How to Sleep Throughout the Night With the Help of Acupuncture and Massage

Getting adequate and restful sleep is key to our wellbeing and helps the body rejuvenate following periods of mental or physical duress. It has been previously found that chronic sleep loss, may contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and an impaired immune system (Harvard Health Publications, 2006). It is key therefore, to find ways to help maintain healthy sleep and waking patterns to avoid putting the body under unnecessary stress.

Sleep disorders and sleep problems in adults are common complaint in modern society, stress levels and the demands of every day life are at times unavoidable, leaving the body unable to wind down t the end of the day. Without time to rejuvenate, we can end up in a vicious cycle of heightened stress levels and yet more sleepless nights. Anxiety and over thinking can often accompany difficulty in sleeping and more often than not present as a dual condition in sleeping disorders. It could be argued that the emotional and functional aspects are separate issues but it is undeniable that continued lack of sleep, will eventually affect our emotional wellbeing.

Both Acupuncture and Tui Na massage can be great tools for helping relax the nervous system and improve sleep patterns. Both forms of treatment work to restore the flow of blood and oxygen to tight and tired muscles. They also assist the smooth function of internal organs, such as the digestive and respiratory system. Both these contribute to maintaining healthy sleeping patterns and play a key a part in the body's response to stress levels.

Problems Sleeping at Night?
In Chinese medicine, pulse and tongue diagnosis and the study of superficial meridians or channels of the body help to ascertain the root cause of a person's mental or physical restlessness. This can vary a great deal from person to person and treatments are tailored to address each individual's needs. A series of treatments of Acupuncture or Tui Na, or a combination of both, can assist the body to re-establish its natural circadian rhythm and help sooth an over stimulated nervous system. The best time to receive treatment is ideally at the end of the day when the body is naturally starting to wind down and prepare for sleep.

There have been a number of research articles carried out to establish whether there is a link between Acupuncture and melatonin secretion. If you are interested in reading one please click on the link below:

Sleeping Tips and Techniques to Get More ZZZZs
Here are a couple of tips to help prepare the body for a good night's sleep:

1) Whilst lying down place your hand either side of your rib cage and breathe in deeply through your nose. Feel your ribs expand to their maximum. Pause for two seconds and allow the breath to release slowly through your nose expel the breath from your lungs completely. Pause again for a second and breathe in slow through your nose filling your lungs to capacity pause for two seconds and out again through your nose. Keep your hands placed either side of your rib cage throughout. Repeat the inward and outward breath sequence as described five times.

2) Then place your thumb between your eyebrows and stroke with medium pressure very slowly up to your hairline. Repeat this action from brow to hairline five times. Continue again with the breathing sequence and then the brow strokes. Do both these cycles at least five times.

Sweet dreamzzzzzzzzzZZ!