Clinicians undertaking a study in Porto Alegre, Brazil have found that acupuncture is effective for improving sleep quality and psychological distress in elderly patients with sleep problems. A total of 48 community-dwelling elderly patients were randomised to receive ten sessions of either true acupuncture or sham acupuncture. True acupuncture was found to be highly effective for improving subjective scores of sleep quality, depression and stress. The researchers noted that immune and neuropeptide markers commonly associated with stress and sleep impairment, were unaltered following treatment.
(Acupuncture for sleep quality, BDNF levels and immunosenescence: A randomized controlled study. Neuroscience Letters, 5 February 2015.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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