Most commonly … insomnia, restless leg syndrome (RLS), fatigue,  sleep latency and jet lag.

 

FATIGUE

Fatigue, or feeling tired often can be a normal part of everyone’s lives at times. But when you feel like that ALLLL the time, to the point of constant exhaustion which affects your ability to carry on with everyday tasks, you know yourself that something must be done.

Your energy resources get used day and night through mental and physical activities such as work, stress, overthinking problems or situations, exercise, caring for young children, study, housework etc… This is normal but sometimes, we use up more of our energy than we can replenish.

Looking at it from an investment point of view, we all understand that the position of our financial health, is the balance of deposits versus withdrawals. More deposits and fewer withdrawals, make a healthy bank balance. The energy savings balance that our body has to work with can be viewed in much the same way.

We deposit into and replenish our energy bank account when we sleep, relax, eat well and participate in regular gentle exercise, therapeutic treatments and socialisation. Your bodies condition over the course of your life, will be a reflection of the transactions you have made in your energy bank account throughout it. If you have made more withdrawals than deposits, you will lack the energy, nutrition and motivation to stay well and will be more susceptible to health problems. If you have made more deposits than withdrawals, you will be able to maintain good health and vitality.

Well Beings Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine treatments work by restoring the resources that produce energy in the body. It also helps improve your sleep and digestive function, which are both required to work well to have efficient energy production. After a series of treatments working towards achieving your energy restorations goals, you should be left feeling more energetic, less lethargic and have better mental clarity.

We are about helping you build up your energy bank account and staying out of the black.

 

RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME (RLS)

RLS can be described as having an overwhelming feeling or urge to move the legs whilst resting or sitting. It is sometimes accompanied by unpleasant cramping sensations as commonly appears during pregnancy.

If you answer ‘yes’ to many of the following questions, you may have RLS;

• When laying down or sitting, do you have a strong desire to move your legs?
• Does it feel impossible to resist your desire to move your legs?
• Would you describe the feeling in your legs as tingling, pulling, tugging, dull annoying ache, creepy- crawly?
• Do your symptoms reside or improve after moving your legs?
• Are these symptoms more frequent at night?
• Do you ever have involuntary leg movements which keep your partner awake at night?
• Do you ever have involuntary leg movements whilst you are awake?
• Do any of your family members experience similar symptoms?
• Are you tired or unable to concentrate during the day?

Depending on each individuals case, acupuncture and herbs such as cyathula root, suberect spatholobus stem, white peony root, angelica root, processed rhemannia rhizome, and largehead atractylodes rhizome might be used. Nutritional supplements that include Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and folic acid have also been proven to improve symptoms of RLS.

 

INSOMNIA

Norepinephrine, GABA, endogenous opiates and melatonin are all neurotransmitters involved in sleep and can be manipulated with acupuncture. A realm of evidence-based research demonstrates improved sleep patterns where acupuncture influences nervous system activity by decreasing cardiac sympathetic (flight or fight) and increasing parasympathetic (relaxation) activity. This translates into calming, relaxing effects on the body. In particular, the acupuncture points HT-7 and PC-6 have shown to have the most significant response to insomnia relief, you might have experienced your acupuncturist needling these points on you before as they are very effective and common.

GABA is a calming neurotransmitter. It’s increased levels and activity in the brain is associated with sedative effects and the relief of insomnia. Some sleep medications are based on their ability to increase the effectiveness of GABA in the brain for this reason. Acupuncture significantly increases GABA levels as well as increasing availability of its cellular receptors. This in turn improves the body’s ability to utilize GABA, decrease the severity of insomnia related sleep disorders and best of all – it’s achieved naturally!

Melatonin is a more widely known, naturally occurring hormone produced in the pineal gland and released into the blood, which helps regulate sleep and wake cycles. Melatonin levels rise sharply in the blood around 9pm where you begin to feel less alert and sleep becomes more inviting. Daytime levels are barely detectable & even artificial light can inhibit it’s release which is why our body’s are so affected by jetlag or shift work disorder. Acupuncture has been clinically shown to increase the secretion of melatonin, in a particular study showed a significant cumulative increase after five weeks of treatment. This was also associated with improved sleep and reduced anxiety.

Various acupuncture points may be use in the treatment of insomnia. Even with a single acupoint such as HT-7, a wide range of neurochemical changes associated with insomnia relief can be measured clinically.

 

JET LAG

Jet Lag is a type of fatigue caused by travelling across different time zones. It  disrupts of the internal body clock and known as a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Classic symptoms include:

• Fatigue and disorientation
• Interrupted sleep
• Confusion and fuzziness
• Getting ‘uptight’, ‘short fuse’
• Dehydration
• Uncomfortable legs and feet
• Overall body constitution is lowered, vulnerable to catching a cold

Our qualified practitioners can help you recover faster, whilst managing the symptoms of jet lag that no one has time for in this busy day and age. If you are a frequent traveller, it’s a good idea to schedule a treatment the day after your return flight to be sure you will be on your way to feeling great again faster!

 

Please contact us at wellbeingsgroup1@gmail.com or on 0425 352 080 so we can help you today!

 

 

Related references and research:
Acupuncture Increases Nocturnal Melatonin Secretion and Reduces Insomnia and Anxiety: A Preliminary Report. Spence D., Kayumov L., & Chen A., et al. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2004 16:1, 19-28

Acupuncture Treatment of Insomnia: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Nov; 15(11): 1171–1186.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156618/

Actigraph Evaluation of Acupuncture for Treating Restless Legs Syndrome
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2015 (2015), Article ID 343201, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/343201

Restless Legs Syndrome and Chinese Medicine. By Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon.
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/restlessleg.htm

Wang JJ., Song YJ., Wu ZC., ChuXO., Wang XH., Wang XJ., Wei LN & Wang QM (2009). Zhen Ci Yan Jiu; Dec;34(6):421-8. A Meta Analysis on Randomised Controlled Trials of Acupuncture Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20209981

Zhang W, Peng WN, Liu ZS. Acupuncture for chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review. J Evidence-Based Med. 2009;9:41–47.

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine: Restless leg syndrome and traditional Chinese medicine. http://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/09/06/restless-leg-syndrome-and-traditional-chinese-medicine

Zhang W., Liu ZS., Xu HR & Liu YS (2011). Zhen Ci Yan Jiu; Dec 36(6):437-41, 448. Observation on Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture of Back- Shu Acupoints for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22379791

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