Sleep and health

Sleeping takes up 30-50% of a person's life. Good sleep can harmonize qi and blood, balance yin and yang, achieve yin and yang balance, and prolong life. The ancients said: "If you stay up late for one day, you will not be able to recover for a hundred days. If you don't look for a remedy for immortality, you will look for a remedy for sleeping."

Common sleep disorders include: difficulty falling asleep, waking up easily after sleeping, irritability, dreaminess, night sweats, etc. In today's anxious and involutionary environment, the number of people with sleep disorders continues to increase. "Li Wen Ji" says: "The secret of health preservation should be to sleep first. Sleep can restore essence, sleep can nourish qi, sleep can strengthen the spleen and stomach, sleep can strengthen bones and tendons." The essence of water and grain is transformed into qi and blood, which is presented to the heart, and the heart is nourished; fertilized by the liver, the liver is soft; controlled by the spleen, the production and transformation are endless. Therefore, if the qi and blood are vigorous, the internal organs are coordinated, and the yin and yang are balanced, the mind will be peaceful; if the thinking is tired, the internal organs are injured, and the mind is not nourished, the spirit will not stay inside and sleep will not come.

So, how can we sleep to ensure our health? Let's talk about sleep from the perspectives of sleeping posture, mindfulness and breathing regulation during sleep, sleeping environment, and sleep time.

1. Sleeping posture

1. Sleeping on your back

The pillow supports the neck, allowing the neck muscles to relax, not be too high, and breathe naturally.

Advantages: It does not compress the internal organs of the body. Lying on your back can keep the head, neck and spine in a natural physiological curve to avoid neck, shoulder and back pain. In addition, lying on your back can also prevent acid reflux.

Disadvantages: One of the major disadvantages of sleeping on your back is that snoring tends to become more frequent and severe as you age.

2. Sleeping on the right side

Lying on the right side is a common sleeping position. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine states: "When you sleep at night, blood returns to the liver" and "the liver stores blood." The heart is located on the left side and controls blood vessels. At night, blood and qi return to the liver. Lying on the right side helps nourish the liver blood. This sleeping position is good for health. The Xiyi Sleeping Secret states: When you lie on your right side, bend your right foot; bend your right arm and support your head with your hand; stretch your left foot and place your hand between your thighs. Lying on the left side is contrary to the previous position. Buddhism stipulates that you should sleep on your right side, which is called "auspicious sleeping position." When you lie on your right side, make sure that the pillow can provide enough support for your shoulders. Pillows that are too high or too low can easily cause discomfort in your neck and shoulders.

Advantages: This posture relaxes muscles throughout the body and facilitates breathing.

3. Sleeping on the left side

The left side lying position is the opposite of the right side lying position.

Disadvantages: Sleeping on the left side puts pressure on the heart and stomach, and is not suitable especially for people with heart disease and digestive tract diseases.

However, for pregnant women in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, sleeping on the left side is a better sleeping position, which can reduce the right rotation of the uterus.

4. Fetal sleeping position

The fetal sleeping position is when you sleep curled up like a fetus.

Advantages: People who adopt this sleeping position feel very safe when sleeping.

Disadvantages: Maintaining a sleeping position for a long time will make people feel uncomfortable. If the curled-up angle is large, the back muscles will be overstretched, which can easily cause back pain, and the chest and abdomen cannot be stretched, affecting the breathing movement and rhythm.

5. Prone sleeping position

The prone sleeping position is commonly known as sleeping on your stomach. Some people with weak spleen and stomach prefer this sleeping position.

Advantages: Relieves snoring symptoms. For some patients with lung diseases, prone position is conducive to expectoration.

Disadvantages: Lying prone will cause chest compression, affecting breathing, and stomach compression, which is not conducive to gastrointestinal motility. This sleeping position is prone to dreaming. Therefore, the prone sleeping position is not recommended. People with heart disease, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease should avoid sleeping prone.

Of course, it is impossible to maintain the same posture from beginning to end during sleep, so you can choose the most comfortable posture to sleep. If lying on your back makes your snoring worse, you might as well take a side-lying posture; lying on your stomach is not recommended. If you have the habit of lying on your stomach, you can put a pillow on the side of your body to prevent it.

Sleeping direction. When ordinary people sleep, they face east in spring and summer, and west in autumn and winter. In spring and summer, they sleep with their heads facing east to welcome the yang energy, and in autumn and winter, they sleep with their heads facing west to nourish the yin energy. This is in line with the essence of "nourishing yang in spring and summer, and nourishing yin in autumn and winter" in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine. However, this is not absolute. There is also a common direction of head facing south. The south belongs to fire, which is yang. The head is the yang of the whole body. The earth's magnetic field is north-south, and the head facing south also conforms to the direction of the earth's magnetic field.

2. Breathing regulation during sleep

Cai Yuanding of the Southern Song Dynasty pointed out in his "Sleeping Tips": "Bend when sleeping on your side, stretch when waking up straight, and don't think of any distracting thoughts. Sleep your mind first, then your eyes." It is important to go to bed early and calm down to get rid of distracting thoughts. The "two methods of manipulation" in "Laolao Hengyan" written by Cao Tingdong, a physician in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, are worth learning from. "Manipulation" requires "thinking about the top of the head" (leading with thoughts), and then "counting the breaths silently" (breathing through the nose, listening to the sound of breathing, and breathing to be soft and long), and then "returning to the Dantian" (focusing on the Dantian, abdominal breathing). Repeating this process can make "the mind settled and not distracted", and gradually enter deep sleep. "Indulgence" is the opposite of "manipulation", and it can also gradually enter a good state of sleep." The most important thing in the whole process is to calm the mind, "whether it is manipulation or indulgence, both are the way to sleep."

4. Sleeping environment

1. Sleep without talking

Talking before going to bed will make you excited and your brain active, which will affect your sleep.

2. Do not cover your head when sleeping

"Qianjin Yaofang" says: "Don't cover your head in winter nights, you will live longer." Sleeping with your head covered affects your breathing, and you can't get fresh air from the outside, which makes you prone to hypoxia for a long time. "Sansou Longevity Song" says: "Don't cover your head when you sleep at night." Sleeping with your head covered will affect the smoothness of breathing and reduce the quality of sleep.

3. Do not let your emotions fluctuate during sleep

You must be calm before going to bed. Worry and anxiety will not only cause insomnia, but also cause damage to the body. "Suwen·Jutonglun" says: "Anger makes the qi rise, joy makes the qi slow, sadness makes the qi disappear, fear makes the qi fall, and thinking makes the qi stagnate." Any change in emotion will cause imbalance of yin and yang, qi and blood, thus leading to insomnia, so avoid emotional fluctuations before going to bed.

4. Do not eat before going to bed

Eating before sleeping can easily increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, which not only affects falling asleep, but also hurts the spleen and stomach. If you feel hungry before going to bed, you should rest for a while after eating before going to bed. People often say: "Breakfast should be good, lunch should be full, and dinner should be light." This is indeed a health experience worth noting.

5. Do not sleep facing the light

Qian Jin Fang says: "Sleeping in front of light will make the soul and the six spirits uneasy." The human body's biological clock is mainly controlled by light sensitivity. Bright light when sleeping can easily disrupt the biological clock and cause sleep disorders. In addition, the skin also needs alternating stimulation of light and dark light.

6. Don’t open your mouth when sleeping

"Always keep your mouth shut when sleeping at night" is the best way to maintain vitality. Mouth breathing has many disadvantages, such as dry oral mucosa, excessive fluid loss, and making the lungs susceptible to irritation from cold air and dust.

7. Don’t sleep in the wind

"Lingshu. Benzang" states: "Wei Qi warms the flesh, fills the skin, nourishes the pores, and controls opening and closing." Wei Qi moves in the Yang for 25 degrees during the day and in the Yin for 25 degrees at night. When Wei Qi has exhausted its movement in the Yang and enters the interior from the exterior, people fall asleep; when Wei Qi has exhausted its movement in the Yin and exits the exterior from the interior, people wake up. Wind is the root of all diseases, and it changes frequently. After sleep, Wei Qi moves in the Yin, and the function of defending the exterior declines, making the skin and pores susceptible to wind and cold. "Miscellaneous Records" states, "Don't lie in the wind, or you may suffer from head wind, wind cough on the back, and arm pain if the shoulder is affected by wind. Those who are good at regulating themselves should not sit or lie in the dew even in the hot summer."

8. Do not lie with your head facing the stove (heater)

"Miscellaneous Records" says: "Don't put your head near fire when you sleep, or it may hurt your brain." If the temperature of the head is too high, you will feel groggy after waking up. A cold head and hot feet are normal.

9. Don’t sleep facing north

It comes from Lao Lao Heng Yan, the original text says: "Don't sleep with your head facing north, it is said to avoid Yin Qi." Qian Jin Yao Fang also says: "Don't sleep with your head facing north, and don't place your bed against the north wall." Why did the ancients avoid sleeping facing north? It's very simple, north is Yin. The head is the meeting point of all Yang, and sleeping in the north is easily disturbed by Yin Qi. Especially in autumn and winter, the wind and cold evil easily come from the north. If it enters the brain directly during sleep, it is easy to cause wind and cold headaches, and even affect the circulation of Qi and blood in the body. The direction of the head when sleeping is indeed a problem worth paying attention to.

5. Sleep time

For some people, 8 hours of sleep is indeed the best, but this cannot be generalized. Sleep time will be affected by factors including age and activity level.

Generally speaking, infants and young children sleep for a long time, generally more than 10 hours;

For school-age children aged 6 to 13, the optimal sleep time is 9 to 11 hours;

For adolescents aged 14 to 17, the optimal sleep time is 8 to 10 hours.

For adults aged 18 to 64, the optimal sleep time is 7 to 9 hours.

For people over 65 years old, the best sleep time is 7 to 8 hours.

The ancients' midnight and noon nap is one of the sleep regimens that we often emphasize now. The midnight refers to 23:00 to 1:00 in the morning, when yin and yang alternate, when yin is at its peak and gradually weakens, and yang is just born, so you must rest during this period. In the "Wu Za Zu" written by Xie Zhaozhe in the Ming Dynasty, it was said: "You should not read books at night after midnight", "At this time, all blood returns to the heart, and if you can't sleep, the blood will be depleted and you will get sick." Wu refers to 11:00 to 13:00 noon, when yang is at its peak and then weakens, and yin is just born, so you need to rest a little in the afternoon to nourish yang. At midnight and noon, yin and yang intersect, and the qi and blood in the body are unbalanced. At this time, lying quietly is a way to maintain health, but it should not be too long, 30-60 minutes is more appropriate.