Objective:This study is conducted to determine the effects of SOOJl CHIM (Koryo hand acupuncture,KHA)therapy on sleep structures and perimenopause symptoms among insomniacs.Methods:Totally 49 participants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in a two-arm randomized,placebo controlled,patients-blind trial,with 24 cases allocated to a real-KHA group and 25 cases allocated to a sham-KHA group.Patients in each group received corresponding treatment every other day,three times a week for total eight weeks.Both actigraphy and testing of serum hormones level reflected by biological markers such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH),luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were performed at pre-and post-treatment.Additionally,the scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used for assessing the subjective sleep experience of insomniacs.Meanwhile,adverse effects were monitored and recorded.Results:After eight-week treatment,the global scores of PSQI declined significantly (P＜0.05) in the real-KHA group but not in the sham-KHA group (P＞0.05).According to the outcomes of actigraphy,a striking increase was observed in both sleep efficiency (SE) and total sleep time (TST) in the real-KHA group (both P＜0.05) but not in the sham-KHA group (P＞0.05).However,no significant changes of sleep awakenings (SA) in both groups was found after treatment (both P＞0.05).Meanwhile,FSH and LH in the real-KHA group decreased markedly after intervention (both P＜0.05) while those indicators only slightly changed in the sham-KHA group (P＞0.05).The fluctuation of E2 levels were not significant in both groups (both P＞0.05).No serious adverse event was reported in either real-or sham-KHA group.Conclusion:KHA may be a potential altative therapy for improving perimenopausal insomnia via down regulating the levels of FSH and LH.