When sleep eludes you and its effects are starting to affect your health, you’d likely go down all kinds of roads to find a solution. In tackling insomnia, one of the most unique and best ways you can try is a very old natural and alternative treatment known as acupuncture.

For some, acupuncture may seem a little bit odd of a choice; however, this very useful healing modality have been used by many cultures throughout the world as a cure for insomnia and various types of illnesses for hundreds and even thousands of years. Its origins came from China where it has been used to tackle everything from pain and addiction to infertility and from stress and anxiety to depression.

Understanding the underlying reasons of most cases of insomnia is important because it will enable us to understand how acupuncture cures can help. When they are learned, it becomes clear why a certain type of acupuncture procedure is used over other types of acupuncture procedures for certain patients.

Insomnia is due mainly to the following factors:

1. Pain – Pain is a very big reason why a lot of people experience insomnia. When pain is the main factor, acupuncture treatment can be extremely effective. The relief of pain is actually the number reason why people turn to acupuncture. This treatment has accomplished its task when the pain has been controlled or alleviated. For chronic insomnia, long-term treatments are necessary to cure the underlying cause of the problem that might have been experienced by the person for a very long time.

People who have been suffering from insomnia would deem life as hardly worth living. Most likely, they have tried everything conventional medicine has to offer without success. The next step for them then is to consider an alternative treatment that has been known to work for insomnia for thousands of years: acupuncture. Acupuncture actually helps the body heal itself. It can be extremely effective because, as mentioned, before, it not only cures your insomnia but addresses the main reason why you have the problem in the first place.

2. Addiction – One other big reason why many people develop insomnia is caffeine abuse or addiction. As mentioned a while ago, acupuncture can treat addiction and addiction is no exception. This type of addiction might be a minor problem compared to nicotine or cocaine addiction, it nevertheless can wreak havoc with sleep.

3. Anxiety and Stress – A mind the refuses to turn itself off at night can make sleep impossible to attain. Acupuncture treatment for insomnia can enable people to fall asleep by helping relieve their anxieties and stress. This effect is very important since the treatment not only cures people’s sleeplessness, it also helps them overcome anxiety and relieve stress enabling them to live a happy worry-free life. If no approach is made to handle anxiety and stress better, it is more than likely more acupuncture treatments for insomnia may be needed down the road.

Typically, a patient with insomnia may need several sessions of acupuncture insomnia treatment, especially if stress reduction or pain management is also required. Completing the whole course of treatment is essential if you want a real and long-term or even permanent cure for your insomnia.

Dominic Sembello is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and the clinical director of Health Source Acupuncture in Linwood, NJ.