Acupuncture for Sleep
Want to schedule a treatment? Have questions? Find the scheduling link at leilaninavar.com/clinic (I'm currently practicing in Laguna Hills, CA)
In my 10 years of practice, one of the things I've helped with most often is sleep issues. If you or someone you care about has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up rested, this is for you.
In conventional Western, biomedicine terms, or if we're talking about functional medicine, we can think about the ability to sleep well having to do with hormones like melatonin and cortisol. In Chinese Medicine terms, we talk about the body substances known as Blood and Yin, which help our Qi and our mind/spirit descend downward and collect inward, which is the dynamic of falling asleep and staying asleep.
Sleep is one of my favorite things to help with, because good quality sleep helps everything. And, as you know if you struggle with this, poor sleep makes everything harder. Sleep is when our bodies do many important things, like repairing oxidative damage, replenishing energy levels, and of course, dreaming. Research continues to show - and so does my experience, and probably yours - that sleep is important for our immune systems, recovery from injury, coping with difficult experiences, learning and other brain functions, and preventing disease.
When you come in for acupuncture, we can stimulate acupuncture points that restore normal sleep physiology - that is, your body's natural ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up rested. So, you might have a great nap during an acupuncture treatment (many people do), but acupuncture is not simply sedating. It restores normal physiology, so you can get acupuncture in the morning, and sleep better that night. You can get acupuncture on Tuesday, and sleep better into the weekend and beyond. After a series of treatments, you may not need frequent acupuncture anymore. I'm also big on teaching you tools you can use at home, like self-acupressure massage on the same points I stimulate with acupuncture needles.
We can also go over herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, and lifestyle shifts that will help you sustain healthy sleep over the long term. Acupuncture is excellent for helping you deal with other issues that might be impacting your sleep, like allergies, pain, anxiety, or digestive issues.
Come to leilaninavar.com/clinic for info about scheduling, and to contact me with any questions.