Acupuncture, as complementary medicine, has been used since many years ago in china and many researches have proved its effect separately or combined with other treatment methods.

To compare therapeutic effects of Acupuncture plus estazolam and Cognitive - Behavioral Therapies plus estazolam on insomnia.

To determine the efficacy of acupuncture as complementary medicine in treating insomnia.

64 insomnia patients were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a behavioral group, 30 cases in acupuncture group and 18 cases in behavioral group completed research. The acupuncture group was treated by administration oral estazolam before sleeping each day and needling, three times a week, the behavioral group received Stimulus control as Cognitive - Behavioral Therapy plus oral estazolam before sleeping each day. Treatment course was 3 weeks. The insomnia severity index (ISI) scores before and after treatment were observed in the both groups.

The total effective rate was 86.7% in the acupuncture group and 50% in the behavioral group with statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The cured rate of 30% in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than 16.7% in the behavioral group (both P < 0.05).

The therapeutic effect of Acupuncture as a complementary medicine on insomnia is better than stimulus therapy as a Cognitive - Behavioral Therapy.