Do you feel that your sleep is insufficient or unsatisfactory? Do you sleep too little or badly? Well, you are in good company! In fact, this condition, called insomnia , affects approximately 20% of the world population more or less chronically , particularly in industrialized areas.

The causes can be both biological (menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause in women; prostate disorder in men) and psycho-physical (stress, depression, anxiety) and certainly related to age (people over 65 have a physiologically lighter and fragmented) and the climate (sleep disturbances increase considerably with the arrival of heat).

This problem has often led to the abuse of psychotropic drugs taken too lightly with results that are too often unsatisfactory. Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Phytotherapy can help in an extremely valid and effective way.

Acupuncture in the therapy of insomnia

Chinese medicine attributes insomnia to a failure of the organism to adapt to the circadian rhythm, which is composed of a diurnal part (Yang) dedicated to activity and wakefulness and a nocturnal part (Yin) dedicated to stillness and sleep. .

One of the most effective combinations of acupoints for the therapy of insomnia is in fact constituted by the combination of acupoints KI 6 and BL 62, in order to rebalance and harmonize the Yin and Yang parts of the organism and, consequently, also the rhythm. sleep-wake. Simplifying insomnia can be caused by:

> excess (caused by overexcitation called Heart Fire or anger and strong emotional tensions called Liver Fire),

> from emptiness , which arises from a state of stress or debilitation, presenting either difficulty falling asleep and early awakening (Void of Blood / Xue), or nocturnal agitation with frequent awakenings and numerous dreams (Void of Yin of Kidney and Liver).

Points common to all syndromic pictures are: HT 7 and SP 6; for insomnia from excess BL 62, KI 6 and in the case of Fire of the Heart HT 8, CV 15, BL 15 are useful while with Fire of the Liver LR 2, LR 3, GV 24, GB 15; for insomnia due to deficit, RM 4, RM 14, BL 15 and if there is Void of Xue CV 14, BL 15 give benefits while with Void of Yin of Heart and Kidney V 23, R 3, BL 62, KI 6.  

Homeopathy in the treatment of insomnia

Homeopathy  is a medical approach that is based on the law of similarity (“like can be cured by like”): a substance capable of certain doses (called “ponderal”) to cause symptoms in a healthy person, can, a once diluted to cure those same symptoms in a sick person.

What are the advantages of homeopathy? First of all, homeopathic medicines are prepared starting from natural raw materials of vegetable, animal and mineral origin; moreover, the absence of direct toxicity makes homeopathy ideal for the treatment of diseases in the pediatric age, the elderly, pregnant and allergic subjects; finally, the patient, considered in his totality and individuality, on the basis of his own context and lifestyle, on a case by case basis, is treated in a personalized way so that specific responses arise for restoring the balance that leads to health.

Homeopathy is applicable to most diseases . The homeopathic remedies used in the treatment of insomnia are many, and the choice depends on the causes that determine it. In anxiety insomnia we find drugs such as:
– Aconitum, (if you associate anxiety with fear of death and constant thoughts),
– Arsenicum Album (if you are a maniac of order with a sense of guilt and agitation),
– Argentum Nitricum (with anticipation anxiety)
– Causticum (fear of something happening),
– Coffea (if you don’t sleep out of excitement),
– Gelsemium Coccolus (anxiety with prostration for prolonged wakefulness),
– Mercurius Solubilis (if you are in a hurry, pressed and agitated).

If you combine concerns, the following will be useful:
– Calcarea Carbonica, Natrum Muriaticum and Nux Vomica (if you are worried about everyday problems),
– Pulsatilla and Sepia (if you are worried about domestic affairs), 
– Sulfur, Causticum and Coccolus (if your thoughts are with family and other loved ones). In fearful insomnia there are drugs such as Bryonia, Ignatia, Pulsatilla, Rhus Toxicodendron and Veratrum; in the frightening one Aconitum, Bambusa arundinacea, Ignatia, Opium; in case of nightmares we will use Ambra, Arsenicum Album, Belladonna, Carbo Animalis, Chinchona, Natrum Muriaticum, Rhus Toxicodendron, Sepia and Tellurium. Effective in sadness-depression insomnia are Ignatia and Natrum Muriaticum (particularly if this condition is caused by sad events or disappointments), Stannum (if you don’t sleep for loss of money), Phosphoricum Acidum and Silicea (if you are depressed with mental and physical prostration).Since there are often several causes that contribute to determining insomnia, the use of homeopathic complexes containing simultaneously several remedies at various dilutions will be particularly appropriate .

Phytotherapy in insomnia
Phytotherapy is a branch of medicine that provides for the preventive and curative use of medicinal plants and their derivatives and which includes industrial medicines or galenic preparations (ie prepared in pharmacies). Vegetable products, from a legislative point of view, depending on their content, can be classified as:
– medicines,
– food supplements,
– foods,
– cosmetics.
To use phytotherapy correctly, it is undoubtedly necessary to identify the most suitable plant or plants to combat the pathological state that has struck the patient; however, even when the choice is correct, it does not ensure the efficacy of the treatment if it does not use a phytopreparation whose active ingredients reach the action points (receptors) in an active form for the entire period necessary to achieve the desired effect (bioavailability ) .

For example, an active ingredient that is absorbed through the stomach and intestines must, among other things, pass through the liver before reaching the systemic circulation; if the active substance is metabolized in the liver or is excreted in the bile, some of it will be inactivated before it can reach the general circulation and be distributed to its action points.

If the metabolic, or excretory, capacity of the liver for the compound in question is large, the bioavailability will undergo a noticeable decrease (the so-called first pass effect).

One solution can be sublingual administration with absorption through the oral mucosa since the venous blood, which flows back from the oral cavity, flows into the superior vena cava and, therefore, the active ingredients are protected from the rapid first pass metabolism, by the liver. After being absorbed, the active principle enters the bloodstream and follows the normal pathways, common to all metabolites: it is distributed in all tissues, is usually transformed, especially in the liver and, finally, is eliminated through the physiological emunctors (kidney , intestines, lungs, skin). The opportunity offered by the plant world in the treatment of insomnia is very wide:
–         Hawthorn: capable of inducing sleep in people suffering from anxiety and the consequent feelings of oppression in the heart and tachycardia.
–         Escolzia : it balances sleep in people who wake up at intervals, being useful in anxious states, in nervous hyperexcitability, exploiting the beneficial action on sleep, without distressing awakenings.
–         Valerian : has a hypnotic action, effective in inducing sleep and improving its quality, due to the increase in the production of the neurotransmitter GABA, and therefore a neurosedative action. –         Lemon balm : used as a tranquilizer, sedative, in states of hyperemotivism, palpitations, female insomnia.
–         Passionflower: sedative, relaxing in anxiety, sleep disorders with nocturnal awakenings and difficulty falling asleep, induces natural sleep without drowsiness upon awakening. –         Linden : particularly useful in states of agitation, in mental fatigue due to fixed and recurring thoughts, in phobias, as a mild hypnotic, in hypochondria.

These plants can be mixed, according to the type of insomnia and the psychological condition of each of you, optimizing the response. But did you know that mushrooms can also be of great help to health? Well yes: from MYCOLOGY (science that deals with the research of the characteristics of mushrooms, to classify them and study their consumption to prevent intoxication and poisoning) MICOTHERAPY was born , that is a science that deals with the use of mushrooms and their extracts. for the maintenance of health both as a prevention and as a supportive treatment of diseases .

In reality, the use of mushrooms for therapeutic purposes dates back to prehistoric times, and then became a habitual remedy already over 2000 years ago in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Numerous scientific studies have now demonstrated the effectiveness of the biologically active substances contained in mushrooms that can be used both whole and as extracts, or using exclusively the mycelium (i.e. the vegetative body formed by numerous intertwined filaments called hyphae) or the fruiting body.

And the action of fungi, except in rare cases, does not hinder drugs, as by binding to specific receptors on the cell membrane they do not directly interfere with the enzymatic functions at the biochemical level.

This means that mycotherapy can be considered an important health adjuvant and a useful support for psycho-physical well-being. In the psychological disorders that can be at the basis of insomnia we can consider the use of the following mushrooms: –         Cordyceps sinensis : very rare (therefore very “precious”), it grows between 3000 and 5000 meters in Tibet, it is called “plant in summer, insect in winter “. It gives great energy by supporting psycho-physical abilities, improves fertility and sexual functions through a neuroendocrine rebalancing, protects the cardio-vascular system and supports the liver. It has a strong anti-aging actionbeing useful in the elderly patient to counteract aging, during the chronic intake of drugs, in degenerative diseases and in depressive states .
–         Hericium erinaceus : extremely effective in all inflammatory and infectious diseases affecting the digestive system (gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux , Barret’s esophagitis , Chron’s disease , ulcerative colitis, etc.) and in neurodegenerative diseases (as it induces the synthesis of Nerve Grown Factor that promotes neuritogenesis and neuronal regeneration).
–         Reishi: “Mushroom of intelligence” much used for centuries in the Far East. Improves the balance of the autonomic nervous system by improving situations of irritability, spasmophilia and stress management, supporting cognitive and physical abilities and effecting neuroprotection; being a cardiac tonic it is useful in cardiovascular diseases, from arrhythmias to arterial hypertension ; carries out immune modulation, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activity, excellent as support during chemo and radiotherapy. Clearly it is always better to use these remedies by contacting doctors who are experts in complementary medicines in order to choose the right therapeutic method to use.  

A new technique: transcranial magnetic stimulation

But in addition to these millenary treatments, there is this method that has been solving difficult problems for some five years. What is it about? It is a relatively new technique in the panorama of neuropsychological methods that allows to stimulate or inhibit the cerebral cortex in a non-invasive way.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) basically consists in the generation of a magnetic field that induces electrical activity in the brain, causing the depolarization of nerve cells, that is, excites them, producing stimulation or interruption of brain activity for a few milliseconds.

Ultimately, TMS causes temporary and local interference with normal brain activity and therefore, with the processing processes that are carried out by the brain activity affected by the interference. TMS, whose use in the neurological and psychiatric fields has been growing in the last decade, is the least invasive of the Brain Stimulation techniques used in the treatment of some psychiatric disorders ( Deep Brain Stimulation , Vagus Nerve Stimulation , Electroconvulsive Therapy), since it does not require any surgery or anesthetic procedures for its use.

The non-invasiveness of TMS associated with the good tolerability of the treatment have facilitated the spread of this method in the treatment of Major Depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions often resistant to pharmacological treatment. So what are the diseases that can be treated with this method? They are numerous: as mentioned, they range from depression to Parkinson’s , from schizophrenia to anxiety , from post-stroke aphasia to addictions to smoking and drugs.. Is this a treatment that works? An increasing number of scientific works describe the effectiveness of this method, so much so that, for many patients, the treatment with rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) is more effective than the use of antidepressant drugs, becoming a winning solution in particular ( but not only) on drug-resistant depression, as demonstrated by over 40 independent clinical studies involving over 2000 patients. How is the treatment carried out? Depending on the disease, an appropriate number of sessions of about half an hour are performed in which you are quietly sitting or lying down, you will hear a clicking noise and a slight tapping sensation for a few seconds, so harmless that many patients are able to read a magazine during transcranial magnetic stimulation. So it is absolutely painless and you can safely go back to your daily activities afterwards. How long does the effect of rTMS last in treating depression? Many patients need only one complete cycle of stimulations (3-6 weeks of 4-5 sessions per week), with possible maintenance (2-3 sessions) every 4-6 months or once a year according to the symptomatological trend. 

Summarizing the rTMS: