Could acupuncture provide a cure for insomnia?

Chinese authors have reviewed 46 randomised control trials (RCTs) containing 3811 patients, all the trials were considered to be of a reasonable standard. 


Benefits were seen when acupuncture was compared with no treatment, also when real acupressure was compared to sham acupressure.  


Acupuncture was superior to medication with regard to the number of patients who's total sleep increased by more than three hours, also acupuncture and medication was shown to be better than medication alone. Acupuncture plus herbs was significantly better than herbs alone with regard to increase in sleep rate. In conclusion the authors recommend that based on these findings acupuncture warrants further investigation for the treatment of insomnia.


(Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Altern Comp Med. 2009 Nov;15(11):1176-86).