A day's plan begins in the morning. Keeping in good health starts with nourishing your stomach in the morning.

Editor's note: A year's plan starts with spring, and a day's plan starts with the morning. It is so easy to maintain your health in accordance with the seasons.

The Chen hour is the best time to nourish the stomach (7-9 am), when the stomach meridian is in season. The human body's gastrointestinal digestion and absorption is the strongest at this time, and it is the best time to transport nutrients to various organs and nourish the internal organs. The Chen hour is also the time when the Yang energy of heaven and earth is the most prosperous, and the blood flows into the stomach meridian. A nutritious breakfast can provide the stomach with abundant raw materials, so as to play the role of "receiving and fermenting water and grain". "Suwen·Jingmai Bielun" records: "Food qi enters the stomach, disperses essence to the liver, and lustful qi to the tendons. When food qi enters the stomach, turbid qi returns to the heart, lustful essence to the veins, the pulse qi flows through, the meridian qi returns to the lungs, the lungs face the hundred meridians, and the essence is transported to the skin and hair, and the hair and veins combine the essence." It can be seen that health preservation should start with nourishing the stomach.

The following points should be noted when nourishing the stomach during Chenshi:

1. Eat hot food for breakfast. The human body's qi and blood flow when it is hot, and condense when it is cold. Eating cold food will make the qi and blood stagnate, thus "injuring the spleen and stomach, and causing all kinds of diseases." 2. Have a reasonable breakfast. There should be both dry and liquid food. Cereal food can quickly replenish energy after absorption. In addition, you can eat some eggs, soy products, lean meat, etc., and eat some fruits and vegetables appropriately. 3. Avoid eating too much greasy food. Eating too much meat or too greasy food will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. You can choose various porridges, oatmeal, soy milk, sesame paste, etc.

Noon is the time to nourish the heart (11:00-13:00), when the heart meridian is in season. "Suwen Linglan Secret Classic" mentions: "The heart is the monarch's organ, and the spirit comes out of it." Noon is the time when the body's yin and yang alternate and the qi and blood are exchanged. "Huangdi Neijing" records: "When the yang qi is exhausted, you lie down, and when the yin qi is exhausted, you wake up." Noon is when the body's yang qi is the most vigorous, and at this time the yin qi is just born. You can take a nap to make the body transition in balance. You can rub your hands when you wake up from a nap. There is a large acupoint on the pericardium meridian in the palm of your hand - Laogong acupoint. Rubbing this acupoint can refresh your mind and prevent fatigue in the afternoon.

Protect the intestines at 13:00-15:00, when the small intestine meridian is in season. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says: "The small intestine is the organ that receives and stores food, and where food is transformed and released." The small intestine is the main place for food digestion and absorption. It absorbs the nutrients in food, nourishes the whole body through the spleen's transportation and transformation, and transmits the digested waste to the large intestine. All of this is done under the action of the yang heat of the small intestine. But now many people often stay up late, resulting in insufficient yang energy, and the small intestine will not absorb well, so the most important thing to keep the small intestine healthy is to keep its yang energy healthy.

To maintain the small intestine meridian, you can do some massage and guidance on the small intestine meridian, or do some gentle exercises, such as shaking your arms, pressing and kneading the Shaoze (next to the nail corner on the outside of the little finger) and Yanggu (on the outside of the wrist, at the root of the hypothenar, in the depression between the protruding bone of the wrist joint and the protruding bone of the ulna). The most commonly used method by the ancients was to moxibustion the Guanyuan point (four horizontal fingers below the navel). Guanyuan is the small intestine gathering point, commonly known as Dantian by practitioners. Frequent moxibustion of Guanyuan can replenish yang energy and strengthen the body.

The bladder should be nourished during the Shen period (15:00-17:00), when the bladder meridian is in season. The bladder meridian starts from the head, passes through the back, and goes down to the feet. It is the meridian with the longest course and the most acupuncture points in the human body. It has two main important functions: it is both a warehouse for the human body's yang energy and a channel for the human body to excrete waste. Therefore, the bladder meridian should be kept unobstructed to detoxify smoothly, store more yang energy, and maintain sufficient yang energy in the human body. As the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says: "Yang energy is like the sky and the sun. If it loses its place, life will be shortened and not obvious." When yang energy is sufficient, the human body will be healthy. The Shen period is also the time when the human body's memory and judgment are most active. Therefore, in daily life, relatively important and brain-consuming work can be arranged during this time period.

Regularly pounding the shoulders and back can help dredge the bladder meridian. There are two important and easy-to-operate acupoints on the bladder meridian, Weizhong (in the middle of the popliteal fossa horizontal line) and Chengshan (in the middle of the calf, where you feel soreness when you massage). Massaging these two points can relieve fatigue and treat back and leg pain.

Laogong moxibustion Tianzhu: first rub the palms of your hands (Laogong acupoint) against each other for two or three minutes, then cross your five fingers and place them behind your head, covering the Tianzhu acupoint on the back of your neck (half an inch on the midline of the hairline on the back of the neck, 1.3 inches on both sides: the second section of the middle finger is 1 inch), which can dredge the heart meridian and bladder meridian and relieve fatigue.

The You hour is the best time to nourish the kidney (17:00-19:00), when the kidney meridian is in season. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine says: "The kidney is the organ of strength, from which skills come, and the kidney is the foundation of the innate." The kidney stores essence, controls bones and produces marrow, and the aging of the human body is also closely related to the kidney. The kidney is one of the most important organs in the human body. The most important thing to nourish the kidney is to store essence. Keeping the kidney essence full will make the kidney meridian qi and blood vigorous, and people will be radiant and energetic. The You hour is the best time to nourish the kidney, and the simplest way is to rub the ears. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the kidney opens up to the ears, and rubbing the ears can protect the kidneys. At the same time, there are many reaction points on the ears, and the current methods such as ear acupuncture and ear acupuncture originated from this, so rubbing the ears has a good fitness effect.

During the You hour, you should eat a small amount of light food and drink a cup of warm water after meals, which can not only help digestion and excretion, but also clean the kidneys and bladder, reducing the probability of kidney stones and nephritis. In addition, if a child has a low fever during this time period, it often indicates kidney deficiency, which should attract the attention of parents, and timely Chinese medicine treatment is recommended.

Massage your ears frequently, but make sure your hands are warm when massaging them, and massage until your ears become hot for best results. The best time to massage is during the afternoon, but it is also good to massage at other times. Massage the Yongquan acupoint (on the sole of the foot, between the tip of the middle toe and the upper 1/3 of the heel). You can wash your feet before going to bed and press the acupoint with your thumbs, which can strengthen your waist and kidneys. Lifting the anus and tapping the teeth are good ways to nourish the kidneys. The above methods are simple and easy to do, and persistence is the key.

Protect the heart at Xu time (19:00-21:00), when the pericardium meridian is in season. At this time, qi and blood flow into the pericardium meridian, and the pericardium has the function of protecting the heart and reflecting certain functions of the heart. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the pericardium protects the heart from evil and is a close guard outside the heart.

Therefore, if you want to have a healthy heart, a strong pericardium meridian is essential. The easiest way to maintain a healthy pericardium meridian is to massage the pericardium meridian, which runs right in the middle of the inner side of the arm, making it easy to remember and operate.

There is an acupoint on the pericardium meridian called Neiguan (three finger widths above the center of the wrist crease). If there are protruding, twisted, or purple veins at this acupoint, it indicates that the pericardium meridian is blocked and you should pay attention to the occurrence of heart disease.

There are several important acupoints that can be pressed frequently to maintain the pericardium meridian: Neiguan acupoint (three fingers wide above the middle of the wrist crease), pressing it frequently can calm the mind. Laogong acupoint (between the base of the middle finger and the ring finger when making a fist), pressing these two acupoints at the hour of Xu can nourish the heart and lower blood pressure. Tianchi acupoint (1 inch outside the nipple and 5 inches away from the anterior midline), when massaging, you can use the spiral surface or fingertips of the thumbs or middle fingers of both hands to gently massage the Tianchi acupoints on both sides, which is very suitable for patients with frequent chest pain and chest tightness. Ximen acupoint (palm side of the forearm, about 5 inches above the wrist crease), when the heart is uncomfortable, you can press the Ximen acupoint with your fingertips, and intermittently press this acupoint to relieve the discomfort. Of course, it is very important to keep a good mood.

The hour of Hai nourishes all meridians (21:00-23:00), when the Sanjiao meridian is in season. If you fall asleep at the hour of Hai, all meridians can be nourished, and the yin and yang are in harmony, then the body will be healthy. If you fall asleep quietly at the hour of Hai, all meridians can rest and recuperate, the Sanjiao meridian will be full of qi and blood, and its function of moving qi and water can be fully exerted. All parts of the body can be allocated with vital energy, so that you can wake up the next day full of energy.

Doing these three things before going to bed can help you sleep. 1. Use your fingers as a comb: There is a move in Chinese medicine called "Na Wu Jing". Before going to bed at night, you can use your ten fingers as a comb and comb your hair for more than 3 minutes to dredge the five meridians and improve blood circulation in the head. 2. Soak your feet in warm water: The kidney meridian of the human body starts from the bottom of the feet. Soaking your feet in warm water can warm the kidney meridian and achieve the effect of tonifying the kidneys. 3. Beat your back: "Beat your back at night to fall asleep easily." Before going to bed, you can ask your family to help you pat and tap your back from top to bottom or from bottom to top. The speed should be 60 to 80 times per minute, and each time should be within 20 minutes. (Source: Life Times, China Medical News)