Heat-sensitive Moxibustion and Head Needle Acupuncture in Treating Insomnia

OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical effect of heat-sensitive moxibustion and head needle acupuncture in the treatment of insomnia. METHODS 142 patients with insomnia were randomly divided into three groups: 30 cases in positive drug group， 54 cases in head needle acupuncture group， 58 cases in heat-sensitive moxibustion and head needle acupuncture group. Patients from positive drug group took estazolam 2.0 mg orally before sleep every night. Patients from head needle acupuncture group had acupuncture on top and forehead area once a day. In the heat-sensitive moxibustion and head needle acupuncture group， we carried out moxibusion at Guanyuan， Yongquan， Xinshu， Dazhui once a day， six days a week for four weeks. Insomnia index scores and the rate of sleep were recorded before and after treatment for statistical analysis. RESULTS After treatment， three groups of insomnia index scores decreased significantly with sleep rate increased (P<0.05~0.01). The effect of heat-sensitive moxibustion and head needle acupuncture group is the same as that of the positive drug group and is better than that of the head needle acupuncture group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The heat-sensitive moxibustion and head needle acupuncture can significantly improved insomnia sleep for patients.