Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by frequent and persistent difficulty in falling asleep and/or maintaining sleep

resulting in feelings of sleep dissatisfaction. In traditional Chinese medicine

it is known as "

bú mèi

(sleeplessness)" . Prof. Wang Qingguo put forward the academic idea of "achieving harmony by unblocking and balancing"

and believes that the key to the pathomechanism of the condition is failure to remain in tune with the natural circadian rhythms

which leads to disharmony between yin and yang and disturbance in the functioning of the pivots

thus causing sleep disorders. It is emphasized that

shaoyang

is the pivot of the exterior and interior

shaoyin

is the pivot of fire and water

and the spleen and stomach is the pivot of ascending and descending. In the treatment of insomnia

it is necessary to adjust the pivot of

shaoyang

balance the pivot of

shaoyin

and conciliate the pivot of the middle

jiao

and to achieve the state of balance by adjusting the pivots

and harmony by unblocking.