Insomnia in Traditional Persian Medicine

Insomnia is a common complaint in outpatient clinics. It usually affects quality of life neg-atively, especially in severe cases. Nowadays, routine medical interventions comprise pharmacological approaches and cognitive behavioral therapy. Common medications used by afflicted patients are not competent enough in addition to their annoying side effects. It would naturally denote the need for considering novel strategies for treating insomniac patients. Approach to insomnia in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) has been cited in a scrutinized manner focusing on its main causes. Accordingly, its treatment is tailored based on the constitution of the patient, intensity of the disease, and type of the cause. In this paper we have discussed the causes of insomnia, diagnostic approach, and various medical interventions proposed in valid sources of TPM.

Management of insomnia in traditional Persian medicine.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder which affects 10-48% of general population. Different measures, such as pharmacotherapy and behavioral management, are applied for insomnia and associated complaints. In traditional medical systems, herbal medicines are considered beneficial. Therefore, the present paper compiles pharmacological and medical insights into the management of insomnia according to Traditional Persian Medicine. Herein, preserved medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine from 10th to 18th century A.D. were investigated for information about concepts of insomnia treatment and herbal remedies. Additionally, for all herbal remedies, an extensive search of scientific databases, such as MEDLINE and Scopus, has been performed to find related works concerning hypnotic, sedative, and anxiolytic as well as narcoleptic effects. Insomnia (generally called Sahar in Persian manuscripts) is a well-known disorder. Herbal medical intervention was the major treatment prescribed by Iranian physicians. Totally, 36 medicinal herbs related to 25 plant families are derived from the searched literature. These remedies were applied orally, topically, and nasally. Based on scientific data, 50% of reported herbs have relevant pharmacological effects. Besides historical elucidation, this paper presents medical and pharmacological approaches that had been applied by Persian practitioners in order to deal with sleep complications. Considering the fruitful results of these findings, this essay should encourage researchers to conduct more investigations in this field in order to understand the mechanisms and effects of traditionally applied herbs still unknown to modern medicine.

Sleep and insomnia.

Recently, the Mental Health Foundation published the largest survey of the nation's sleep. It revealed that people with insomnia suffer from dramatically higher rates of relationship difficulties, energy deficiency, and depressed mood, as well as other health and wellbeing problems. From this report published on 27 January 2011, it appears that poor sleep is a seriously neglected public health concern, and there is an urgent need to do something about it. One hundred years ago, the BJN published an article by Dr Woods Hutchinson, about sleep and enclosed are some key points made at the time:

Síntomas de una época: magnetismo, histeria y espiritismo en la Alemania Romántica / No disponible

Centrándose en el análisis de tres casos especialmente significativos se pretende comprender el significado histórico del encuentro en la Euro`pa de comienzos de l siglo XIX de una teoría médica -el magnetismo animal-, un peculiar sistema de creencias -el espiritismo- y una enfermedad ya conocida, pero que comenzará a contemplarse con una mirada nueva: la histeria. Seráb, por otra parte, la enfermedad y la teoría médica quienes den alas a ese sistema de creencias y permitan su despliegue en el seno de la cultura occidental, afirmándose frente a otras concepciones del mundo y mostrando, con ello, las insuficientes de estas últimas

By centring on analysis of three particularly significant cases, the article seeks to understand the historical meaning of the encounter in early 19th-century Europe between a medical theory -mesmerism-, a peculiar system of beliefs -spiritualism- and an already known disease, but which was to be seen from a new perspective: hysteria. Moreover, the disease and the medical theory are the elements that made this system of beliefs flourish and enable it to take hold in the core of Western culture, affirming itself over other conceptions of the world and showing, with this, the insufficiencies of the latter

[Investigation on the title of bu mei (sleepless)].

There are various titles applied for "sleepless", including mu bu ming (unclosed eyes), bu de mian (unable to sleep), bu de wo (unable to lie down), shi mian (insomnia). The implications of the titles vary according to different periods. Bu de wo (unable to lie down) was first appeared in Zu bi shi yi mai jiu jing (Moxibustion Classic of Foot and Arm Eleven Channels) and Yin yang shi yi mai jiu jing (Moxibustion Classic of Yin-Yang Eleven Channels), while bu de wo, mu bu ming, and ye bu mei were appeared in Huang di nei jing (Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor), bu mei was first seen in Nan jing (Classic of Questioning). When bu de mian and bu de wo were applied in Zhang Zhongjing's Shang han lun (Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases) and Jin kui yao lue (Synopsis of Golden Chamber), it exerted good influence in later generations. The title of bu mei was more popular after the Ming and Qing dynasties. This titles is the most appropriate one from the standpoint of syndrome itself as viewed from its semantic implication and its accuracy.