Background
In TCM, the everyday complaint of "poor sleep" is split into several patterns: "heart-spleen deficiency" (mind will not quiet down, fatigue on waking, overthinking), "liver qi stagnation transforming into fire" (irritability, restlessness, bitter taste), and "heart-kidney non-communication" (frequent waking, a sense of "empty heat" at night). The medicines on this page are discussed in Chinese households for these patterns. None of them is a sedative in the Western pharmacological sense, and none is a treatment for clinical insomnia. For persistent sleep problems, clinical evaluation is the appropriate next step.