Benefits of Acupuncture for sleep
Although acupuncture has been shown to be effective in treating chronic pain, according to specialists at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, more research is still needed to see how it can affect other medical disorders, like sleeplessness.
This is not to say that acupuncture hasn’t been researched or that it can’t help people sleep better.
Gary Stanton, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, claims that acupuncture is becoming a more evidence-based form of medicine despite the doubts of some medical professionals.
Stanton practices acupuncture on his patients and is board certified in neurology, sleep medicine, and acupuncture.
He explains, “I think of it as one of several therapy alternatives for a range of issues, [including] pain and sleep.”
Acupuncture may be an effective treatment for the signs and symptoms of:
- disruptions in sleep
- pain
- sleep apnea [4]
- anxiety [5]
- depression
- Irritable bowel syndrome [6]