There are a lot of things that people can do to increase their health, and ability to live a long and happy life. There seems to be no end to the health food concoctions, drinks and herbal remedies that are available today to this end. However, when you break things down to their most basic level, there really are only a few things that we humans need. Food, air, water, and sleep.

Food is fairly well understood. The FDA food pyramid has long been taught in grade school, and outlines the basic food groups, and the best proportion to eat them in. Drinking pure, uncontaminated water, and breathing clean, uncontaminated air are so obvious that they won’t even warrant discussion.

Sleep, on the other hand, is still not completely understood by medical science. There really isn’t a clear and obvious reason why we sleep, and what kind of sleep is the most beneficial. It is common knowledge that we go through several phases of sleep during the night, with perhaps the most “talked about” being REM, or rapid eye movement sleep. This is of course when dreams happen, although why we dream is not completely understood.

No matter how you look at it, without enough sleep, there are bound to be problems. Unfortunately, measuring the quality of sleep is much more difficult that measuring the quality of our air, water or food. Even if you are in bed for eight hours a night, you still may be not getting enough sleep.

Sleep apnea is a very common ailment that goes mostly undetected. This is one of the main causes today of poor sleep, and can lead to secondary health hazards such as high blood pressure and psychological problems. The main problem with determine sleep apnea it happens while we are sleeping, and even if you wake up during an event, you aren’t likely to recall it the next day.

If you think you are suffering from sleep apnea, its a good idea to get as much information as possible before heading off to the doctor. This can be done a couple of ways. The easiest is to record yourself while sleeping. If you do this, your doctor can listen to your recording, and easily make a proper diagnosis.

A great way that many people find is extremely helpful is to keep a sleep journal. This entails writing everything down you can think of as soon as you wake up in the morning. How long did you sleep, how often did you wake up, did you have any trouble falling asleep. The more you record, the easier it will be for your doctor.

Although sleep apnea is an often under diagnosed problem that can cause a host of health problems, once you uncover it, and present some valuable data to your doctor, it can be relatively easy to treat. Sometimes treating it is as simple as using an adhesive bandage on your nose to keep your nasal passages open during sleep. Other cures are a bit more complicated, some involving outpatient laser surgery.

Whatever the cause, and the resulting treatment, the sooner you start to address your possible condition, the sooner you can get the sleep that you need.

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a traditional form of healthcare with a documented history going back for centuries. As an example, a book entitled Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic was written 2000 years ago, and is considered the oldest book on CHM. Insomnia, or the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep, has been and continues to be treated using CHM to the present day. A recent study in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine evaluated and reviewed the use of CHM for insomnia treatment in Taiwan. The study showed that there were 16,134 subjects who visited traditional Chinese Medicine clinics for insomnia in Taiwan during the year 2002. In addition, several studies have demonstrated that CHM treatments effectively benefit sleep quality, improve sleep duration, and exhibit reduced side effects in comparison to Western medicines.

The most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal formula for insomnia was Suan-zao-ren-tang. This formula consists of 5 individual herbs grouped together for the most beneficial synergistic effect. The primary herb in this formula is Ziziphus spinosa, or Suan-zao-ren (a.k.a., sour jujube seed). This herb has been shown to cause a sedative effect at higher doses and an anxiolytic effect at lower doses. Another study found that the formula Suan-zao-ren-tang produced an increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep, and it is believed that the mechanism was by the stimulation of serotonin receptors. The other herbs in this formula include Chuan-xiong (Szechuan lovage root), Fu-ling (poria), Zhi-mu (anemarrhena rhizome), and Gan-cao (licorice root).

It is important to note that whereas Western medicine attempts to treat insomnia as an isolated symptom, traditional Chinese medicine examines the condition of the body as a whole system, taking into consideration signs and symptoms ranging from appetite, thirst, mood, tongue color, and the quality of the pulse to reach a diagnosis. For this reason, not all patients suffering from insomnia will be given the same formula - some people will receive the Suan-zao-ren-tang formula mentioned above, while others could receive any one of a handful of other herbal formulas more appropriate for treating the underlying imbalance causing their insomnia.

Acupuncture treatments are usually given in conjunction with the herbal medicine mentioned above to enhance the effect of the treatment. Needles are inserted in carefully chosen points on the body depending on the traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis for each patient. Two acupuncture points often used in the treatment of insomnia include Yin-tang, which is located on the forehead between the eyebrows, as well as Shen-men, which is a point located on the ear. Both of these points have the effect of calming and sedating the patient.

The Insomnia study mentioned above concludes that our understanding of the mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine treatment for insomnia will benefit from further examination through continued clinical studies. However, the long-term application and popularity of this method of treatment in Taiwan and other Asian countries gives a strong indication of the potential benefits Chinese herbal medicine can offer for people throughout the world.

Sources for this article:

http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/nep018v1?rss=1

Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, 3rd edition, by Dan Bensky, et al.

Acupoints & Meridians, edited by Liu Gongwang, et al.