We are about five months out from when many states locked down to “flatten the curve,” due to Covid-19. I’ve been an Acupuncturist for close to 25 years, and I’ve never treated as much disordered sleep as I have over this timeframe. People are facing unprecedented stress internally and externally. Patients are reporting difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, nightmares, bad dreams, night sweats, and non-restorative sleep. Not many know that acupuncture can be of great help to stabilize our sleep patterns.
Given we are in the summer, the fire element, many of us are experiencing a short-circuiting in that element’s primary meridian: the heart. In Chinese Medicine the heart is the ruler of all the other networks and houses our spirit or “shen,” (as it is referred to in Chinese Medicine). Our shen or spirit hides in our hearts during sleep. For background, the five elements in Chinese Medicine are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water and correlate to seasons, emotions, and numerous other things.
Because our heart energies are disordered as a result of the pandemic, our spirits are not being properly housed in our hearts and are “roaming” at night. This phenomenon is triggering the sleep disorders described above. Additionally, many of us have heat or fire in our heart meridian as a result of too much pressure.
Valerie, a Doctor who works at a Hospital and is a regular patient, came for acupuncture in July. She reported extreme nightmares and night sweats that week. I had been treating Valerie for quite some time, and this type of sleep disturbance was unusual for her. Given the number of cases in need of help for sleep, I knew this was much greater than Valerie. We had a sleep disorder epidemic on our hands in addition to a pandemic!
I employed points on the heart meridian in Valerie’s case with great success: Heart 6, which nourishes our heart yin, clears heart fire, and calms the shen; Heart 8, the fire point on the heart meridian that clears fire and calms the mind; Kidney 6, on the inner ankle which enriches kidney yin to combat insomnia; and Yin Tang on the forehead between the eyebrows, a reflex point of the pituitary which is good for insomnia. During the session, I knew it was working when I heard snoring coming from the calm, dimly-lit, treatment space!
Valerie’s sleep has been holding steady since that treatment where we focused on the heart meridian, clearing out heat, nourishing her yin, and calming her shen. Acupuncture is a great place to turn when you find yourself struggling with not just sleep disturbance but just about anything that impacts the human condition whether mental, physical, or spiritual. Acupuncturists use sterile, disposable, single-use needles with gentle insertion that makes the experience a very pleasant, relaxing, and endorphin-inducing one.
Western medicine has little to offer other than pharmaceuticals that can leave us groggy and disoriented the next day. The art and science of acupuncture can step in and help people obtain peaceful sleep during these trying times.
Sweet dreams!
Maureen McLaughlin
Licensed Acupuncturist
www.maureenmclaughlinacu.com
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