Insomnia
Care that is precise, unhurried, and grounded.
Evidence-Based Care · Flatiron, NYC
Insomnia: when the body is tired but the brain stays alert
Insomnia is a persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or returning to sleep that affects daytime life even when there is enough opportunity to rest. It can be reinforced by pain, anxiety, hot flashes, medication effects, irregular schedules, sleep apnea, or a nervous system that has learned to associate bedtime with alertness.
Which condition matches you?
Sleep-onset insomnia
You feel tired but remain awake for a long time, often with planning, worry, or heightened awareness of the clock.
Sleep-maintenance insomnia
You wake repeatedly or stay awake after an early-morning awakening, sometimes alongside pain, menopause symptoms, or breathing problems.
A secondary sleep problem
Snoring, gasping, restless legs, medication effects, mood disorders, or another medical condition may need specific evaluation.
Our approach
Trying harder to sleep can train the brain to stay awake
After repeated difficult nights, the bed itself can become a cue for monitoring and frustration. This conditioned arousal is one reason chronic insomnia is different from a few poor nights. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is the recommended first-line treatment. Acupuncture should be considered supportive, not a replacement for CBT-I or evaluation of an underlying sleep disorder.
The evidence & the anatomy
Systematic reviews report potential improvements in sleep-quality scores with acupuncture. During a defined course, we track time to fall asleep, nighttime awakenings, morning refreshment, daytime function, and changes in reliance on sleep medication.
Sleep onset
Night waking
Hyperarousal
Pain and sleep
Hot flashes
Daytime function
Nocturia
How we treat it — our 3-step protocol
Screen the sleep pattern
We ask about schedule, duration, snoring, gasping, restless legs, pain, hot flashes, mood, substances, medications, and daytime sleepiness.
Use acupuncture as an adjunct
An individualized treatment may focus on reducing symptom burden and supporting a calmer transition into sleep while your primary sleep plan remains in place.
Measure sleep, not perfection
A brief diary tracks time to sleep, awakenings, total sleep, and daytime function. Persistent insomnia should be discussed with a clinician trained in CBT-I or sleep medicine.
Start your recovery
References
- Qaseem A, Kansagara D, Forciea MA, Cooke M, Denberg TD; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Management of Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Jul 19;165(2):125-33. doi: 10.7326/M15-2175. Epub 2016 May 3. PMID: 27136449.’
- Zhang X, Wang Y, Liu C, Qin S, Lin L, Dong C, Wu W, Chen Z. The dose-effect relationship between acupuncture and its effect on primary insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychiatry. 2025 Feb 10;16:1501321. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1501321. PMID: 39995954; PMCID: PMC11847884.