Q:  I can't sleep I am not falling asleep till about four in the morning.   I don't feel tired.  I have tried everything it's getting me down.  I can't go on like this.  I wonder if you can help me please.

A:  There is no doubt that acupuncture has a good track record for helping with insomnia. While the studies are not really sufficient in quantity to make substantive claims such as there have been, as you can see from our factsheet

 http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/a-to-z-of-conditions/a-to-z-of-conditions/1283-insomnia.html

 are very encouraging.

 The real strength of traditional acupuncture, however, is not in treating conditions as much as it is in treating the people with the conditions. Although a dozen people with insomnia may present for treatment with exactly the same kind of insomnia, it would be not unusual if each was treated differently. The failure to get to sleep is a sign that the system is out of balance, but the causes can be quite different. The art and skill of the practitioner lies in finding out exactly why this distressing symptom occurs in you.

 Of course, as you well know, the problem becomes a spiral of descent into despair. Less sleep means that people become more anxious, less able to concentrate, and this can all make the problem far worse. The treatment can also help with these sorts of aspects. Invariable we find that there are often life conditions or emotional states which precede the onset of the problem, and these too form a part of the diagnostic process.

 The best advice, especially for someone suffering as you are, is to visit a BAcC member local to you for a brief face to face assessment of what is going on. The advice will be much more precise than we can give here, and most members are happy to see someone without a small amount of time without charge to establish whether acupuncture is the best option. This also gives you a chance to meet them and see where they work before committing to treatment.