To Sleep Well, Try Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

In the daily work of hyperbaric oxygen science, we often receive some unexpected feedback. For example, tooth pain disappears, endocrine disorders return to normal, and so on. Among them, the most common feedback is improvement in insomnia. For example, patients who come for hyperbaric oxygen therapy due to sudden deafness or spinal cord injury also find that their insomnia has improved. Even some severe insomnia patients, after several hyperbaric oxygen treatments, happily have a good night's sleep.

During insomnia, combined application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help patients fall asleep faster, prolong sleep duration, adjust disrupted sleep structure, and improve sleep quality. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as a physical therapy, is non-addictive, safe and effective, and can gradually reduce the dosage and dependence of drugs in insomnia patients. Regular hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help stay away from insomnia, maintain high energy levels, and improve work and life quality.

Going to bed early, but tossing and turning unable to sleep. Wanting to sleep well, but seeing the sunrise of the next day.

With the development of society and the acceleration of work pace and lifestyle, various sleep problems, such as "can't fall asleep," "can't sleep well," and "can't wake up," have plagued many people. About one third of the population in the sub-health state suffer from sleep problems, and long-term insomnia can prevent the body from recovering normal energy, severely affecting our life, study, and work. Some people may even experience pathological manifestations such as anxiety, depression, and panic.

The importance of sleep is self-evident. One-third of our lives are spent sleeping, and as a necessary process of life, sleep is an important link for the body to recover, integrate, and consolidate memory.

Many people will ask, what should I do if I can't sleep?

The recent clinical studies on insomnia have shown that combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an adjunct to conventional treatment can significantly increase the duration of continuous sleep in patients, adjust disrupted sleep structures, and improve sleep quality.

Several domestic studies, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or self-assessment scales of sleep conditions as evaluation criteria, have confirmed that the combined use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for insomnia is more effective than the sole application of sedative drugs.

Why can hyperbaric oxygen therapy improve insomnia?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy effectively alleviates insomnia problems, enhances sleep quality, and avoids side effects associated with oral sedative and hypnotic drugs, such as gastric discomfort and liver function damage.

Increased cerebral blood flow

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases blood supply to the brain arteries, improves the function of the brain's reticular activating system during sleep, regulates the excitatory-inhibitory transition of the cerebral cortex, enhances the autonomous nervous system function related to sleep, and alleviates symptoms of autonomic nervous system dysfunction, thereby improving sleep.

Improved oxygenation

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases oxygen partial pressure and oxygen content in the blood, widens the range of oxygen diffusion, enhances blood oxygen dispersion, increases oxygen content in poorly perfused brain microvessels, and improves oxygen supply to ischemic brain tissue, correcting cerebral tissue hypoxia.

Cellular function restoration

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, by enhancing the effective diffusion ability of oxygen, slows down cell death, assists in the recovery of partially damaged brain cells, facilitates the utilization of glucose by nerve cells, enhances the performance of nerve cells, regulates neurotransmitter balance, and increases the secretion of neurotransmitters related to sleep, such as serotonin, thereby improving sleep disorders.

Modulation of neurotransmitters

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces the secretion of monoamine neurotransmitters, such as vasopressin, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, which can cause vasoconstriction. When their secretion decreases, vasoconstrictive ability weakens, vasodilation increases in the brain's capillaries, improving microcirculation, stimulating the self-protective mechanism of the nervous system against toxic substance damage. Additionally, hyperbaric oxygen therapy stimulates the cerebral cortex, reduces neuronal excitability, suppresses abnormal brain discharges, inducing a state of true relaxation, thereby improving sleep.

If you are suffering from insomnia, after ruling out contraindications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it might be worth trying this approach.

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

HBOT is a recognized, safe, and effective medical treatment method that aims to improve health by increasing oxygen tension, boosting oxygen content in the blood, and enhancing circulation through pure physical means. It is considered a green, safe, and effective treatment method.

HBOT involves pressurizing the patient in a hyperbaric chamber, creating an environment higher than atmospheric pressure, and administering high-concentration oxygen for the treatment of various diseases. Compared to oxygen inhalation at normal pressure, breathing oxygen under hyperbaric conditions increases the physiologically dissolved oxygen in the blood by 13-17 times. It has therapeutic effects on various ischemic, hypoxic conditions, as well as diseases caused by anaerobic bacterial infections. HBOT is widely applied in our hospital.