Insomnia is characterized by inability to acquire normal sleep, which results from heart being deprived of nourishment or from mental disturbance. It is manifested as insufficient sleep, shallow sleep and failure to relieve fatigue and restore the physical and mental strength by sleep. Mild insomnia refers to difficulty to fall asleep, or broken sleep, or inability to resume sleep once waking up, while severe insomnia refers to inability to fall asleep the whole night.
The cause of insomnia include emotional disorder, improper diet, weak constitution after illness, infirmity of age, congenital insufficiency. It involves the heart and closely related to stagnation of liver qi, deficiency of gallbladder, spleen and kidney and dysfunction of stomach qi. Its main parthenogenesis is associated with imbalance between yin and yang and disorder of qi and blood in the heart, gallbladder, spleen and kidney, resulting in inadequate nourishment of heart or mental disturbance.
Treatment based on syndrome differentiation:
-Hyperactivity of heart fire -> tx: clear away heart fire, tranquilize mind and soothe heart; Formula: Zhusha Anshen Wan
-Liver Qi stagnation turning into fire -> tx: clear liver, reduce, fire, and tranquilize mind; Formula: Longdan Xiegan Tang
-Internal disturbance of phlegm-heat -> tx: clear away heat, resolve phlegm, regulate stomach and tranquilize mind; Formula: Wendan Tang
-Hyperactivity of fire due to yin deficiency -> tx: nourish yin, reduce fire, clear heart fire and tranquilize mind; Formula: Liuwei Dihuang Wan
-Deficiency of heart and spleen -> tx: nourish heart, invigorate spleen and tranquilize mind; Formula: Guipi Tang
-Deficiency of heart qi and gallbladder qi -> tx: replenish qi, relieve frightened palpitation and tranquilize mind; Formula: Anshen Dingzhi Wan, Suanzaoren Tang
