Acupuncture helps Cognition by Improving Sleep

Acupuncture helps cognition by improving sleep. Among cancer survivors with insomnia, both acupuncture and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) improve cognitive function significantly. However, only acupuncture helps cognition by improving sleep, suggests a study lead by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

In a randomised trial involving 160 patients, one group of participants received ten acupuncture treatments over eight weeks. A second group received seven CBT sessions over the same period of time. In the acupuncture group, responders reported significantly greater improvements in subjective cognitive function, compared with non-responders. By contrast, in the CBT group, there were no significant differences in cognitive outcomes between responders and non-responders. The authors conclude that acupuncture may improve cognition by helping patients sleep better, whereas CBT might assist cognitive function via other mechanisms.

(Effects of acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy on cognitive function in cancer survivors with insomnia: A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Cancer Journal, 22 April 2020.)

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.