Insomnia1
By Andrew Gaeddert
According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, more than thirty-five million Americans suffer from chronic insomnia, while another twenty to thirty million suffer shorter-term sleeplessness.2 According to Chinese medicine, insomnia may be caused by fear, or by a lack of nourishment of heart blood or heart yin. In clinical practice, it is common to prescribe multiple herbal formulas for insomnia. For people who have chronic insomnia it may be necessary to use a constitutional formula during the day, and a more sedating formula prior to bed. Chinese herbs typically have fewer side effects than Western pharmaceutical sleep aids, though they also work more slowly. Light boxes (www.northernlighttechnologies.com) can be useful for people with chronic insomnia. They are typically used for thirty minutes when first waking up.
If your clients take natural sleep relaxants, have them take before their bath. It is important to take herbs half hour or more before bed, as they typically take longer than pharmaceuticals to reach effectiveness, so taking them right before bed may be too late. The following may be taken with passion flower tea.
Professional Treatment
- Griffonex 5-HTP (2 to 3 capsules one hour before bed, and if waking up during the night)
- Schisandra Dreams (2 to 3 capsules one hour before bed, and if waking up during the night)
- One of the above formulas can be combined with one of the daily tonics below:
- Shen-Gem (gui pi tang) (3 to 5 capsules three times per day) is a constitutional formula. Treatment used during the day if fatigue, pallor, and difficulty falling asleep.
- Calm Spirit (3 capsules three times per day) is used with yin deficiency characterized by feeling hot at night and waking up frequently.
References
- 1 Gaeddert, Andrew, Healing Immune Disorders Natural Defense-Building Solutions, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA. 2005. pp 235-238.
- 2 www.planetherbs.com
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