Our brain does not simply get a rest in a sleep. Many functional consolidation processes happen while we are asleep. Length of time and the quality of sleep are both important to keep our brain function well.

During sleep at night, a normal person goes through cycles of shallow/deep sleep stages.  Each cycle has a few stages. We must go through all these stages in a sleep cycle, and go through a few cycles at a night to wake up with a good refreshed feeling.

Our brain produces chemicals to control the sleep. Melatonin is one of them. Our brain produces melatonin in a cyclic way. Its production peeks at midnight and slows down during daytime.

Insomnia refers to having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep through the night, or waking up at very early morning. Some people may suffer from all three aspects.

Insomnia can be a simple health problem by itself. It can also be a symptom of a complicated disease. Most patients of depression and anxiety suffer from insomnia.  People with heart, lung, liver or stomach diseases often sleep poorly. Bad sleep habits are known to link with insomnia tightly . People with insomnia should change following habits:

•   Go to bed at different time each night

•   Keep too much noise or too bright in bedroom

•   Watch television, computer, or use mobile device for a long time before bed

•   Watch clock frequently at night

There are different kinds of medication to treat insomnia. For reasons, many people prefer to take alternative routes for recovery.  Healthy lifestyle helps to improve sleep quality. Regular exercise, balanced dietary habit and positive thoughts are beneficial to have a goodnight sleep.

Acupuncture has been effective in treating insomnia. However, the positive results could not be explained by any bio medical theory.  Adam Chen has conducted a well-known clinic study to address this issue. Collaborated with research scientists and conventional medical doctors in Toronto, he discovered that acupuncture treatment helps insomnia patients to recover specific impaired sleep stages, and to resume normal melatonin production profile. This study was published in a prestigious medicine journal in 2004. It has received a large number of quotations from their peers over the world.