Sleep is the main content of the living regimen, sufficient sleep is the simplest recipe for health. In addition to eliminating fatigue, regulating immunity, promoting growth, beauty and other effects, sleep can also adjust the function of the internal organs and meridians, restore the balance of the body’s yin and Yang qi and blood.
According to the seasonal changes and the specific situation of individuals to develop a system of work and rest in line with physiological needs, and develop the habit of working and resting on time, can keep the physiological functions of the human body in good condition.
Let’s learn some knowledge of sleep and health in Chinese medicine!
First, the theory of Chinese medicine on sleep
1, Day and night yin and Yang and sleep
Chinese medicine believes that the movement of the celestial bodies, the changes of yin and yang contribute to the alternation of day and night, day for yang, night for yin, the human body should adapt to the laws of day and night yin and yang. When the yang energy is weak and the yin energy is strong, you should go to sleep; when the yin energy is exhausted and the yang energy is strong, you should get up, work at sunrise and rest at sunset.
2, Operation of Ying and Wei and sleep
Ling Shu – Wei Qi” chapter said: “Yang is exhausted in Yin, Yin by the gas. The beginning of the Yin, often from the foot Shaoyin injected into the kidney, kidney injected into the heart, heart injected into the lungs, lungs injected into the liver, liver injected into the spleen, spleen injected into the kidney for weeks.” The five elements of kidney, heart, lung, liver and spleen are in the order of each other. During the daytime, the Wei Qi travels in the Yang, and the Yang Qi of the human body prevails outside, warming the body around the body, and the Wei Qi is solid outside, and people are awake and active; at night, the Wei Qi runs in the Yin meridian and the five organs, and people sleep and rest.
The mind and sleep
Chinese medicine believes that “if the mind is quiet, it sleeps” and “if the mind is moving, it wakes up”, and “the heart is the master of the mind”, so the mind can sleep peacefully and not easily wake up if the heart is relaxed and the emotions are well organized. If the heart is depressed, the mood is not smooth, it will be insomnia, or sleep is not real, easy to be awakened.
3, The best time to sleep
Ziwu sleep, is the most important sleep regimen of the ancients. That is, every day in the son, noon to sleep, in order to achieve the purpose of nourishing the sky. Because the son and noon are the time of alternation of yin and yang, but also the human body by the gas “Yin” and “Yang” time, sleep well ziwu sleep, the body is conducive to nourishing Yin, Yang. According to the law of Yin and Yang in the day, every night from 23:00 to 1:00 a.m., is the most powerful Yin, Yang is the weakest, Yin and Yang of the time, so this is the best period of sleep, the most nourishing Yin, can play a multiplier effect, and Ziqi and ugly is the time of the meridians running to the liver and gallbladder, if you stay up late and miss this time of sleep, the liver and gallbladder will not get sufficient The rest.
Therefore, the best time to go to bed is about ten o’clock every night in winter, and about ten thirty in summer. And noon from 11:00 to 13:00, is the time of the meridians running to the heart, but also the body’s sympathetic nerves are the most fatigued time. Napping can make the cardiovascular system to soothe and relieve tension, so it is best to nap between twelve and one o’clock every day in winter for about half an hour. And nap time should not be too long, otherwise it will affect the night sleep, summer to an hour is most appropriate.
4, High sleep quality standards
Fast sleep, deep sleep, no night, get up quickly, high energy. People can adjust the sleep time appropriately according to the quality of sleep to meet the needs of their respective sleep. If there is sleepiness to go to bed in time, staying up late hurts the most, and resting during the day can also supplement the lack of sleep at night.
5, Chinese medicine treatment of sleep disorders
At present, sleep disorders have become a worldwide health problem, and relevant surveys show that about one-third of adults worldwide have suffered from insomnia.
According to the Nei Jing, insomnia is caused by the evil qi visiting the internal organs, and the Wei qi traveling in Yang and not entering Yin. The main causes of insomnia are: injuries caused by the seven emotions, dietary disorders and overwork. Injuries caused by emotions are more common, with the heart, liver, gall bladder, spleen and stomach as the main sites of disease. The general pathogenesis is that yin is deficient inside, yang is superior outside, yang does not enter yin, yin and yang are out of intercourse, and the god floats outside, then it is sleeplessness. Clinically, it can be divided into two categories: deficiency and actual. The deficiency is manifested by deficiency of blood in the heart and spleen, deficiency of qi in the heart and gallbladder, and lack of intercourse between the heart and kidney, while the actual one is characterized by phlegm-heat, internal fire, and blood stasis.
Second, healthy sleep precautions
1, The regulation of the spirit
If the state of mind before going to bed is not calm, it will have a direct negative impact on sleep, such as excessive anger, sadness, thinking will affect the mind and can not sleep.
Therefore, in daily life, it is especially important to keep a happy mood and avoid emotional excitement as much as possible. The “Preparedness and Emergency Thousand Gold Essentials – Tao Lin Nourishing Sex” records that “all sleep first sleep heart after sleep eyes”, the only way to sleep peacefully is to calm the mind and settle the heart.
2, Regular work and rest time
Regular work and rest is not only good for sleep, but also can make your attention and work efficiency improved. Even for busy professionals, to adhere to a regular rest time is not impossible, but lies in your own willingness.
After waking up, do not love the bed, bedwetting is not conducive to the body’s Yang Qi propagation, will lead to poor Qi, so that people’s limbs drowsy, the whole day poor spirit.
3, Proper exercise
Exercise helps to keep your body healthy and in good shape. Take some time to exercise during the day to help sleep at night. At the same time can improve the excitement during the day and relieve fatigue. But an hour before bedtime avoid strenuous exercise to avoid sympathetic excitement and affect sleep.
4, Good sleep environment
The bedroom should be kept clean, simple and elegant, conducive to tranquility; to ensure a certain temperature and humidity, room temperature to 20 degrees is good, humidity to about 40 ﹪ is appropriate. Quiet environment, comfortable bed, suitable pillows, cotton bedding, in order to have a comfortable sleep.
When sleeping, it is best to keep the light very low, and it is best to be dark at night. Be careful not to sleep in the wind, because the ability of people to fight external evil during sleep is weaker compared to the daytime, especially the elderly and children are most likely to catch a cold when lying in the wind.
5, Relaxation before going to bed
If you are still carrying out strenuous brain activities before going to bed, it will make the brain simply can not stop, can not sleep quietly, and easy to make people dreamy. So one hour before bedtime try to leave behind the clutter of thoughts, let go of the phone computer TV, brain relaxation.
Before going to bed, you can do self-massage.
👉 rub hands: rub hands together, rub the palms, back of the hands, fingers, wrists and other parts, to the whole hand heat.
👉 Mo face: rub the palms of both hands hot, then rub the palms of both hands with each other, rub the palms, back of the hands, fingers, wrists and other parts of the hand to the whole hand hot. From the forehead along the sides of the nose to the chin, and then up through the two cheeks back to the forehead corner, gently rub the circle.
👉 hot water soak feet after massage feet Chung Quan points, or bath, bath, etc., can make you relaxed spirit, sleep better.
6, Develop good eating habits
Eating habits also have an impact on sleep. First of all, a regular diet of breakfast and dinner is good for one’s health, especially dinner has a great impact on sleep. Do not eat dinner too late and too much, that will produce a great burden on the stomach and affect sleep.
The Suwen – reverse regulation theory contains “stomach and not, it is restless”, so before going to bed should not be full, hungry, drink a lot of water and strong tea and coffee, tobacco and alcohol. If you sleep immediately after eating, it will seriously affect the transport function of the spleen and stomach, resulting in indigestion, accumulation of food, dampness into phlegm and a major injury to Yang Qi.
If you eat greasy food, sweets before bedtime easy to breed dampness and heat phlegm, not only disturbed sleep, but also can make people obese. Before going to bed should not drink a lot of water, so as not to increase the night urine affect sleep.
Third, the recommended food and diet to help sleep
1, Red jujube: has the role of nourishing the blood and calming the mind
2, Lilium: with a clear heart and calm the mind, improve the role of neurasthenia
3, Fu Shen: used to calm the mind, improve insomnia, palpitations and other symptoms
4, Sour date seed: has the role of calming agitation, stabilizing the nerves
5, Cinnamon: can calm the mind nourishing
6, Lotus seeds: helps to calm the mind and sedation
Forth. Summary
Sleep, as a necessary process of life, is an important part of the body’s recovery, just like air, sunlight and water, is the body’s indispensable “nutrition”. Through adequate and efficient sleep can eliminate fatigue, skin care, strengthen the body to fight aging, and promote physical and mental health. I hope these methods can help you, so that you have a good sleep.