This information is taken from British paediatric Acupuncturists Julian Scott & Teresa Barlow in Acupuncture In The Treatment Of Children (3rd Ed.).
Sleep & Children
Insomnia and screaming at night is a common problem in children and parents frequently bring their kids to the clinic for. The authors have found the acupuncture is extremely effective in treating insomnia and night terrors in children, more than any other therapy they have encountered. Insomnia in children is an important imbalance to treat because a child needs to sleep well in order to thrive. If the sleep is continually disturbed, then it is likely that the child will become weaker and may develop additional illnesses.
Four Basic Patterns of Sleep Imbalance Accouring to Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Spleen Cold: cold or poor digestion. Food is not easily digested and accumulates in the intestines. Too much cooling food e.g. cow’s milk and bananas. Child wakes up with colicky pain, clenched fists and grinding teeth. Other causes can be cold medicines (antibiotics) or anaesthetics. Spleen Cold Patterns and Symptoms: wakes up because of pain, screaming, goes to sleep easily, but wakes up terrified with colic, pain and arched back. Often wakes up crying, pain may cause child to sweat, prefers to sleep lying face down, clenched fists, pale face, cold limbs, possibly poor appetite, loose stools, tongue and lips pale and white.
- Obstructed Heat In Heart Channel (interior heat from excess): These children cannot sleep because there is too much heat excess in the body. This causes them to be restless during sleep and they can wake early too. When they wake up, they are wide awake. The heat can come from overfeeding, feeding inappropriate foods, eating excessively heating foods (spicy, greasy food, even oranges), not enough water (hydration) and can be a lingering pathogenic factor from immunisation or illness (virus), sometimes from womb heat from the mother. Treatment it is to clear the heat and strengthen any underlying deficiencies. Obstructed Heat In Heart Channel Patterns and Symptoms: prefers to sleep lying face up, wakes in fear, but fear and crying is cured if there is a night light, may have difficulty falling asleep or may lie awake for several hours after midnight. Restless and irritable. Upon waking is wide awake, wanting to play. Urine possibly can get scanty and red. Possibly constipated. Face scarlet lips red. If they have accumulation disorder (digestive deficiency): red cheeks easily, nasal discharge and can have green, sour-smelling or foul-smelling stools. If they have Lingering Pathogenic Heat: can occur after febrile convulsions, delirium or immunisations: vivid dreams and or lives in a fantasy world, talks to imaginary people. Due to weakness of Heart Channel/qi: pain in the chest on exertion, blue complexion or lips.
- Fright (interior heat from excess): can be frightened from events they say and fright is usually discharged with a loud cry. Sometimes the child cannot express the fright. Or the child cannot react to the situation such as a car accident or experiencing a shock in utero. Exactly why this happens has no clear explanation; it is similar to unexpressed anger, which can also harm the physical body. Also can be caused my overstimulation too much screens/video games or living in a tense or highly-strung family. These children wake at night with nightmares, screaming and frightened. Fright Patterns and Symptoms: starts up in the middle of sleep, wakes up frightened and is inconsolable, at times has dread and fear, may fear going to sleep. Lips and face may be pale or blue-ish. Often jumpy and nervous, bluish colour around the eyes and bridge of nose. Cuddles close to mum (is clingy) and some history of fright or trauma.
- Qi and Blood Deficiency: Includes spleen qi and or heart qi deficiency. If the child is restless there is an element of blood deficiency because there is not enough blood to Nourish the heart to allow sleep to begin and continue as needed. In Chinese medicine this also includes the liver, because the blood should return to the liver during sleep. Blood deficiency can occur from poor diet/appetite, prolonged illness, haemorrhage or anaemia, deficient qi, difficult childbirth, constitutional weakness or deficient mother during pregnancy. These children will wake many times during the night. The will often drink a little and then fall asleep for a couple of hours before waking again. Qi and Blood Deficiency Patterns and Symptoms: Pale face, listless, often develops after an illness, weak and feeble, restless and irritable, poor appetite, can fall asleep but wakes at regular intervals through the night as frequently as every half hour.
How Many Treatments Are Required?
Usually three treatments, can be up to ten or more if a long-term severe case.
What We Also Address In The Treatment
- The Stomach: there is an ancient Chinese saying which is relevant to the first two patterns, “If the Stomach is not harmonised, then the mind will not be peaceful.”
- The patterns above do appear quite frequently, but it is also common to have a mixture of patterns, as there may be more the one case for example improper food and overstimulation. When such mixed patterns appear, question the parents carefully to identify the multiple causes.
- The child’s pattern of sleep is often a reliable guide to the pathological pattern:
- 1. Spleen Cold from Deficiency: crying before waking up, screaming the moment the child awakes.
- 2. Obstructed Heat In Heart Channel: afraid of the dark, light sleep, no crying when the child first wakes.
- 3. Fright: frightening dreams.
- 4. Qi & Blood Deficiency: wakes every hour or two at night, takes a little food or water and goes straight back to sleep.
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