Many people suffer from insomnia, which can go on for a long period of time. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by having difficulty falling asleep, even though the body is exhausted, or, finally falling asleep but dreaming lucidly so the mind and body cannot rest. This is why your body has a “sleep point.”
Some people report waking up frequently at around 2 or 3 a.m. and have trouble going back to sleep afterward. So how to deal with insomnia to ensure good quality sleep throughout the night until the morning? The “sleep point” acupoint can improve sleep and there is also a Chinese medicinal formula for the treatment of insomnia.
Symptoms of insomnia
Insomnia (derived from the Latin insomnis, meaning sleepless) refers to symptoms of having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep naturally. It may mean difficulty in falling asleep, significantly reduced sleeping hours, low quality sleep, waking up often during the night, or waking up early. Chronic insomniacs even stay up all night.
Insomnia is usually followed by daytime symptoms such as mental disturbance, lethargy, anxiety, depression, inattentiveness, and fatigue, which leads to issues when working. It may also increase the risk of accidents. Insomnia may be short-term, lasting for a few days to a week, or it may be long-term, lasting more than a month.
The body’s sleep point
We have a portable sleeping mechanism in our body known in Chinese medicine as the “sleep point.” The main role of the sleep point is to treat insomnia, which has many negative effects, such as heart palpitations, irritability, headache, dizziness, epilepsy, mental illness, deafness, and high blood pressure.
When you bring your head forward and look down, you can find the wind pool point located on the back of your neck by feeling for the mastoid bone behind your ears and following the groove around to where your neck muscles attach to the skull.
Use your fingertips to turn clockwise and counterclockwise 30 times on this sleep point, or use your fingertips to press the sleep point for 1-3 minutes.
Chinese medicinal formula for treating insomnia
Chinese medicine has some prescriptions for the treatment of insomnia. For example, drinking acacia and nocturnal vine boiled in water and taking a Gui Pi Wan decoction have good results in treating insomnia.
Dry tea leaves pillow
After brewing tea, the leftover tea leaves can be dried together with jasmine flowers and then stuffed into pillows. This can calm the nerves and treat insomnia.
Hot bath
Take a hot bath before going to bed every night or use hot water to soak your feet. If possible, you can use hot springs, saunas, or medicated baths, which can improve your sleep.
Foot massage
Every night before going to bed, use your hands to massage the soles of your feet for about five minutes. In particular, the location of the Yong Quan point requires massage, which can effectively help you to sleep.
Sweet and sour
Every night, drink vinegar with warm water, then close your eyes and you can quickly fall asleep. You can also drink a cup of warm sugar water, which also has a calming effect on sleep.
Lying down and relaxing method
Relax every night while sleeping, then adjust your breathing evenly, eliminate the distracting thoughts in your brain, and use the counting method.
Translation by Chua BC and edited by Helen
