【Insomnia and Body Coldness – Part 1｜Is Your Body Producing Enough Sweat?】
- 田澤 大輔
- Sep 3, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 26
At my practice, many patients come to me with the same concern: “I just can’t sleep well.”
The causes are often familiar - long work hours, childcare, lengthy commutes, or stress from workplace, family, and community relationships. These physical and emotional strains can take a toll on sleep.
But one factor that often goes unnoticed is body coldness.
A Patient Case: Neck and Shoulder Pain with Poor Sleep
Recently, Ms. N visited my practice with her main complaint of neck and shoulder pain.
“My neck and shoulders feel heavy, like rusty machinery that creaks when I move. Sometimes I even get a mild headache,” she explained.
She also mentioned difficulty falling asleep and shallow, restless sleep throughout the night.
Discovering the Hidden Coldness
During the consultation and physical examination, I noticed that her hands and feet were unusually cold.
When asked about her daily environment, Ms. N explained that both her office and home air conditioning run constantly at about 22°C (72°F). She wished she could adjust it, but it wasn’t easy in her situation.
She also admitted that she rarely sweats, usually takes only quick showers, and couldn’t remember the last time she had a proper bath.
All of these habits contributed to her body’s inability to generate warmth.
Treatment Approach: Warmth First
The first priority was to warm her body.
While her feet were heated with an infrared lamp, I applied moxibustion to selected acupuncture points on her hands and feet.
Infrared devices may not be common in every household, but similar effects can be achieved with hot packs, many of which are readily available online. They come in different shapes - for the neck, shoulders, lower back, and even wrists or ankles - filled with ingredients like azuki beans, soybeans, or ceramic beads.
Warming specific areas can make a big difference:
Warming the wrists helps bring heat to the fingers.
Warming the ankles helps restore warmth to the toes.
Warming the neck can ease stiffness in the shoulders.
Directly warming the shoulders themselves is also effective.
Gentle, steady warmth is best—avoid overly hot packs that may cause burns.
Acupuncture and Manual Therapy
Next, I inserted about 15 acupuncture needles around the joints of the neck, shoulder edges, and shoulder blades.
Another 10 needles were placed in the thick gluteal muscles, followed by electrical stimulation and infrared warming.
After removing the needles, I performed light massage on the neck and shoulders, added scapular stretches to improve mobility, and checked pelvic alignment with some gentle exercise.
Beyond the Practice: Supporting Metabolism
That day’s treatment concluded here, but for lasting improvement, I gave Ms. N some simple “homework” to practice between sessions.
Because her subcutaneous tissue was unusually cold, restoring her metabolism is essential. This cannot be achieved in just a few treatments - it requires daily stretching and light exercise at home.
Fortunately, Ms. N embraced this plan and has been practicing every day since her visit. It was encouraging to see her take the first step toward recovery.
👉 In the next post (Part 2), I’ll share the details of her at-home routine and the improvements in her symptoms after continuing treatment.
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Akabanebashi St. 2 min
Azabujuban St. 7 min
Shibakoen St. 9 min
Kamiyacho St. 9 min
Daisuke Tazawa
BODYWORKS AZABU
◎ Treatment details shared with consent
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