Researchers in China have found that acupuncture can contribute to clinically relevant improvements in perimenopausal insomnia, both objectively and subjectively. A total of 76 such patients were randomised to receive either ten sessions of acupuncture or sham needling at the same points, over a period of three weeks. After treatment, sleep quality improved by 8.0 points in the acupuncture group versus 1.3 points in the sham group. Insomnia severity scores reduced by 11.3 points in the acupuncture group, and 2.9 points in the sham group.
Further, overnight polysomnography at baseline and completion of treatment, showed that acupuncture significantly improved sleep efficiency and total sleep time, and was associated with both more rapid sleep onset and less waking after falling asleep. No significant differences between baseline and post-treatment were found in the placebo group.
(Acupuncture Improves Peri-menopausal Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sleep, 22 September 2017.)