The use today of traditional Chinese medicine brings together many thousands of years of Chinese medical practice that includes the use of Chinese medicine to cure insomnia naturally. 'Traditional Chinese medicine' is a quite new term first coined by the People's Republic of China in the 1950s when that country was attempting to build a significant export trade for its time honored medicines and medical practices.

Today, traditional Chinese medicine does not only take in medicinal products, but also encompasses herbal preparations and a number of practices including acupuncture and massage. The foundation of Chinese medicine is that the human body functions as the result of a variety of interrelated processes that are in continuous interaction with our environment. As long as these processes stay in balance you are healthy but, if these processes are not running alongside one another smoothly, then your health suffers.

There are various different philosophies which govern the practice of Chinese medicine including such things as the theory of Yin-Yang which is concerned with the role of the five elements (earth, water, fire, metal and wood), the flow of energy through the meridians of the body and the interaction between the body's organs which are outlined in the theory of Zang-Fu.

For some considerable time there has been considerable conflict between those people who follow traditional Chinese medical practices and people who believe in the science-based practice of Western medicine. Nowadays however Chinese medicine, and other forms of Asian and Oriental medicine, is being increasingly accepted in the West and we usually refer to such practices as alternative medicine.

For the many millions of sufferers herbal remedies have long proved to be effective in curing insomnia or in relieving insomnia symptoms and such things as chamomile, lavender, passion flower and lemon balm are well known for their medicinal properties. There can be very few insomniacs who have not taken a drink of hot honey with lemon balm before going to bed.

A rising number of people are also turning to acupuncture or, for people who do not like the though of needles, acupressure. Both arts have been in use for centuries and the principles were born out of the traditional Chinese practice of adjusting the energy in the body by controlling its flow along the meridian lines.

In spite of its growing acceptance there are still a lot of people who are wary of Chinese medicine. But anyone who has experienced it in action, particularly those people who have been lucky enough as I have to spend time living in the Far East, will be more than happy vouch for its effectiveness.