Insomnia is a state of health that makes it difficult for the sufferer to fall or stay asleep. This article defines insomnia further as poor quality of sleep with symptoms occurring at least thrice each week which can last a month or more.

Every person can experience insomnia. The fact is that this disorder is so widely experienced today and affects about 105 million to 140 million adult Americans each year. Insomnia tends to mostly affect women and the elderly more than any other segment of the population.

The women who are suffering from insomnia usually are the ones who have issues that are associated with their reproductive cycle. These can include menopause, pregnancy and menstrual cycles. One’s quality of sleep somehow degrades with age for a lot of people. One should also note that Insomnia can be a health problem in its own right, or can be a symptom of a serious underlying condition or disease.

Acute, short-term or untreated insomnia can be as short as one night or last for several nights. If left untreated, acute or short-term insomnia can become chronic or long-term. This can last for several months to decades.

Insomnia is marked by several symptoms including:

-Waking up not feeling refreshed or well-rested
-Problem getting back to sleep after waking up
-Waking up early
-Waking up throughout the night
-Sleeping lightly
-Difficulty falling asleep

Any one of these symptoms can wreak damage to a person’s emotional, mental and/or physical health. The mental and physical fatigue that usually comes with insomnia can impact a sufferer’s activities and performance during the day in a serious manner. The sufferer may experience tension headaches, poor memory and concentration, anxiety, irritability, fatigue and daytime drowsiness.

If insomnia is not resolved it can weaken a person’s state of health further leading to illnesses, complications and more health problems. Actually, recent studies demonstrate that people suffering from insomnia show overall poor health than people who get a good night’s sleep; moreover, insomniacs have a high rate of depression than people who are getting adequate sleep.

Doctors usually prescribe pharmaceutical drugs for their insomnia patients; the problem with this type of treatment is it really doesn’t treat the problem and usually causes unwanted and harmful side-effects to the user. A growing number of insomniacs are trying out acupuncture, a very effective and safe alternative type of treatment for people with sleep issues. It is a great way to get treated as it does not have the side effects related to the use of pharmaceuticals and other medications. Acupuncture is not habit forming and has a very high rate of success (90%) when it comes to treating insomnia.

Having its origins in Ancient China and practiced for thousands of years now, acupuncture today is used literally by tens of millions of people all over the world as a treatment for dozens of illnesses and pain. This modality involves the administration of extremely thin needles into certain points known as acupoints scattered throughout the body.

Exercise and relaxation activities can likewise aid in the resolution of insomnia. Passive activities such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong and meditation are all natural and healthy techniques that can help engender a more profound quality of sleep since they help lower stress that may be a major cause of sleeplessness.

Here are some helpful suggestions to help you develop and maintain healthy a sleeping habit:

-Do not worry about time or look at the clock if you happen to wake up during the night; just roll over and try to return to sleep
-Get out of bed and walk to another room until you become sleepy or tired enough to retire and fall asleep
-Avoid doing any strenuous exercises or stimulating activities like playing video games before going to bed
-Do not smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol when it’s near bedtime
-Do not drink any beverage containing caffeine or any kind of stimulant, particularly in the afternoon or evening hours
-Keep a comfortable, quiet and peaceful ambience that makes it easy for you to fall asleep (this can include a dimly lit room and/or lower mild temperatures, which makes you sleepy easily)
-Use the bed only for sex or sleep (no lounging, studying, reading, eating or TV)
-Set your alarm clock to help you wake up at the same time
-Do not go to bed until you feel tired or drowsy
-Do not nap or sleep during the day

Acupuncture combined with other natural modalities to help you fall asleep can be extremely effective in the battle against insomnia.

If you have insomnia, you always need to talk to your doctor first if you are considering getting acupuncture therapy for your condition. These days, more and more doctors are recommending and supporting natural forms of therapies like acupuncture to help their patients overcome insomnia in a much more effective and safer way.