Objective

2

To observe the effects of acupuncture therapy on hyperarousal state， sleep quality， fatigue state and heart rate variability （HRV） in patients with chronic insomnia due to deficiency of heart and spleen.

Methods

2

A total of 120 patients with chronic insomnia were randomly divided into treatment group and control group of 60 in each one.The treatment group was applied to bilateral Xinshu（BL 15）， Pishu（BL 20）， Shenmen（HT 7）， Zhaohai（KI 6）， Shenmai（BL 62）， Anmian， Sanyinjiao（SP 6）， Zusanli（ST 36） and unilateral Baihui（DU 20）；the control group was given shallow acupuncture but not along the channel. Both groups were treated with acupuncture once every other day for 4 weeks， with a total of 14 treatments. The patients' Hyperarousal Scale score （HAS）， Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） and Fatigue Scale score （FS-14） were recorded before treatment and at the end of 4 weeks of treatment；ECGs of 24h 12 leads and Kubios HRV version software were used to analyze different parameters of HRV.

Results

2

Post-treatment HAS scale scores were highly significantly lower than pre-treatment in the treatment group（

P

<

0.01）；Post-treatment HAS scale scores were highly significantly lower than pre-treatment in the control group（

P

<

0.01）；Post-treatment HAS scale scores were highly significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group（

P

<

0.01）；Post-treatment PSQI scores on all dimensions and total scores were highly significantly lower than pre-treatment in the treatment group（

P

<

0.01）；Sleep quality， daytime dysfunction and total PSQI scores were lower in the control group after treatment than before treatment（

P

<

0.05）；Post-treatment sleep quality， time to sleep， sleep duration， daytime dysfunction， and total PSQI scores were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group（

P

<

0.01）；Post-treatment FS-14 scale scores were

highly significantly lower in the treatment group than pre-treatment（

P

<

0.01）；Post-treatment FS-14 scale scores were lower than pre-treatment in the control group（

P

<

0.05）；Post-treatment FS-14 scale scores were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group（

P

<

0.01）；After treatment， PNN50， RMSSD， HRV triangle index， VLF and LF/HF showed an increasing trend（

P

<

0.05）， while HF and LF showed a decreasing trend compared with before treatment（

P

<

0.05）；SDNN and VLF in the control group showed a decreasing trend after treatment compared to before treatment（

P

<

0.05）；PNN50 and LF/HF in the treatment group was higher than that（

P

<

0.05） in the control group， and LF was lower than that（

P

<

0.05） in the control group after treatment.

Conclusion

2

Acupuncture stimulation can improve hyperarousal and fatigue as a way to improve sleep quality in chronic insomnia patients. By adjusting heart rate variability， it is reflected in the ability to downregulate sympathetic excitability and upregulate parasympathetic regulation. Further， it can balance the autonomic nervous system and improve the body's adaptability. Its action is related to meridian point specificity.