Numerous alternative and non-conventional medical systems and therapies claim to affect sleep. In time this page may link to information available on the WEB. Meanwhile, the various alternative are listed in the table below. Some of the claims maybe quite extravagant - often without scientific proof. Lack of scientific proof does not necessarily mean that the claim is unwarranted, just that it has no proof, either positive or negative. The potential user should be aware. As the WEB is mainly self-regulated it may be worthwhile checking sites that claim to defend the consumer (e.g. U.S. Government: Federal Trade Commission).
A good article on complementary medicine can be found in the British Medical Journal (BMJ 1999 Sep 11;319(7211):693-696 What is complementary medicine? Zollman C, Vickers A) -link. Copied directly from it is a quote from the Cochrane Collaboration (an organisation with the aims of "Preparing, maintaining and promoting the accessibility of systematic reviews of the effects of health care interventions"):
Definition of
complementary medicine adopted by Cochrane Collaboration
"Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad domain of healing
resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and
their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the
politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a
given historical period. CAM includes all such practices and ideas
self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting
health and well-being. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and
that of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed."
Sleep and meditation Bibilography
| Method | Description | Sleep may be affected by | |
| 1 | Acupressure | A technique relying on the theory underlying acupuncture but using pressure instead of needles. | Pain control |
| 2 | Acupuncture | See Chinese medicine | Pain control, possibly other mechanisms |
| 3 | Alexander Technique | The Alexander Technique is an educational therapy aimed at improving physical and mental well-being by changes of habitual posture. (page *) | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 4 | Allergy Clinic | Allergy clinics test and treat allergies and food intolerance. | Improving breathing |
| 5 | Aromatherapy | The use of fragrant oils may have arisen from the ancient use of aromatic herbs in Egypt, India, Greece and the Arab world. Traditionally the essential oils have been used as stimulants, relaxants, antiseptics and anti-inflammatories | Various possible mechanisms |
| 6 | Ayurveda | Ayurveda is an Asian medical system which has its beginnings more than two thousand years ago. Ayurveda literally means the science of longevity. It is an entire system so used herbal remedies, massage, yoga and meditation. | Various possible mechanisms |
| 7 | Bio-Energy Healing | The healer acts as a channel allowing the positive energy to pass through the patient with one hand and extracting negative energy with the other hand. | Thought management & anxiety relief |
| 8 | Biofeedback | Thought management & relaxation | |
| 9 | Buteyko Method | A breathing re-conditioning program that treats asthma and other respiration problems. | Improving breathing |
| 10 | Chinese Herbal Medicine | Is a complete health system that looks at the body as a balance between the opposite energies of yin and yang. | Various possible mechanisms |
| 11 | Chiropody/Podiatry | A therapeutic foot care treatment for sports injuries, foot pains, back pains etc. | Pain control |
| 12 | Chiropractic | Manual treatment of musculo - skeletal aches and pains. | Pain control |
| 13 | Colon Hydrotherapy | An infusion of purified water into the colon is said to cleanse and detoxify the inner body. Claimed to treat headaches, backaches, constipation and diarrhea. | Pain or discomfort control |
| 14 | Color Therapy | The use of color in the environment to bring healing and harmony in body and mind. | ? |
| 15 | Counselling | Including psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, relationship issues, additional, etc. | Thought management & anxiety relief |
| 16 | Deep Tissue Massage | Muscle and joint relaxation | |
| 17 | Devices | Various | |
| 18 | Diet | Ingestion | |
| 19 | Energy Healing | A form of energy transference that corrects the body's aura - effective for chronic fatigue syndrome, stroke and cancer patients. | Thought management & anxiety relief |
| 20 | Exercise | Muscle and joint relaxation | |
| Feng Shui | Bed placement | ? | |
| 21 | Flotation | Total immersion in water | Anxiety relief |
| 22 | Flower Remedies | Specially blended to suit the individual patient said to bring about benefits by influencing each person's life force. | ? |
| 23 | GDS Method | Is a holistic treatment and preventative approach to a wide range of muscular - skeletal problems. This form of holistic physiotherapy uses massage, muscle technique, bone awareness work, remedial movements together with breathing and relaxation techniques. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 24 | Hellerwork | Founded by Joseph Heller who works from a center at Mt. Shasta, California. It is based on movement education as well as deep tissue manipulation. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 25 | Herbalism | Herbal remedies individually blended to help enhance the immune system, helps with gynecological conditions, infectious diseases and addictions with no side effects. |
Various possible mechanisms. Some
examples: Valerian Primrose Peppermint preparation Hemp
Herbal references link to A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve. |
| 26 | Homoeopathy | Remedies derived from mineral, plants and animal sources that stimulate the body's own healing mechanism. | Various possible mechanisms |
| 27 | Holistic healing | Various | |
| 28 | Hypnotherapy | Hypnosis | Thought management; |
| 29 | Intramuscular stimulation | (similar to acupuncture) | Pain control |
| 30 | Kinesiology | Kinesiology is the study of muscle movement. Specialized kinesiology (applied kinesiology, clinical kinesiology) is an umbrella term for other kinesiology practices. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 31 | Light Therapy | Bright light can be used to reset the biological clock. Light therapy, as currently used, refers to treatments that increase production of Vitamin D (thuse aiding absorption of some minerals). | Biological clock control, wake stimulation. |
| 32 | Marma Massage | As part of ayurvedic medicine, marma points are defined as areas where muscles, vein, arteries, bones and joints meet. Stimulation promotes physical and mental rehabilitation. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 33 | Massage | A variety of techniques, including Thai, marma, shiatsu, deep tissue, "hydrotherm", chi Kung, rhacidian, Indonesian and Chinese tuina. | Various possible mechanisms |
| 34 | Naturopathy | Aims to treat the underlying cause of illness, not just the symptoms. Dieting to stop food intolerance is one of the techniques used. | Various possible mechanisms |
| 35 | Neurotherapy | Biofeedback technique | Muscle and joint relaxation; thought management |
| 36 | NLP | Neurolinguistic programming is a form of brief psychotherapy. | Thought management & anxiety relief |
| 37 | Nutrition | Dietary therapy. | Ingestion |
| 38 | Osteopathy | Treatment of joints and soft tissue using muscle relaxation and joint articulation techniques. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 39 | Panchakarma | A branch of ayurvedic medicine that deals specifically with detoxification. | Various |
| 40 | Physiotherapy | Conventional techniques used to treat muscle and joint ailments. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 41 | Polarity Therapy | A holistic energy medicine that uses a combination of bodywork, stretching exercises, cleaning diet and health awareness to assist the body's own healing process. | Various |
| 42 | Psychotherapy | Psychotherapy usually refers to psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapists but can also refer to other pyschological treatments that have not been endorsed by professional associations. | Thought management |
| 43 | Qi Gong | The study of the science of Vital Force (Qi or Chi) through exercises and meditation. | Thought management |
| 44 | Reflexology | Massage the pressure points in the hands and feet which correspond to different parts of the body providing overall relaxation and restoring balance. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 45 | Reiki | The Usui healing system, known in the West as Reiki, has its roots in Taoism and Tendai Buddhism. | Various |
| 46 | Shiatsu | Japanese massage based on yin/yang. | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 47 | Stress Management | General and varied methods | Various |
| 49 | Therapeutic touch | A modern form of laying-on hands. | Thought management |
| 50 | T'ai-Chi | Exercise guided by Chinese Medical methods | Muscle and joint relaxation |
| 51 | Yoga | "Integral Yoga" taught on a one-to one or group basis. | Muscle and joint relaxation, thought management |
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