Insomnia can be difficult to treat using traditional methods alone. For this reason, many people look for alternative treatments for curing insomnia. Alternative treatments are often the treatment of choice largely because people believe they are safe, and because there is some risk of withdrawal symptoms or addiction associated with some forms of sleep aids used to treat insomnia.

According to a study published by researchers at the Shandong Provincial Hospital of Shandong, a newer form of acupuncture known as Electro-Acupuncture may be helpful for improving the quality of sleep in patients suffering from insomnia. The study evaluated the therapeutic effect of electro or "electric" acupuncture on almost 300 patients that were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment lasted for 3 weeks.

Researchers explored the quality of sleep both before and after treatment using a special instrument that measures sleep patterns. This study showed that sleeping pills may be helpful for improving sleep, but less beneficial than acupuncture or a combination of acupuncture and sleep aids. Most importantly the study suggests that acupuncture treatment for insomnia may result in better quality of sleep than medication to treat insomnia alone.

_{Reference
Tang, SC, Liu, JM, & Liu, GL. Clinical observation on effect of electric acupuncture at shishencong in treating insomnia. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2007, 27(11): 1030-2.}