With the accelerated pace of modern life, people’s life and work pressures are increasing day by day, coupled with some bad living habits Formation, insomnia has become one of the common clinical symptoms. Relevant studies have shown that the incidence of insomnia around the world ranges from 4 to 48 percent [1-4]. The incidence rate in China is 45.4% [5].
Studies have shown that sleep disorders are closely related to mental illness [6]. Insomnia has already greatly affected people’s physical and mental health.
also known as “insomnia” in medicine It is believed that the main pathogenesis is the imbalance of yin and yang, the disharmony of camp and defense, etc. Under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory, the use of unique traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques to intervene insomnia can achieve the purpose of overall nursing and reconciliation of yin and yang. Chinese medicine believes that the ear is closely related to the zang-fu organs and meridians. “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” contains: “The ear is the organ of the kidney, and the qi of the kidney is connected to the ear. The red color in the south, people are connected to the heart, and the orifices are opened to the ears.” The Small Intestine Meridian, Sanjiao Meridian and Gallbladder Meridian directly enter the ear, while the other meridians enter the ear through other collaterals, or travel around the ear, which is called “the twelve meridians connect to the ear” and “the ear is where the ancestral meridians gather”. Modern medicine has a more refined understanding of the ear. Anatomically speaking, the nerves distributed in the auricle are very rich. There are both somatic nerves connected to the cervical 2-4 segments of the spinal cord, and cranial nerves connected to the brain stem. There are also sympathetic nerves along the blood vessels from the cervical sympathetic ganglia [7]. In addition, the bioholography theory proposed by Professor Zhang Yingqing believes that any independent part of the body is a microcosm of the whole [8]. The ear is a holographic embryo with a high degree of physical development. The ear is called “the holographic miniature of the human acupuncture point”. The treatment of insomnia is the basic mechanism of auricular point sticking in the treatment of insomnia [9].
At present, there are three main types of treatment methods for insomnia disorders. Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are the main types. BZDs have a rapid onset of effects on patients with acute insomnia, but long-term use of BZDs will cause side effects such as hangover effects, ataxia, and behavioral cognitive impairments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-I) is currently the first-line therapy for insomnia disorders. It educates patients on emotional cognition, corrects patients’ misconceptions, and improves insomnia. However, this therapy has a long treatment period, slow onset, high cost, and high professional requirements for doctors, so it is difficult to carry out clinically on a large scale. Physical therapy includes traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture, vagus nerve stimulation techniques and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, light therapy, etc. Auricular acupoint therapy, as a traditional TCM external treatment method, has the characteristics of small side effects, green, environmental protection, “simple, convenient, inexpensive, and proven”, and its role in insomnia has also been verified [10].
Auricular acupoint sticking for the treatment of insomnia mainly selects the heart, sympathetic, Shenmen, subcortical, and endocrine acupoints. The liver, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, kidney and other acupoints were reduced, and Wangbuliuxing seed was used as the pressing material for unilateral acupoint selection. The compression frequency is 1-2 min/time, 4-5 times a day, alternately for both ears, and the ear pads are changed every 3 days. The compression force is moderate, as the patient can tolerate. It should be [11].
Instruct the patient to press precautions after application: strong>Do not press too hard, to avoid puncturing the skin of the ear and causing infection; use the finger pulp to align the auricular point sticking site to press vertically, do not rub the sticking site, and prevent the position of the auricular sticking site from shifting; When patients are allergic to ear acupuncture stickers, they should notify the medical staff in time and take corresponding measures.
With the increasing number of insomniacs, auricular acupuncture as a non-invasive traditional Chinese medicine nursing technique is used more and more to treat insomnia. It has been recognized by many people, and it has developed from the initial simple ear therapy to the current multi-method combined therapy, which has received different degrees of curative effect. Combined with other traditional Chinese medicine therapy, it can effectively reduce the recurrence rate and improve the patient’s sleep and quality of life. With the continuous growth of the research team of auricular acupoints, the research on auricular acupoints at all levels will be continuously improved and perfected, and its mechanism of action in the treatment of insomnia will be further verified.
References:< /p>
[1] Havens CM, Grandner MA, Youngstedt SD, et al. International variability in the prevalence of insomnia and use of sleep-promoting medications, supplements, and other substances［J］. Sleep, 2017 , 40(suppl_1): A117-A118.
[2] Ohayon MM. Epidemiology of insomnia: what we know and what we still need to learn［J］. Sleep MedicineReviews, 2002, 6(2): 97-111.
[3] Itani O, Kaneita Y, Munezawa T, et al. Nationwide epidemiological study of insomnia in Japan［J］ . Sleep Med. 2016, 25: 130-138.
[4] Morin CM, Benca R. Chronic insomnia [J]. Lancet, 2012, 379(9821): 1129-1141.
[5] Neil S. The physiology of sleep and the impact ofageing［J］. European Urology Supplements, 2005, 3(6): 17-23.
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< p>[7] Huang Lichun. Auricular therapy [M]. Beijing: Science and Technology Literature Press, 2017: 14
[8] Zhang Yingqing. Two Discussions on Holography The embryo theory has theoretical priority in the field of mammalian cloning[J].Science and Technology Herald, 2000(12):12-17.
[9] Zhang Lili. Effects of auricular point sticking on sleep quality in middle-aged and elderly people with insomnia[J].Chinese Journal of Gerontology,2017,37(15):3831-3832.
[10] Chen Xiumin, Guo Huijun, Zhang Min, Liu Zhibin, Jin Yantao, Xu Qianlei, Li Zhengwei, Zhang Li, Liu Jingjing, Liu Zhen. Clinical observation of ear acupuncture therapy for AIDS-related insomnia [J]. Chinese Journal of Basic Medicine, 2017, 23 (09) ：1292-1294.
[11] Zhou Liyan, Chu Xiaoyan, Tao Shanping, He Tianfeng, Duan Xidong, Song Yinhua, Ding Jin Lei, Bing Xinghong.Clinical study on acupoint catgut embedding combined with auricular point sticking in the treatment of insomnia due to disharmony between the spleen and stomach[J].Chinese Acupuncture,2017,37(09):947-950.
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Source: Zhongwei Nursing Research Institute
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