The temperature is about to drop sharply, so be careful to prevent the "five colds" when maintaining your health. Please keep this guide to maintaining your health during the solar terms!

Today is January 20, 2025, and the Great Cold solar term has quietly arrived. It is recorded in "Explanation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms": "The Great Cold is the coldest and the coldest." At this time, it is extremely cold, but it also indicates that warmth will be born after the extreme cold, yin will disappear and yang will grow, winter will go and spring will come, and the yang energy in the human body is also preparing to grow.

Starting from the 23rd, a new cold front is quietly approaching, and the temperature is about to drop sharply. At this critical moment of season change, Chinese medicine believes that it is particularly important to take care of the body at this time. Gao Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Department of Encephalopathy of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine , focuses on sleep, diet, exercise, emotions, etc., and focuses on "hiding", and explains in detail how to maintain health during the Great Cold solar term.

Go to bed early and get up late, keep warm

There is an old saying that goes, "The three months of winter are a time for hibernation. One should go to bed early and get up late, waiting for the daylight." During the Great Cold season, the weather is freezing and the ground is frozen. The coldness can contract and stagnate, and when it invades the human body, it can easily cause poor circulation of qi and blood and obstruction of the meridians.

At this time, the work and rest schedule should conform to the rules of "winter storage", go to bed before 11 pm, get up after 7-8 am after dawn, ensure adequate sleep, and at the same time be careful to prevent the "five colds", which is conducive to the hiding of Yang Qi and the accumulation of Yin fluid.

1. Prevent lung cold

Colds are the most common health problem in winter. In your daily diet, you can choose some spicy and warm ingredients that can relieve exterior symptoms, clear the lungs and dispel cold, and avoid eating cold foods.

2. Prevent waist cold

In winter, the key to health preservation is to nourish the kidneys. The waist is the home of the kidneys. The waist is where the "belt meridian" (the meridian that surrounds the waist) runs. Rubbing the waist with both hands can help dredge the belt meridian, warm the kidney yang, and promote the flow of qi and blood.

Specific method: Sit upright, rub your hands together until they are warm, then press to the lower back, pause for a moment, then rub down to the coccyx (Changqiang point). Do this 50-100 times each time, once in the morning and once in the evening.

3. Three ways to prevent neck cold

The neck is the "fortress" of the human body, with many important acupuncture points distributed on it. When the neck is attacked by wind and cold, it is easy to induce colds, headaches, facial paralysis, shoulder and neck pain, and in severe cases, it can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, in cold weather, you need to keep your neck warm, and a hat and scarf are indispensable when going out.

4. Four ways to prevent cold nose

The lung opens to the nose, and smooth nasal ventilation is conducive to the smooth flow of qi and blood, clear thinking, and stable emotions. However, when it is cold, it is easy to have a stuffy nose and runny nose, which makes breathing difficult.

You can use your fingers to massage up and down the bridge of your nose and both sides of your nose for 30 times to promote blood circulation in the nasal mucosa and unblock the meridians.

5. Five ways to prevent cold feet

"Cold starts from the feet", so during the Great Cold season, we should pay more attention to keeping our feet warm, and we can start by soaking our feet. The water temperature for soaking feet should be around 40 degrees Celsius, and the water should not exceed the ankles. The time should be controlled at around 20 minutes. Add appropriate amount of hot water to maintain the water temperature until you feel warm all over your body.

Protect Yin and suppress Yang, and moisturize dryness

When the Great Cold solar term ends, the new year's solar term cycle will begin, connecting with the Beginning of Spring solar term. When yin and yang meet, the yin energy turns from strong to weak, and the yang energy begins to sprout, so the diet should also conform to the changes of seasons.

1. Early stage of Great Cold

You can eat warm foods and tonics to supplement the nutrients needed by the body and improve your body's resistance, such as eating a moderate amount of mutton, beef, chicken, red dates, wolfberry, etc., but not excessive consumption.

2. Late Great Cold

You can appropriately reduce tonic intake and eat warm food in moderation. At the same time, the climate is dry during the Great Cold, and the use of heating and air conditioning will aggravate the dryness. Dryness can easily damage the lungs, so when preventing cold, you should also take into account moistening the lungs.

You can add sweet, moist and heat-reducing foods to your diet: such as white radish, cabbage, apples, grapefruits, etc., which harmonize the spleen and stomach and eliminate stagnation; winter melon, pears, white fungus, etc., which nourish yin and promote the production of body fluids.

Retain Yin and nourish Yang, strengthen physical fitness

Appropriate exercise can speed up the body's metabolism, strengthen the body, and improve the body's resistance. However, it is not advisable to choose strenuous exercise in cold weather, firstly to prevent the invasion of cold evil, and secondly to avoid disturbing the yang energy.

You can choose to do sports such as brisk walking, jogging, Tai Chi, Ba Duan Jin, etc., and it is appropriate to sweat slightly. At the same time, outdoor sports should not be too early, and outdoor sports should be carried out after sunrise. In case of haze, snow, etc., you should avoid going out and can do activities indoors.

Calm your mind and nourish your nature, soothe your spirit and calm your qi

In daily life, we should maintain a positive and optimistic mood, regulate our body and mind, and take proper rest. A happy mood will make the blood and qi in the body smooth, and a peaceful state of mind will keep the yang energy contained and not chaotic. When you are upset, you can practice meditation to calm your mind, welcome the New Year in the best condition, and wait for the fascinating spring and bright scenery in the coming year.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Gao Xiaofeng and Liu Kan, First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine

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(Edited by Wx)