Koitsu, Full Moon at Akashi Beach

Warm milk, chamomile tea, curling up with The Poetry of Zen—all useful strategies in the battle to beat insomnia. You might want to add auricular, or ear, acupuncture to the arsenal.  A review of six trials in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that stimulating certain acupuncture points around the ear could put your insomnia to sleep.  Six points were deemed the most effective: shenmen, heart, occiput, subcortex, brain, and kidney.

Hong Kong Baptist University researchers noted acupuncture’s rate of success was high both when compared to a placebo and to sleep medications and anti-anxiety drugs.  How auricular acupuncture works is still being explored, but initial studies indicate it increases melatonin, the sleepy-time hormone.

Our Zen Alarm Clock’s long-resonating Tibetan bell-like chime makes waking up a beautiful experience – its progressive chimes begin your day with grace. When the clock’s alarm is triggered, the acoustic chime bar is struck just once … 3-1/2 minutes later it strikes again … chime strikes become more frequent over 10 minutes … eventually striking every 5 seconds until shut off. As they become more frequent, the gentle chimes will always wake you up – your body really doesn’t need to be awakened harshly, with a Zen Clock you’re awakened more gradually and thus more naturally.  Unlike artificial recorded sounds coming out of a tiny speaker in a plastic box, natural acoustic sounds transform your bedroom or office environment.

adapted from Natural Solutions,January 2008 By Matthew Solan

Dream Kanji Zen Alarm Clock with chime in Dark Oak Finish, a wellness tool for insomnia

Now & Zen’s Chime Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383