point or another in their lifetime. While it can be an occasional occurrence for most—a new baby at home, nervousness over a big test, getting married in the morning jitters, etc—some people suffer from chronic, even debilitating bouts of insomnia and sleep disorders that can take a huge toll.
Is there anything worse than an inability to fall or stay asleep? Most people who’ve experienced insomnia will say “no.” It can lead to anxiety, depression and serious concentration issues. It can even be damaging to your health—a lack of sleep has been linked to metabolic disorders.
Even the healthiest people who eschew conventional medicines will resort to insomnia drugs in order to get a decent night’s sleep. But those insomnia drugs can make you feel groggy the next day, even more tired, and they also have side effects like dizziness, dry mouth, constipation, difficulty urinating, seizures, confusion and rapid heart rates.
Now, new research looked at acupuncture plus traditional Chinese herbs versus benzodiazepine-based insomnia drugs. And the researchers found that the acupuncture herb groups experienced “significantly better overall effective rate” at treating insomnia than the benzodiazepine drug group.
“Patients in the acupuncture plus herbs group enjoyed a 96.8% total effective rate compared with the estazolam group receiving a 74.2% total effective rate,” reports the Healthcare Medical Institute.
By targeting specific acupuncture points, the researchers noted the subjects not only had significantly better results, but they also avoided the adverse effects common with the benzodiazepine drugs. As an added benefit, the acupuncture and herbal remedies also improved the overall quality of sleep of the subjects.
Image via mikefats
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