It seems that folks these days are pretty sleep deprived.
So many of our patients here at Stillpoint spend their nights tossing and turning. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if these people were napping to make up for the lost hours of sleep, but due to busy lifestyles, naps are not a priority for most.
But they should be! A brief mid-day slumber of 20-30 minutes can increase alertness and boost mood. Furthermore, naps can enhance performance and decrease the risk of mistakes and accidents. And they feel oh so good.
So what does all of this have to do with acupuncture?
The first thing you will notice when you set foot in the community treatment room at Stillpoint is people, reclined in chairs and dozing peacefully. They’re acu-napping! Not only are they getting treatment, but they are sneaking in a rejuvenating nap at the same time. Clever acu-nappers!
I can nap at home, why come in for an acu-nap?
A study conducted in 2004 at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto found that in patients with anxiety, acupuncture increased nighttime melatonin production and total sleep time. And the patients who received acupuncture also fell asleep faster, were less aroused at night and were less stressed overall. Boo ya acupuncture!
Here at Stillpoint we treat many patients with sleep issues. If their insomnia is a fairly recent occurrence, then usually only a short series of treatments is needed to reverse the trend. Chronic insomnia on the other hand, will take longer to correct. The treatment plan is always customized depending on each patient’s unique presentation. Even if someone has been struggling with sleep for a long time, it is still worth giving acupuncture a shot. It can’t do any harm and in most cases will in fact improve sleep as well as overall health.
Why is sleep so important?
Everyone knows how bad it feels to be sleep deprived. We will tend to feel groggy, grumpy, out of sorts, nauseous, achy, confused… the list goes on. Our bodies need a certain amount of good
quality sleep in order to function. It’s not surprising that sleep deprivation has been used as a means of interrogation and torture.
There is so much happening inside our bodies while we are sleeping. There are processes that help in the consolidation of memories and learning. There is hormonal production and regulation, which contribute to our appetite the following day.
You can think of sleep as a form of brainwashing–but the good kind! As you know, the cells in your body are constantly creating waste. Our lymphatic system is what cleans up the mess in our body but it stops at the neck. So how does the brain get cleaned?
It turns out that cerebral spinal fluid that fills our brain travels down the outside of our blood vessels collecting cellular waste and carrying it out of the brain. Squeaky clean! But guess what? This process happens only when we are asleep.
Are you tired of getting a bad sleep? (Pun!) Then why not give acupuncture a try? We will come up with a point protocol specially for you to improve your quality of sleep. And all we ask of you is that you cosy yourself into one of our recliners, kick up your feet and let our needles do the work.
