Post Date December, 02 2023
Principles of Sleep Regimen
Rule 1: Be sure to sleep before midnight
In the ancient concept of health preservation, sleep was the first major event in life. If you do not sleep before midnight every day (equivalent to 11:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. the next day), both men and women will directly damage the liver. Over time, it will damage the kidneys and gradually cause a loss of both qi and blood in the body. When you look in the mirror every day, you will feel ashen and dusty.
At this time, even with daily nutrition and exercise, it is difficult to recover the damage caused by insufficient or poor sleep.
Therefore, it's okay to get up early, but it's definitely not okay to go to bed late. Many people who are in low spirits have a habit of sleeping late.
Article 2: Sleep without thinking about everything
Consider this body as if it were nothing, or as if it were sugar in water. First melt the big toe, then the other toes, then gradually melt the feet, calves, and thighs, and finally disappear, naturally falling asleep. This is the ideal state of mind when falling asleep. Many times, insomnia results from lingering thoughts while falling asleep.
At this point, do not toss and turn in bed to avoid wasting energy and making it harder to fall asleep. You can try to get up and sit for a while before sleeping.
In fact, for modern people, if they want to fall asleep before 11 pm, it is also crucial to go to bed early to brew emotions, in order to give the mind a period of slow calm. This is the truth of sleeping first in the heart and then in the eyes.
If it still doesn't work, you can try simply pressing your legs before going to bed, then sitting naturally in bed, overlapping your hands on your legs, breathing naturally, feeling your pores open and close as you breathe. If you can shed tears and yawn, the best effect is to fall asleep when you want to sleep.
Article 3: It is advisable to take a nap or sit quietly at noon to nourish the mind
At noon (equivalent to 11am to 1pm), it is appropriate to take a nap and not take too long to rest. If conditions are limited and you cannot sleep, sit still for a quarter of an hour and close your eyes to refresh your mind.
Article 4: Don't be too sleepy and bedridden
For health preservation, getting up early is beneficial to the body's metabolism. The advantage of getting up early is that on the one hand, it can expel metabolic turbidity from the body. If you get up too late and the large intestine is not fully active, you may not be able to complete the excretion function well.
In addition, the digestion and absorption function of the human body is most active from 7 to 9 a.m., which is the prime time for nutrient absorption.
Therefore, do not lie in bed, as dizziness and fatigue are often caused by excessive sleep.
How to Improve Sleep Quality
1. Good sleeping environment
"The Internal Classic" states that impatience leads to demise, and tranquility leads to divine possession. This tells us that it is easier to fall asleep only when the mood is calm. Excessive physical and mental activity before bedtime can cause insomnia. Therefore, people in the middle and old age must be open-minded. Before falling asleep, they need to eliminate selfish thoughts and put their minds on sleep. This is called sleeping first. Only in this way can they sleep quickly, stably, and soundly.
2. Living regularly
We must have certain rules in our lives. Modern scientific research has also proven that there is a precise biological clock in the human body, which constantly regulates the process of human life activities. Traditional Chinese medicine also advocates that different daily living arrangements should be arranged in different seasons. For example, in spring, living emphasizes sleeping at night and getting up early, and walking widely in court; In summer, it is important to lie down at night and get up early, never tired of the day; In autumn, it is required to lie down early and rise early, so as to thrive with chickens; In winter, it is recommended to lie down early and get up late, and to wait for sunlight.
Only by developing the habit of falling asleep on time can one fall asleep safely at bedtime. In addition, before bedtime, wash your face, brush your teeth, and rinse your mouth. Especially, washing your feet with hot water is more conducive to sleep. Reading books and newspapers, drinking coffee, drinking tea, smoking, etc. before going to bed can cause excitement and lead to insomnia.
3. Pay attention to moderate exertion and relaxation
When a person lacks exercise and labor, falling asleep can be more difficult. On the contrary, when a person is too tired, it is difficult to fall asleep at once. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to a moderate amount of work and rest to ensure a good sleep. Especially after retirement, elderly people have decreased mental and physical activity, and often cannot sleep soundly due to improper work and rest. This requires elderly people to do some physical activity during the day or take a 20-30 minute walk before going to bed, which can help them sleep.
4. Suitable room temperature
"The Ten Old People's Long Life Song" says: Seven old people rub their huge noses, and the air flows through the windows. The mantra says to keep the air fresh during sleep, and even during the winter and daytime, you should open the window before going to bed for ventilation. However, when sleeping, it is important to avoid the penetration of through and crevasse winds. In addition to these sleep requirements, it is necessary to create conditions for falling asleep, such as soft and warm bedding, dim indoor light at night, appropriate temperature and humidity, and keeping quiet.
5. A suitable diet
There is a sentence in the "Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine": If your stomach is not harmonious, you will feel uneasy lying down. Now that I think about it, there is a certain truth in this statement. If you eat more before bedtime, it is easy to overburden the gastrointestinal tract, thereby affecting sleep. Therefore, dinner should be as light as possible, and the time between dinner and falling asleep should be maintained at least two hours.
If you work or watch TV for a long time at night, you can add some soft food appropriately to avoid insomnia caused by hunger. In addition, some elderly people often suffer from insomnia due to frequent urination at night. According to statistics, about a quarter of 60 year olds get up at night. Therefore, elderly people need to drink less water at night and wait until the next morning to replenish water.
6. Correct sleeping posture
Cai Jitong of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Sleeping Secrets": "Sleeping sideways and bending.". This means that when sleeping, one should take the right recumbent position with the upper and lower limbs semi flexing. This sleeping position has two major benefits: it does not oppress the heart; It is beneficial for gastrointestinal peristalsis and digestion.
When sleeping on the side, slightly curling up your limbs and relaxing your muscles are very beneficial for eliminating fatigue and promoting sleep. As the saying goes, a high pillow is carefree, but a high pillow does not mean that the pillow is very high, but rather that one should be carefree. In fact, too high or too low a pillow can affect sleep. Generally speaking, pillows should also be moderately soft and hard.
In addition, the pillow core can be made from vanilla, wild chrysanthemum, buckwheat peel, or dried tea leaves that have been dried in the sun. Its moderate softness and hardness, as well as its pleasant fragrance, help to fall asleep. In summer, kapok or foam plastic with poor heat dissipation should not be used as pillow core. For patients with hypertension, if chrysanthemum and evening silkworm sand can be used to fill the pillow, it has the effects of clearing the liver, brightening the eyes, and treating headaches.
