Acupuncture for Insomnia and Sleep: Evidence

What this page covers

Insomnia means trouble falling or staying asleep. This page reports research on acupuncture for insomnia and, separately, for sleep apnea. It does not replace a sleep assessment. For habits and non-drug basics see sleep hygiene and how sleep works.

Insomnia: reviews

1. 2012 Cochrane review, 33 trials, 2,293 people

   Acupuncture added to other treatment might marginally increase the share with improved sleep quality; effects were small with wide intervals; all trials had high risk of bias [1]

   Reading it: Evidence not rigorous enough to support or refute

2. 2021 review, 24 trials

   Compared with drugs, acupuncture lowered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, with a significant effect from week 3; very high variation between studies [2]

   Reading it: Drug comparisons cannot isolate needle effects

3. 2025 Cochrane update

   Published as a protocol only; no results yet [3]

   Reading it: Awaiting results

Label: insufficient evidence. A Cochrane protocol was published in 2025 to update the review; at the time of reading there were no findings from it. [3]

Insomnia: individual trials

• Acupuncture versus CBT-I. In a trial of 160 cancer survivors, 8 weeks of acupuncture and of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) both produced meaningful reductions in insomnia severity that lasted to week 20, but CBT-I was more effective and the authors said it should be the first line of therapy. Acupuncture did better for pain. [4]
• Sham-controlled, chronic insomnia. In 82 people, 10 sessions at two points over 3 weeks improved sleep scores more than shallow needling at sham points right after treatment, but no difference remained at the follow-ups. [5]
• Electroacupuncture in depression with insomnia. In a blinded trial of 270 people in Shanghai, sleep scores improved more with electroacupuncture than with sham or standard care alone at week 8, and the gain lasted to week 32. No serious adverse events were reported. [6] This is one condition-specific trial, so it should not be generalized to insomnia as a whole.

Label: promising but limited for specific groups, insufficient overall.

What NHS guidance puts first

The NHS says insomnia usually gets better by changing sleeping habits, and that you may be offered cognitive behavioral therapy. [7] See sleep hygiene and relaxation for sleep. For needle-free approaches, see acupressure for sleep, anxiety and stress.

Sleep apnea

A 2020 review of nine trials (584 people) reported reductions in apnea-hypopnea index and sleepiness scores with acupuncture or electroacupuncture, but the quality of evidence was mainly low to very low and the authors called for high-quality trials. [8] Label: insufficient evidence.

Sleep apnea can have health consequences. The NHS says many people need a CPAP machine, and it can reduce the risk of problems linked to sleep apnea such as high blood pressure. [9] Do not stop CPAP or other prescribed care for acupuncture. See sleep apnea.