We’ve all heard it. When you’re feeling low, unmotivated, or trapped in the “fog” of depression, well-meaning friends say: “You just need a good night’s sleep. Go to bed earlier.”
A recent feature on Medical News Today highlighted exactly why this advice is not only frustrating but scientifically flawed. Insomnia and depression are not just “unfortunate roommates”; they are deeply biologically intertwined. You cannot simply “will” yourself into sleep when the internal machinery of your mood and your circadian rhythm is out of sync.
At Acurodos, we look at this through a 2,500-year-old lens that explains exactly why “just sleeping more” is impossible for many—and how we can actually fix the root cause.
The Myth of the “Choice” to Sleep
Modern research shows that insomnia is often a state of hyperarousal. Even if you are exhausted, your nervous system is stuck in “high alert.” In Chinese Medicine, we describe this as an imbalance between Yin and Yang.
As noted in Nina Cheng’s Chinese Medicine for the Mind, sleep is the process of Yang (activity/light) successfully entering Yin (rest/darkness). If your Yin is too weak to “anchor” the Yang, or if your Yang is too agitated (due to stress or “Heat”), your Spirit (Shen) has nowhere to rest.
Why the “Just Sleep” Advice Fails
When you are struggling with depression, the “Root” of the issue often prevents the “Branch” (sleep) from functioning. Here are three reasons why “more sleep” isn’t a simple fix, according to TCM:
- The Liver Qi Stagnation
- Depression is often characterized by Liver Qi Stagnation—a feeling of being stuck, frustrated, or hopeless. According to Angela Hicks in Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture, the Liver is responsible for the smooth flow of energy. When this energy gets “bottled up,” it creates internal Heat. This Heat rises at night, disturbing the Hun (the Ethereal Soul), leading to restless sleep and vivid, stressful dreams. You can’t sleep because your internal “wind” is blowing too hard.
- Heart Blood Deficiency
- The Shen (Spirit) resides in the Heart. For the Spirit to be calm, the Heart must be nourished by Blood. Chronic worry—common in both depression and anxiety—depletes the Spleen and Heart. As Zoey Xinyi Gong explains in The Five Elements Cookbook, if the “house” (the Blood) is empty, the “resident” (the Spirit) cannot stay. This results in the classic “tired but wired” feeling where you fall asleep but wake up frequently.
- The Cycle of Worry
- The Medical News Today post notes that rumination is a key driver of insomnia. In TCM, this is the “over-thinking” of the Earth element. This knots the Qi, making it impossible for the body to transition into the deep, restorative Yin state required to heal the brain’s chemistry.
Moving Beyond the Advice: How Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Helps
If “getting more sleep” were a choice, you would have made it by now. Instead of forcing sleep, we focus on regulating the Spirit.
- Acupuncture: We use specific points like Yin Tang (between the eyebrows) and Heart 7 (Spirit Gate) to physically signal the nervous system to shift from sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest/digest).
- Food as Medicine: Incorporating ingredients can nourish the Heart Blood and help the body build the “anchors” it needs for sleep.
- Lifestyle over Willpower: Instead of a strict “bedtime,” we focus on “Yang-taming” activities in the evening—dimming lights and slow breathing—to help the Yang transition into Yin naturally.
The Bottom Line
Insomnia and depression are a biological feedback loop. You don’t get better sleep by trying harder; you get better sleep by balancing the internal environment that allows sleep to happen.
Stop “trying” to sleep and start healing the root.
If you’re struggling with the dual weight of low mood and sleepless nights and you’re based in Clonee, Lucan, Blanchardstown, Dunboyne, Leixlip or Dublin West, let’s look at your “Five Element” balance.
Book a session today
