Sleep Like a Baby: Drug-free Insomnia Options

Insomnia it can rob you of everything: your sanity, your memory even your dignity. If you can't sleep, after a while, you can't function. It's one of the reasons many become addicted to medication that is known to impair cognitive function, and in even worse cases, allows you to do things in your sleep you don't remember doing including driving.
Those who love to put down anything and everything try to convince you acupuncture is all about placebo effect, has no scientific evidence behind it and they want you to believe them. Whether they are hoping you will remain addicted to medication or they just have misinformation themselves they pass on to others. More and more scientific information is disproving these habitual integrative medicine naysayers and quack mongers and the scientific studies aren't just perception of improved sleep, they've proven it by measuring the amount of melatonin in the participants urine. It was printed in journal steeped in western methodology and scientific measures: Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.
The study proved “Sleep activity and sleep quality significantly improved following 5 weeks of individualized acupuncture…”. 
More studies proved that patients who either had a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep had improved sleep.

 "The subjective, qualitative assessment was better in the proper treatment group than in the control group..."

Yet other patients find they have insomnia due to chronic pain. This article describes how acupuncture treats pain and induces more restful sleep from a western medical perspective.  If you love proof and you need it in western medical terminology over eastern medical terminology, you will love this interpretation. It also explains why so many people fall asleep during acupuncture, even if they are afraid of needles, as most are and they tend not to be nappers. Acupuncture helps regulate the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. It also gives us a lovely dump of encalphins and endorphins triggering a euphoric feeling unlike any other and it helps us chill out, relax and take a rest.

Give acupuncture a try and you may just find you sleep like a happy, healthy, tired baby.

Eagle Acupuncture provides acupuncture for insomnia, anxiety and pain management. They also provide comprehensive herbal medicine for complicated medical issues. Call to schedule your virtual  appointment from anywhere in the US (208) 938-1277.

Menopause on Channel 2 KBOI Valentine's Day

Tune in Valentine's Day 10pm Channel 2 KBOI Boise, to watch a report on menopause striking early and how it affects women physically and emotionally.

Natalie Hurst from KBOI Channel 2 interviewed me and three of my patients to discuss the emotional and physical changes during menopause. Most women aren't aware of their natural but incredibly effective options when it comes to healthcare and hormonal imbalances. Peri-menopause can dramatically disrupt a womans life causing emotional outbursts, decreased sex drive, fuzzy headedness, short term memory problems, crying episodes, fatigue, low back pain, abdominal fat, weight gain, insomnia and frustrating hot flashes and night sweats. It was wonderful to witness the interview first hand hearing the remarakable changes my patients experienced with acupuncture and herbal medicine. They felt their lives were significantly improved with no scary side-effects. A woman wants to age gracefully and not be fearful of her medical choices. Acupuncture and herbal medicine can do that for women suffering from peri-menopausal symptoms.


During the interview there was a portion where the women sat and shared their experiences and it was beautiful to watch. You could feel the passion they felt for natural medicine and how significanlty it changed their lives. There was a sense of comaraderie and compassion shared between these women who had just met that evening for the first time.

Fool Proof Remedies for Improved Sleep During Pregnancy

The top three reasons a pregnant Mom can't sleep


1. Pain or discomfort

2. Hunger (even if she isn't aware she is hungry)

3. Disruptive Bathroom Breaks



1. Pain or discomfort

Best position after 20 weeks pregnant is on the left side with a pillow under your neck, knees and sometimes one to hug and one to press against your lumbar area (low back). Chiroflow pillows are great because you can fill half the pillow with water to accomodate your personal neck posture. Acupuncture is safe and effective for any type of muscle or joint pain during pregnancy. If your sleep is being disrupted by pain go right away to an Acupuncturist who specializes in women's health and treatment during pregnancy; a great place to find a licensed Acupuncturist is www.Acufinder.com. An added bonus: the number one side-effect from acupuncture is improved sleep; so in reality you get a two for one for your acupuncture treatment benefits.



2. Hunger (even if she isn't aware she is hungry)

Be sure to eat a snack right before bed that is small and has protein. Good examples: Four whole wheat crackers with almond or peanut butter, a cup of whole fat yogurt, 1/4 cup of nuts like cashews or almonds. The caloric increase needed to grow a baby in-utero is 500 extra calories a day. By eating a snack before bed you prevent your body from thinking you are not "starving" while you sleep away at night time. Sometimes the snack is needed when you are suffering from insomnia. Put the snack on your bedside table and chew a few bites and then go back to dreamland.



3. Disruptive Bathroom Breaks

During the day be conscious about getting enough water aiming for around 100 fluid oz. By 5:00pm you want to taper your drinking to sips only when needed. Be sure to empty your bladder right before bed for this will reduce the number of times you may need to get up in the middle of the night to urinate.