There are 3 fundamental adult human instincts:

1) Eating

2) Intimacy, and 

3) Sleep. 

Good sleep is important for restoring physical and mental health. When one is not sleeping well, it can impact a lot of other aspects of one's life.

Sleeping disorders may be a sign that the body's normal sleep wake cycle rhythms are not functioning properly. According to the Chinese Yellow Emperor classic of Internal Medicine, an "imbalance of energy flow can upset the brain". This in turn can cause sleep disorders. These may result in an inability to have a sound, restful sleep, or an inability to 'switch off' resulting in sleeplessness.  Symptoms of sleep deprivation include:

• fatigue
• poor concentration and memory
• mood disturbances
• impaired judgement and reaction time, and 
• poor physical coordination.

The body’s circadian rhythm (internal clock) regulates when and how we sleep depending on our exposure to light. When the day turns into night, your brain releases hormones to make you sleepy. In the morning, exposure to daylight suppresses these hormones and releases brain chemicals to keep you awake. 

We should be aiming for at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Sleep deprivation is common in western society, with the average adult sleeping for only six or seven hours each night. 
Studies show that sleep may be disturbed from [1]:

• mobile phone use- internet and social media
• being a new parent can lead us to lose approximately 1.5-2 hours of sleep every night. The accumulation of this over time can have severe effects on our life.
• shiftwork (Eg working in the Emergency Departments in hospital)
• travel across time zones
• illness
• poor sleeping habits 
• some medications.

There are many common conditions that can affect a person’s sleep. These include:

• insomnia
• bad sleep habits and routine
• nightmares, sleep walking and night terrors
• jet lag and shiftwork sleep disorder
• narcolepsy
• restless legs syndrome (periodic limb movement)
• snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea.

Professor Yoland Lim Health Care's sleep management may include advice regarding:

• waking up at consistent times each day. This 'routine' helps ‘set’ your body clock, and helps you get sleepy at around the same time every night.
• Not ignoring tiredness. Sleep when your body tells you to.
• Maximising early morning sunshine during early morning helps set your body clock.

Professor Yoland Lim's famous mantra fittingly applies to sleep issues. Some people misleadingly seek out medications, and other vices trying to cope with lack of sleep by using:

• Cigarettes – Nicotine is a stimulant. It does not help with sleep. Side effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, are likely to keep you awake for longer.
• Alcohol – this slows the workings of the nervous system and may leave you not feeling refreshed in the morning. 
• Sleeping pills – drawbacks include daytime sleepiness, failure to address the causes of sleeping problems, and the ‘rebound’ effect – after a stint of using sleeping pills, falling asleep without them tends to be even harder. 

Holistic approach Insomnia is often caused by stress and worry[2]. Our medical approach is to work in conjunction with fellow medical practitioners and specialists with a general medical holistic patient centered approach to help co-ordinate and integrate care, including wellbeing, stress, and mental health in addition to acupuncture Management may involve guided meditation and relaxation with binaural therapy. Relaxation 'Si Ba Si' exercises may also be advised.  

References

[1] betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/sleep 

[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156618