Guest guest Posted October 6, 2000 Report Share Posted October 6, 2000 Some questions below: - " isis isis " <isismoonisis Friday, October 06, 2000 10:09 AM Sleeping problems > > Hi, > I often have sleeping problems > and my current one is that I go > to sleep at 11 and wake up at > 5:30, stay awake til 7, then fall > asleep til 10 again. I would LOVE > to sleep through the night. Does > anyone have any ideas or > suggestions? Today I'm trying > to not go back to bed no matter > how much my eyes start shutting. > > Isis Dear Isis; There are probably many people who would consider 6 1/2 hours of sleep a good night's rest. Is it possible that this is the amount of sleep that your body requires? Would you feel refreshed if you got up at 7 and began your day with a nourishing breakfast and some exercise? Are you taking any medications or supplements that might interfere with your normal sleep patterns? Have you considered melatonin as a way to regulate your sleep cycle? Meditation or self-hypnosis? Some warm milk or herbal tea before bedtime? What, if anything, happens in your immediate area at 7AM? Are you awakened by sunlight? The sound of roommates or neighbors beginning their day? Cars or garbage trucks?? Maybe if you can identify the source of your early morning awakening, you can take the proper steps to make your bedroom a more peaceful, quieter, darker, (whatever you need), space. What do YOU think that you need in order to get the best night's sleep you can? Hope these questions help you to find some answers. Florie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 6, 2000 Report Share Posted October 6, 2000 Hi Isis, Florie gave you some excellent feedback about your entire sleeping condition per se. Much to contemplate there. I have read that adults actually need 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night. This is reduced with aging. The fundamental question I would ask myself is - how do I feel after this, ie your amount of sleep? If the answer is not well I would highly recommend MELATONIN. You can read all about it on the net. My sleeping pattern as well became too short or too shallow and it affected my entire following day. Melatonin changed that completely. After I first took it I slept as I used to when I was 20. Deep and refreshing. Consider it and happy zzzzzzzzzzzzzz : ) best, Maya On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 07:09:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote: > > Hi, > I often have sleeping problems > and my current one is that I go > to sleep at 11 and wake up at > 5:30, stay awake til 7, then fall > asleep til 10 again. I would LOVE > to sleep through the night. Does > anyone have any ideas or > suggestions? Today I'm trying > to not go back to bed no matter > how much my eyes start shutting. > > Isis > > > > Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! > _____ Say Bye to Slow Internet! http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 6, 2000 Report Share Posted October 6, 2000 Isis Chamamile tea may help. You may also want to drink some warm milk about half-hour before you go to bed. Milk has calcium and calcium has a relaxing effect on us...Or listen to a nice tape of quiet music or meditation tape. Cathy Mcv1052 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 7, 2000 Report Share Posted October 7, 2000 All great ideas, Isis, making love is another one : ) Maya On Fri, 6 Oct 2000 20:40:07 EDT, wrote: > Isis > Chamamile tea may help. You may also want to drink some warm milk about > half-hour before you go to bed. Milk has calcium and calcium has a relaxing > effect on us...Or listen to a nice tape of quiet music or meditation tape. > Cathy > Mcv1052 _____ Say Bye to Slow Internet! http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 7, 2000 Report Share Posted October 7, 2000 Are there any chinese herbalists on the list who could tell me which hours rule which organs? Maybe a dis-ease in a particular organ/s is waking you up? I also find myself awake in the wee, small hours but now use the time to meditate and practise reiki on myself. Love and Light, Ninox Hi, I often have sleeping problems and my current one is that I go to sleep at 11 and wake up at 5:30, stay awake til 7, then fall asleep til 10 again. I would LOVE to sleep through the night. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? . Isis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Try tai chi, moon qi gong, and soak feet in warm water prior to retiring for the night. Advice patient to not lose any sleep over insomnia. Another option is to do pattern differentiation and prescribe accordingly. fernando Chinese Medicine , " CHRISTOPHER " <chris_schamber> wrote: > Does anyone have any information on specific remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Of course the first course of action is to do a complete intake to determine the appropriate pattern, and treat accordingly. Just like there are many types of headache, there are also many types of insomnia, with many different treatments. Some obvious easy steps are to needle ear shen men, and Anmian. Also, many find benefit from roibbos tea (from South Africa) for insomnia when other remedies don't seem to help. BUT AGAIN, CM TREATS INSOMNIA VERY WELL WHEN IT'S DIFFERENTIATED PROPERLY. Yehuda ______________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 I was taught to sit and knead on Kidney 1 with thumb or middle finger. I often have trouble getting to sleep and I find rubbing my face and around the orbits (up out and around, then reverse, good firm pressure)also seems to work well. If those don't work, my partner, who is also an acupuncturist, needles yin tang and Ht 7 and I'm out! I've also learned that needling K 6 and UB 62 is very powerful - Tonify K 6 (opening and reinforcing yin qiao mai) and reduce UB 62 (drawing on the full energy of yang qiao mai)- this treatment is for " closing the eyes " - for somnolence or excessive sleeping, do the opposite. Of course, as Fernando says, you gotta do the proper pattern identification. Chinese Medicine , " fernando b. " <fbernall@a...> wrote: > Try tai chi, moon qi gong, and soak feet in warm water prior to > retiring for the night. Advice patient to not lose any sleep over > insomnia. > > Another option is to do pattern differentiation and prescribe > accordingly. > > fernando > Chinese Medicine , " CHRISTOPHER " > <chris_schamber> wrote: > > Does anyone have any information on specific remedies for sleeping > > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming therapies? > > Thank You > > > > Savage Sun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 In a message dated 8/10/2003 8:57:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, writes: Also, many find benefit from roibbos tea (from South Africa) for insomnia when other remedies don't seem to help. I personally find rooibos tea stimulating. Maybe mine has caffeine. Also, try the insomnia ear points (see Terry Oleson's book). I like to do Shimien in addition to Anmien. That is a point on the sole of the foot. If you divide the sole into thirds and Kid 1 is at the border of the 1st and 2nd thirds, Shimien is about at the border of the 2nd and 3rd thirds. Sprinkling pillow with lavendar oil and/or chamomile oil helps. Ht7, getting some aerobic exercise during the day. New age music, gad I could go on and on. I'm the relaxation/sleep queen. Never had a problem sleeping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 try some of the folowing they may asist. 1. co4 & liv 3 with ear shen men. very powerful relaxant. you must get de qi. 2. a warm glas of milk 3. a good masage followed by a hot shower. then go to sleep staright away. 4. someone masaging the legs - feet, calf m, & thigh m. a hard massage especially if they are sore. 5. some deep breathing exercises may help.\ 6. meditation may be useful if you have done it in the past. please do not start meditation for sleep. good luck anand --- " fernando b. " <fbernall wrote: > Try tai chi, moon qi gong, and soak feet in warm > water prior to > retiring for the night. Advice patient to not lose > any sleep over > insomnia. > > Another option is to do pattern differentiation and > prescribe > accordingly. > > fernando > Chinese Medicine , > " CHRISTOPHER " > <chris_schamber> wrote: > > Does anyone have any information on specific > remedies for sleeping > > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming > therapies? > > Thank You > > > > Savage Sun > > ===== Anand Bapat Pain Management Specialist Sports Injury Specialist Blacktown, Parramatta, Punchbowl, & Hammondville 0402 472 897 ______________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Messenger http://uk.messenger./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 This may seem elementary, have you tried using P6? I have been treating a women for an old neck trauma who also has insomia troubles (insomnia is not due to pain). I used P6 weekly and immediately she began waking less. The improvements have only continued. She has shared that she feels more energized and sleeps more deeply than she can remember doing for a long time. P6 .... it's a good one. Maya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 12, 2003 Report Share Posted August 12, 2003 In a message dated 8/12/2003 11:07:02 AM Pacific Standard Time, YinTangSong writes: This may seem elementary, have you tried using P6? I have been treating a women for an old neck trauma who also has insomia troubles (insomnia is not due to pain). I used P6 weekly and immediately she began waking less. The improvements have only continued. She has shared that she feels more energized and sleeps more deeply than she can remember doing for a long time. I sent this email off a bit too quickly .... I meant to say, "her insomnia is not due to pain" M~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time, chris_schamber writes: Does anyone have any information on specific remedies for sleeping disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming therapies? Thank You Savage Sun Did this get answered?? Bobbi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Right on Doc Although cookbook approach is workable IF we know what we are dealing with. Insomnia can be from many pathways. Let's see how many patterns/reasons we can come up with....and I am sure this is a pretty good list but far from complete list. Makes one wonder. Richard liver yang hyperactivity depressed liver qi depressed liver qi with blood stasis in chest depressed liver qi with liver vacuity depressed liver qi with liver qi ascent bl;ood-vacuity middle burner vacuity damp accumulation with depressed fire caused by fright gallbladder-stomach disharmony heart-heat with middle burner vacuity heart-kidney vacuity heart qi vacuity with depressed liver qi heart-spleen vacuity heart-yin and liver-blood vacuity three burner heat heat-water binding excess liver yang with liver wind ascent kidney and essence vacuity liver-kidney vacuity liver qi depression and heart qi vacuity menopausal menstrual irregularity postpartum qi, blood, jin-ye vacuity shao yang pattern stomach qi disharmony stomach qi vacuity and weakness vacuity taxation yin-vacuity ascent of liver yang yin vacuity effulgent fire yin-yang vacuity with lower burner cold > Hi, > I am uneasy about this type of cookbook aproach. It would seem to me that > first one must know at least the pulse and tongue picture as well as the > overall symptom picture. > > Without knowing the type of pattern we arte looking at we have no real way > of prescribibg a formula. > > Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 A lack of amino acids can cause unrest in your system. Taurine is supposed to be calming it helps to reduce anxiety. If it makes you sleepy take it at night. 5-htp is to help increase sleep and lift mood. I recently had work done on my kidney meridian and couldn't belive how much restful my sleep is now. I think I needed a little of both. Liz D. Chinese Medicine , bobbiaqua@a... wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Hi, I am uneasy about this type of cookbook aproach. It would seem to me that first one must know at least the pulse and tongue picture as well as the overall symptom picture. Without knowing the type of pattern we arte looking at we have no real way of prescribibg a formula. Doc " If the question begins with * What if* the answer always begins *It depends* " WFR / StreetMedic Trainer addage elizdettrey <Rabbitbrain wrote: A lack of amino acids can cause unrest in your system. Taurine is supposed to be calming it helps to reduce anxiety. If it makes you sleepy take it at night. 5-htp is to help increase sleep and lift mood. I recently had work done on my kidney meridian and couldn't belive how much restful my sleep is now. I think I needed a little of both. Liz D. Chinese Medicine , bobbiaqua@a... wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 ....and good Tx for one is anethma for another Doc acudoc11 wrote: Right on Doc Although cookbook approach is workable IF we know what we are dealing with. Insomnia can be from many pathways. Let's see how many patterns/reasons we can come up with....and I am sure this is a pretty good list but far from complete list. Makes one wonder. Richard liver yang hyperactivity depressed liver qi depressed liver qi with blood stasis in chest depressed liver qi with liver vacuity depressed liver qi with liver qi ascent bl;ood-vacuity middle burner vacuity damp accumulation with depressed fire caused by fright gallbladder-stomach disharmony heart-heat with middle burner vacuity heart-kidney vacuity heart qi vacuity with depressed liver qi heart-spleen vacuity heart-yin and liver-blood vacuity Snip True security must be rooted in true and complete social, economic and environmental justice for everyone everywhere with no exceptions. Anything else is an illusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Tylenol PM ) Sorry but I will be anonymous. >>> --- bobbiaqua wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific > remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming > therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 - Ia m not sure who post tylenol PM , but that is a disgrace to the entire TCM group. But I would add , per6/Ht 7 smooth stimulation, and a good 2 tablets of valerian will dream you out. Vanessa -- bobbiaqua wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific > remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming > therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 for many folks Valerian causes nightmares and other dream disturbances and can name many syndromes for which P6 H7 will not work Doc <vbirang wrote: - Ia m not sure who post tylenol PM , but that is a disgrace to the entire TCM group. But I would add , per6/Ht 7 smooth stimulation, and a good 2 tablets of valerian will dream you out. Vanessa -- bobbiaqua wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific > remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming > therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > For practitioners, students and those interested in TCM. Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, religious, spam messages or flame another member. If you want to change the way you receive email message, i.e. individually, daily digest or none, then visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ Click ‘edit my membership' on the right hand side and adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 That's a pretty comprehensive list Richard has provided. I doubt this will add to it but you may find something in the detail. It is from Vol3 of the " Advanced Textbook of Traditional and Pharmacology " page 109 which I have scanned for interest. Is this volume recommended in the MDX reading list ? I know Vol1 is on the reading list but Vols2-4 do not have an alphabetical index and are not much good for reference purposes, albeit they are a good source of information. Since insomnia can be caused by deficiency or excess, and may originate in the Kidney, Spleen or Liver, or Heart it would be highly inadvisable to prescribe a 'cookbook' remedy such as valerian without further investigation. Sometimes even powerful PoM medications like temazepam can make the insomnia condition worse ! [ Perhaps the unpredictability of temazepam is why it is listed as a Class C Drug in the UK with a 5 year sentence for supplying - but I digress]. Sammy. XII. Insomnia 109-iii7-80005-296-6 Insomnia means the inability to have a normal sleep. Mild insomnia includes the difficulty in falling asleep, shallow sleep, difficulty to resume sleep once waking up, and sometimes asleep, sometimes awake. Severe insomnia refers to the inability to fall asleep for the whole night. As early as in Basic Questions, it says, " Disharmony of the stomach leads to insomnia. " In the Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, it explains that insomnia is due to the deficiency caused by overwork or anxiety. A Complete Collection of Jingyue's Treatise elaborates the causes of insomnia. Insomnia may appear alone or in combination with other symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, palpitation and poor memory. It is commoniy seen as neurosis and climacteric syndromes in modern medicine. Etiology and Pathogenesis 1. Damage of the Heart and Spleen due to Strain and Stress Damage of the heart causes the consumption of yin blood, resulting in wandering of the mind. Damage of the spleen affects the appetite, therefore, the heart is deprived of nourishment, and insomnia ensues. 2. Disharmony Between the Heart and Kidneys due to the Imbalance of Yin and Yang With people congenitally weak and those after a protracted illness, their kidney yin is too deficient to nourish the heart. Therefore, the heart fire or heart yang becomes hyperactive. Emotional upsets directly lead to hyperactivity of heart fire, which cannot coordinate with kidney water. Hyperactive heart fire caused by the disharmony between the heart and kidneys interferes with the mind, resulting in insomnia. 3. Disturbance of Liver Yang and Fire due to Yin Deficiency Emotional upsets impair the renal function and cause liver qi-stagnation, which then turns into fire. Deficiency of yin leads to hyperactivity of yang, which interferes with the mind, resulting in insomnia. 4. Timidity due to Heart Deficiency Being timid, indecisive, and easily frightened can all lead to insomnia. In addition, nervousness , caused by sudden fright can also gradually develop into insomnia. 5. Disturbance of Stomach Qi Improper diet damages the intestines and stomach, and causes retention of food, which produces phlegm-heat. Retained phlegm-heat in the middle jiao disturbs stomach qi, resulting in insomnia. There are many causes of insomnia, but most of them are related to the heart, spleen, liver, kidneys, and yin blood-deficiency. The pathogenesis is the disharmony between hyperactive yang and insufficient yin. Distinction and treatment Insomnia is of two types, the deficiency and excess. Deficiency syndromes result from yin blood deficiency, for which the heart, spleen, liver and kidneys are responsible. The treatment for this is benefiting qi, nourishing blood and strengthening the liver and kidneys. Excess syndromes are caused by liver qi-stagnation which turns into fire, and food retention which results in turbid phlegm. They are dealt with by promoting digestion, harmonizing the middle jiao, dispersing heat in the heart and resolving phlegm. Protracted excess syndromes may change into the deficiency syndromes. When treating cases complicated by both the deficiency and excess, the method of strengthening the body resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors should be used in combination. acudoc11 [acudoc11] 29 August 2003 05:11 Chinese Medicine Re: Sleeping Problems Right on Doc Although cookbook approach is workable IF we know what we are dealing with. Insomnia can be from many pathways. Let's see how many patterns/reasons we can come up with....and I am sure this is a pretty good list but far from complete list. Makes one wonder. Richard liver yang hyperactivity depressed liver qi depressed liver qi with blood stasis in chest depressed liver qi with liver vacuity depressed liver qi with liver qi ascent bl;ood-vacuity middle burner vacuity damp accumulation with depressed fire caused by fright gallbladder-stomach disharmony heart-heat with middle burner vacuity heart-kidney vacuity heart qi vacuity with depressed liver qi heart-spleen vacuity heart-yin and liver-blood vacuity three burner heat heat-water binding excess liver yang with liver wind ascent kidney and essence vacuity liver-kidney vacuity liver qi depression and heart qi vacuity menopausal menstrual irregularity postpartum qi, blood, jin-ye vacuity shao yang pattern stomach qi disharmony stomach qi vacuity and weakness vacuity taxation yin-vacuity ascent of liver yang yin vacuity effulgent fire yin-yang vacuity with lower burner cold > Hi, > I am uneasy about this type of cookbook aproach. It would seem to me that > first one must know at least the pulse and tongue picture as well as the > overall symptom picture. > > Without knowing the type of pattern we arte looking at we have no real way > of prescribibg a formula. > > Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 But I would add , per6/Ht 7 smooth stimulation, and a good 2 tablets of valerian will dream you out. Vanessa Actually, Valerian is a very interesting herb in this regard especially considering the list of potential causes Richard describes. I found the following reference a while ago: Thermal qual:. Warm Taste: Spicy, slightly sweet, slightly bitter Meridians Entered: Ht, Lu, Sp Functions: Regulates Qi Stagnation Calms Shen Tonifies Yin Relieves Heart and Kidney Yin Deficiency Clears Yin Deficiency Heat Cautions: Should be used intermittently or as 10 % component of a formula Contraindicated in Excess Heat conditions http://www.herbalists.on.ca/resources/freeman/VALERIAN.html I wonder if therefore an adverse reaction to it could suggest excess heat as opposed to deficiency heat? One of the hardest things I have found to find is information on adverse responses - within TCM they must tell us something about the nature of the condition surely? It worked a treat for me when herbs prescribed produced some kind of unidentified heat/over-stimulation, but after an initially excellent response, made my horse worse. I also found the following rather OTT reference this morning: http://tcm.health-info.org/Western%20herbs/western-herbs/valerian.htm Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Ok folkies so what will be the protocol prescription or solution?? Allot of talk not enough walk ) Vanessa >> Doc <drdrdoc wrote: for many folks Valerian causes nightmares and other dream disturbances and can name many syndromes for which P6 H7 will not work Doc wrote: - Ia m not sure who post tylenol PM , but that is a disgrace to the entire TCM group. But I would add , per6/Ht 7 smooth stimulation, and a good 2 tablets of valerian will dream you out. Vanessa -- bobbiaqua wrote: > In a message dated 8/10/03 8:45:35 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > chris_schamber writes: > Does anyone have any information on specific > remedies for sleeping > disfunction, insomnia, stress, and mind calming > therapies? > Thank You > > Savage Sun > Did this get answered?? > > Bobbi > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > For practitioners, students and those interested in TCM. Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, religious, spam messages or flame another member. If you want to change the way you receive email message, i.e. individually, daily digest or none, then visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ Click ‘edit my membership' on the right hand side and adjust accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 This is as with many over simplified names for and of symptoms, that seem the same but actually have a wide/varied range and of causes - such as seen in constipation. The 'usual thought' is that a person misses moving their bowels for 1 plus days. Then there is the category of number of times evacuating....which sometimes is meaningless such as when it is too loose or too sticky. Cons tipation also covers when it is hard to evacuate and/or when the feces comes out in hard balls. Another common sympton is sciatica. There is NOT just one cause. There are at least seven different patterns often many overlapping as in complex patterns. So the order of the day should always be diagnosis, diagnosis, diagnosis. We should be careful NOT to apply these modalities in an allopathic-way. One can easily get into the poor habit of prescribing herbs as a palliative to relieve the symptom. Better than drugs? Absolutely but it will go nowhere to returning balance to the body systems. Sometimes it is necessary but best applied within the context of diagnosis. All too often we hear.....'take this for that symptom'....and that is NOT the practice of Chinese medicine although one might even be using chinese herbs. Now that's not to say that it is necessarily bad or harmful to do that.......it's just that it is NOT the practice of Chinese medicine. Richard > That's a pretty comprehensive list Richard has provided. I doubt this will > add to it but you may find something in the detail. It is from Vol3 of the > " Advanced Textbook of Traditional and Pharmacology " page > 109 which I have scanned for interest. Is this volume recommended in the MDX > reading list ? I know Vol1 is on the reading list but Vols2-4 do not have an > alphabetical index and are not much good for reference purposes, albeit they > are a good source of information. > > Since insomnia can be caused by deficiency or excess, and may originate in > the Kidney, Spleen or Liver, or Heart it would be highly inadvisable to > prescribe a 'cookbook' remedy such as valerian without further > investigation. Sometimes even powerful PoM medications like temazepam can > make the insomnia condition worse ! [ Perhaps the unpredictability of > temazepam is why it is listed as a Class C Drug in the UK with a 5 year > sentence for supplying - but I digress]. Sammy. > > XII. Insomnia 109-iii7-80005-296-6 > > > > Insomnia means the inability to have a normal sleep. Mild insomnia includes > the difficulty in falling asleep, shallow sleep, difficulty to resume sleep > once waking up, and sometimes asleep, sometimes awake. Severe insomnia > refers to the inability to fall asleep for the whole night. > > > > As early as in Basic Questions, it says, " Disharmony of the stomach leads to > insomnia. " In the Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, it > explains that insomnia is due to the deficiency caused by overwork or > anxiety. A Complete Collection of Jingyue's Treatise elaborates the causes > of insomnia. > > > > Insomnia may appear alone or in combination with other symptoms, such as > headache, dizziness, palpitation and poor memory. It is commoniy seen as > neurosis and climacteric syndromes in modern medicine. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 I have sleeping problems, are there any herbs or foods that help with insomnia? I have sleeping problems, are there any herbs or foods that help with insomnia? JoAnn Guest Jun 01, 2005 18:54 PDT Sunday, March 27, 2005 A reader asks, " Are there any foods, vitamins, herbs, etc, that can help with insomnia? I've had sleeping problems for years, and I would really appreciate any kind of useful information. " With insomnia, it all basically boils down to endocrine system imbalances. Sleep is a physiological function that is " controlled " by " hormones " , and these hormones are of course released by endocrine system glands according to a natural cycle. A person who is having trouble sleeping is merely experiencing a disruption in this natural cycle. To answer this question, it is helpful to look at what promotes healthy sleep cycles in the first place. Perhaps the single most important influencing factor in setting these cycles is exposure to natural sunlight. In fact, simply getting natural sunlight during the day often corrects the problem outright. I know it sounds simple, but exposure to sunlight is fundamental to healthy sleep cycles. A lot of this, of course, has to do with the production and suppression of melatonin, which is also called the sleep hormone. Melatonin levels normally rise at night, and peak during sleep. Once a person wakes up and goes outside to get natural sunlight exposure, melatonin levels are suppressed. This tells the body that daylight is here, and that we should be awake and alert during the day. But when a person avoids sunlight -- if they have an office job and only get fluorescent light or other forms of artificial light during the day -- these melatonin levels are not suppressed during the day. They remain unnaturally high, and this tells the body that it may still be night. This is why a lot of people tend to feel drowsy during the day or have a lack of energy, and subsequently, they can't sleep at night either. It's all due to the unnaturally high levels of melatonin during the day which cause unnaturally low levels at night time as well. So once again, the most effective strategy is to get sunlight --- to suppress those melatonin levels during the day and let them come back strong at night. If you live in a climate where you can't get a lot of natural sunlight, you can help yourself through the use of light boxes. However, light boxes are not a replacement for natural sunlight. In fact, nothing comes close to the intensity of light you receive from the sun. Even high-powered light boxes only provide a fraction of the light energy of natural sunlight. So make sure you get natural sunlight on your skin. And by the way, getting it through a window is not the same as getting it outdoors. Windows filter out ultraviolet light, so you have to expose your skin to direct sunlight. (This is why many of the kings and queens in European history went mad, by the way: they wanted to keep their skin pale by avoiding sunlight. Nearly all royals were chronically deficient in vitamin D -- and that causes schizophrenia, depression, aggression and other mental disorders...) There could be other problems causing insomnia as well. You might have low melatonin production. Maybe you're getting sunlight during the day, but at night your body isn't producing melatonin in the way that it should. A shortcut to solving this is to take melatonin supplements. These are available at health food stores or vitamin shops online. Melatonin supplements should be taken an hour or so before bedtime, and they will typically help people sleep more soundly. But understand this is just a stop-gap measure. If your body isn't producing melatonin, there's something imbalanced in your system, and you need to get back to the fundamentals of health in order to recreate an environment in which your body will naturally produce the required levels of melatonin that support healthy, sound sleep Overview: Sleep is a physiological function that is controlled by hormones, and these hormones are of course released by endocrine system glands according to a natural cycle. To answer this question, it is helpful to look at what promotes healthy sleep cycles in the first place. Perhaps the single most important influencing factor in setting these cycles is exposure to natural sunlight. A lot of this, of course, has to do with the production and suppression of melatonin, which is also called the sleep hormone. This is why a lot of people tend to feel drowsy during the day or have a lack of energy, and subsequently, they can't sleep at night either. It's all due to the unnaturally high levels of melatonin during the day which cause unnaturally low levels at night time as well. If you live in a climate where you can't get a lot of natural sunlight, you can help yourself through the use of light boxes. However, light boxes are not a replacement for natural sunlight. So make sure you get natural sunlight on your skin. And by the way, getting it through a window is not the same as getting it outdoors. Windows filter out ultraviolet light, so you have to expose your skin to direct sunlight. These are available at health food stores or vitamin shops online. Melatonin supplements should be taken an hour or so before bedtime, and they will typically help people sleep more soundly. If your body isn't producing melatonin, there's something imbalanced in your system, and you need to get back to the fundamentals of health in order to recreate an environment in which your body will naturally produce the required levels of melatonin that support healthy, sound sleep. Source: http://www.newstarget.com Moderator's Note: As the author states, sleep is controlled by our Hormones. This of course is linked to diet and is one of the primary reasons why we should eat organically! Artficial hormones are prevalent in the majority of animal foods (i.e. ALL non-organic meat and dairy. These artificial hormones attach themselves to our hormone receptor sites, interfering with natural hormone response. Natural hormones have a very " short " life span, however artificial hormones recirculate throughout the body and may never leave. Industrial pollutants called " xenoestrogens " respond in a similar manner. The Xenoestrogens (dioxins, etc) are not present in our plant foods however they do take up residence in the animal kingdom and this includes our human body as well. Dioxins create " free radicals " , more commonly known as " immune complexes " . Research indicates that these contaminants play a major role in modern diseases. JoAnn __________ JoAnn Guest mrsjo- DietaryTi- www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes AIM Barleygreen " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future " http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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