Insomnia is due to injury caused by emotions, poor diet, post-illness and old age, deficiency of endowment, weakness of the heart and timidity, etc. The disease is located in the heart and is caused by the loss of nourishment or disturbance of the heart and mind. Its onset is closely related to liver depression, timidity, deficiency of spleen and kidney, and loss of harmony and descent of stomach.
Causes of insomnia
The causes of chronic insomnia are broadly divided into five categories.
One is mental illness, the most common being depression, schizophrenia, etc.
Second, physical diseases.
Third, disruption of the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, such as “three shifts” of work.
Fourth, psychological factors.
Fifth, the use of drugs that affect sleep.
Secondary insomnia
① Any physical disease affecting the central nervous system.
② physical pain or discomfort such as itchy skin disease or painful cancer pain often cause insomnia.
③Insomnia caused by alcohol, coffee, vegetables or drugs, etc.
④Psychiatric disorders: most patients with psychiatric disorders have insomnia symptoms, especially anxiety disorders and depression almost all have insomnia.
Other sleep disorders such as night terrors and nightmares can have insomnia, if there are typical symptoms of night terrors and nightmares, insomnia is not considered.
Transient insomnia, which is common in daily life, does not require any treatment, and the body can make natural adjustments, so insomnia is not diagnosed in people with insufficient disease duration.
The harm of insomnia
The damage of insomnia to human body is mainly mental, usually not fatal, but long-term insomnia can make people irritable, aggressive, memory loss, inattention and mental fatigue. Insomnia affects people mentally and can easily lead to organic diseases. It can also make people’s immunity decrease and make their bodies consume more because the secretion of growth hormone is mainly at night after sleeping, so insomnia in children and teenagers will reduce the secretion of growth hormone, which is not conducive to the growth and development of the body.
Treatment by evidence: burning heart fire
Symptoms: Restlessness, restlessness, anxiety, dry mouth and tongue, short urine, sores on the mouth and tongue, red tongue, thin yellow fur, fine pulse.
Treatment: Clearing the heart and dipping fire, tranquilizing the heart and calming the mind.
Remedy: Vermilion and Tranquilizer Pill.
In this formula, vermilion can be cold to overcome heat and calm the mind; Huang Lian can clear the heart and relieve fire; Sheng Di and Angelica nourish Yin and nourish Blood, nourish Yin to match Yang. Scutellaria baicalensis, gardenia and forsythia can be added to strengthen the function of this formula to clear the heart and relieve fire.
Liver stagnation and fire
Symptoms: Impatience and anger, sleeplessness and dreaminess, or even sleeplessness all night, accompanied by dizziness and dizziness, red eyes and tinnitus, dry mouth and bitterness, constipation and red urine, red tongue with yellow fur and string pulse.
Treatment: Clearing the liver and dipping fire, calming the heart and tranquilizing the mind.
Radix gentian and liver diarrhea soup.
This formula uses gentian herb, scutellaria baicalensis and gardenia to clear the fire in the liver; mouton and psyllium to clear heat by facilitating urination; Chai Hu to clear the liver and relieve depression; angelica and raw earth to nourish blood and nourish yin and soften the liver; licorice to harmonize the middle.
Internal disturbance of phlegm-heat
Symptoms: Sleeplessness, chest tightness and distress, generalized evil, belching, accompanied by heavy head and dizziness, bitter mouth, red tongue with yellowish coating and slippery pulse.
Treatment: Clearing phlegm-heat, harmonizing the middle and calming the mind.
Radical: Huanglian Wenzhi Tang.
In this formula, Han Xia, Chen Pi and Bamboo Roo resolve phlegm and subdue rebellion; Fu Ling strengthens the spleen and dissolves phlegm; Citrus aurantium regulates Qi, harmonizes the stomach and subdues rebellion; Huang Lian clears the heart and diureses fire.
Yin deficiency with fire
Symptoms: sleeplessness, palpitation, lumbar soreness and foot tenderness, with dizziness, tinnitus, forgetfulness, seminal emission, dry mouth with little fluid, irritable heat in the five hearts, red tongue with little coating, thin and counted pulse.
Treatment: Nourishing Yin and lowering fire, clearing the heart and calming the mind.
Remedy: Liu Wei Di Huang Wan combined with Huang Lian Agaricus Tang.
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan nourishes Kidney-Yin; Huang Lian and Scutellaria directly reduce Heart Fire; Paeonia lactiflora, Agaricus blazei and Rooibos nourish Yin and Blood. The two formulas work together to nourish Yin and lower fire.
Heart and Spleen Deficiency
Symptoms: frequent dreaming and waking up, palpitations and forgetfulness, fatigue, poor appetite, dizziness and dizziness, accompanied by tiredness of the limbs, less florid complexion, pale tongue with thin coating, thin and weak pulse.
Treatment: Tonify the heart and spleen, nourish the heart and calm the mind.
Recipe: Gui Shen Tang.
Qi deficiency in the heart and gallbladder
Symptoms: disturbed sleeplessness, dreaminess and wakefulness, timidity and palpitation, easily frightened by touch, accompanied by shortness of breath and spontaneous sweating, tiredness and fatigue, pale tongue and thin pulse.
Treatment: Benefiting Qi, calming panic, tranquilizing the mind and fixing the will.
Prescription: Tranquilize the mind and calm the mind with Sour Date Palm Pill.
The former formula emphasizes on calming the mind and tranquilizing the spirit, while the latter formula favors nourishing blood and clearing heat to remove annoyance, and when used together, it benefits the qi of the heart and gallbladder, clears the deficiency heat of the heart and gallbladder and settles the mind and tranquilizes the spirit. In this formula, ginseng benefits the Qi of the heart and gall bladder; Fu Ling, Fu Shen and Yuan Zhi dissolve phlegm and calm the mind; Long Tooth and Shi Calamus calm the panic and open the orifice and calm the mind; Sour Date Palm nourishes the liver, calms the mind and calms the heart; Zhi Mu diarrhea heat and remove irritation; Chuan Xiong regulates blood and calms the mind.
Personal experience
Insomnia is mostly caused by psychological factors, so insomniacs should promptly search for and discover the psychological factors that cause insomnia.
Difficulty in falling asleep is mostly related to excitement, tension and anxiety, and early awakening is mostly related to depression.
Those who have difficulty in falling asleep can add herbs that nourish the heart and calm the mind such as sour date palm, Yuan Zhi, Bai Zi Ren and Ganoderma lucidum on the basis of TCM evidence-based treatment.