From Pathoconditions, Causes, Pulses, and Treatments (症因脉治 zhèng yīn mài zhì). Sleeplessness due to liver fire arising when excessive anxiety and anger damage the liver and cause counterflow of liver qì or when liver blood is damaged and the spirit fails to confine itself. Liver fire sleeplessness is characterized by unquiet sleep, susceptibility to fright, thirst with copious fluid intake, periodic distension in the rib-side, or pain in the lesser abdomen and free ribs reaching into the genitals, and a rapid stringlike pulse.
Medicinal therapy: Course the liver and clear fire using Gentian Liver-Draining Decoction (龙胆泻肝汤lóng dǎn xiè gān tāng) or Liver-Coursing Powder (疏肝散shū gān sǎn).
Acumoxatherapy: To the main points given under sleeplessness, add BL-18 (Liver Transport, 肝俞 gān shù), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), LR-2 (Moving Between, 行间 xíng jiān), and PC-7 (Great Mound, 大陵 dà líng), needling with drainage.