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Effect of Auricular Acupoint Bloodletting plus Auricular Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Neuroendocrine Level in College Students with Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Acupuncture Research
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Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the effects of auricular acupoint bloodletting (AB) and auricular acupressure (AA) on sleep quality and the levels of melatonin (MT), glutamic acid (Glu), and γ -aminobutyric acid (GABA) in college students with primary insomnia, and to explore the possible mechanism.

Methods

Totally 74 college students at Hebei University of Chinese Medicine with primary insomnia were selected from October 2019 to October 2020. All patients were assigned to AB+AA group (37 cases, received combination of AB and AA) and AA group (37 cases, received only AA on the same acupoints) by a random number table. Each group was treated twice a week for 4 weeks. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score, Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome score, total effective rate, serum concentrations of MT, Glu, and GABA, and Glu/GABA ratio were compared between the two groups after treatment and at follow-up. The safety of therapy was also evaluated.

Results

After 4-week treatment, the total scores of PSQI, each PSQI component score, and the CM syndrome scores in both groups all decreased (P<0.05); the serum MT concentrations in both groups all increased (P<0.05). The concentrations of Glu and GABA in the AB+AA group were significantly higher than those in the AA group after treatment (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the ratio of Glu/GABA in both groups before and after treatment (P>0.05). At follow-up, the CM syndrome score in the AB+AA group was significantly lower than that in the AA group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in total effective rates and adverse events (P>0.05).

Conclusions

Both AB+AA and AA can relieve insomnia symptoms, but a stronger long-term effect were observed for AB+AA. AB+AA can promote the secretion of MT, increase the levels of Glu and GABA more effective than AA, and regulate their imbalance, and thus it may be benificial for treating insomnia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Massage, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China

    Hao Chen, Ming-jian Zhang, Jia-ai Wu, Yan-fen She, Xin-ru Yuan, Yun-xiang Huo, Huan Sun, Dao-nan Liu & Xu-liang Shi

  2. International Joint Research Center for Preponderant Diseases of Acupuncture in Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China

    Hao Chen & Yan-fen She

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  1. Hao Chen
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Correspondence to Yan-fen She.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author Contributions

Chen H and She YF were involved in the study design and writing the manuscript. Shi XL helped to guide the trial design and revise the manuscript. Yuan XR and Huo YX were responsible for recruiting patients. Zhang MJ and Wu JA contributed to the study operation and data analysis. Sun H and Liu DN were responsible for the evaluation of outcomes. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Supported by the College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program in Hebei Province, China (No. S201914432019S)

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Effect of Auricular Acupoint Bloodletting plus Auricular Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Neuroendocrine Level in College Students with Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Chen, H., Zhang, Mj., Wu, Ja. et al. Effect of Auricular Acupoint Bloodletting plus Auricular Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Neuroendocrine Level in College Students with Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 28, 1096–1104 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-022-3581-0

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