Acupuncture for sleep issues-why do I wake up in the middle of the night?

Getting a good night's sleep is key to feeling ready for the day, but many people are troubled by disturbed sleep. They fall asleep just fine, but like clockwork they find themselves wide awake around 2:00 or 2:30 in the morning. Acupuncture is great for sleep issues, and any symptom that happens daily at the same time is pretty interesting to acupuncturists, because we have a circadian rhythm clock in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The idea behind it is that our energy follows a cycle throughout each 24-hour period, and every two hours the energy is more predominant in a different organ/meridian system.

The day is divided by organ systems as follows:

Lung 3am-5am

Large Intestine 5am-7am

Stomach 7am-9am

Spleen 9am-11am

Heart 11am-1pm

Small Intestine 1pm-3pm

Bladder 3pm-5pm

Kidney 5pm-7pm

Pericardium 7pm-9pm

Triple Warmer 9pm-11pm

Gall Bladder 11pm-1am

Liver 1am-3am

So, according to this, 1am-3am is associated with the Liver system. The Liver is typically thrown out of balance by stress according to TCM, so that's what we tend to blame for those disruptive wake-ups.

Recently though, I learned a new piece of information that makes so much sense for the 2am wake-ups, and also might hold the answer for sleeping through the night. It's actually still related to the Liver, but has to do with blood sugar regulation as the cause of stress.

The liver is responsible for storing sugar as glycogen. Our bodies use this stored sugar to keep us fueled between meals and as a back up reserve for our vital processes if we happen to skip a meal or do a hard workout. It's also what we use as we sleep, which is a natural period of fasting. We use up a lot of this stored energy as we sleep, and then replenish it the next day.

Waking up around 2:00am is often caused by a drop in blood sugar due to insufficient storage of glycogen. In order to mobilize glucose into the blood stream, the body might release stress hormones, so this can cause a racing, stressed out mind in the middle of the night for some people as well.

For many people, starting the day with healthy, balanced breakfast and lunch can be the key to a good night's sleep. Having small meals of just fruit or smoothies or a granola bar may not be enough, and the insulin spike that results from this type of high glycemic breakfast doesn't allow for the storage of glycogen. Try having a balanced breakfast and lunch centered around protein (aim for at least 20grams), healthy fats (flax or chia seeds, nuts, olive or other cold pressed oil, or avocados), and fiber-filled complex carbohydrates.

Not hungry for breakfast? That can be a sign of blood sugar imbalances, so do your best to try to eat in the morning and see if your body adjusts. It's healthy to have a strong appetite early in the day. If you refer back to the clock above, you'll see that the two main digestion organs are strongest in the morning (Stomach and Spleen from 7am-11am).

Experiment and try this for a few nights to see if your sleep improves!

Need extra support with stress, sleep, or digestion? I'm here to help! Acupuncture is a safe and effective option for sleep issues.

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