March 20 is the spring equinox.
The vernal equinox is not only the midpoint of spring, but also the time when the day and night are equal in the northern and southern hemispheres, with days and nights as long as nights.
Chinese medicine believes that, corresponding to the time of day, the health of the human body at this time also pays attention to the balance of qi and blood, and follows the principle of "lasting peace".
March 21st is World Sleep Day.
Why should you pay attention to sleep during the Spring Equinox?
Guangzhou Daily Health Co., Ltd. invited Professor Peng Kang, the vice president of the Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Southern Medical University and the academic leader of the Center for Disease Control, to provide advice for patients with sleep disorders during the Spring Equinox.
Medical Instructor/Peng Kang, Vice President of the Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Southern Medical University
Text/Wu Wanhong, all-media reporter of Guangzhou Daily, Zhu Qinwen, correspondent of Zhou Jieying, and Peng Fengmei
Comics/Vasily
"Guangzhou Daily Health Appointment" WeChat public account (gzrbjkgj) will launch the "Spring Equinox" of the 24 solar terms series of "Man Talking about Health" on the Spring Equinox Day (March 20), so stay tuned.
Why can't I sleep well in spring? or due to insufficient blood supply to the brain
"I'm very sleepy, my eyes are tired and I want to sleep, but I just can't sleep. My knees and toes are all ice..." A friend of the patient said recently in the sleep clinic.
It is said that "spring sleep does not wake up", generally speaking, insomnia in spring will be reduced, and sleep quality will be improved.
"But there are still many insomnia patients who seek medical treatment during this period," Peng Kang explained. The spring equinox, autumn equinox, summer solstice, and winter solstice are the seasons when many diseases occur. Traditional Chinese medicine calls them "two-point disease" and "two-point disease".
At the node of seasonal changes, sunlight and climate changes will affect the endocrine metabolism of the human body. Some people who are weak or have underlying diseases are particularly sensitive, and are more likely to induce or aggravate sleep disorders.
"Especially for some patients with deficient yang qi or liver stagnation and stagnation of yang qi, modern medicine believes that patients with insufficient blood supply to the brain may have more insufficient blood supply to the brain due to the growth of yang qi in the spring, the skin stretches, and the peripheral blood supply increases. It will aggravate sleep disorders." Peng Kang said.
This kind of spring insomnia crowd, it is recommended to pay attention to the following points in diet and daily life:
1. Pay attention to "spring cover" in outdoor activities, and do not reduce your clothes too much to prevent colds.
Elderly people and people with chronic diseases should pay special attention.
2. Eat more spicy, sweet and warm foods, such as garlic, onion, shepherd's purse, coriander, ginger, bean sprouts, leeks, etc.
3. If necessary, you can seek help from traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to use traditional Chinese medicine conditioning that soothes the liver and relieves depression, strengthens the spleen and stomach, and promotes blood circulation and dredging the pulse to improve blood supply to the heart and brain.
Occasional inability to sleep in spring is a natural reaction
Peng Kang said that feeling that spring sleepiness is just a natural response of the human body in response to seasonal changes, it is not necessarily a health problem; and occasional difficulty falling asleep in spring is not necessarily insomnia.
According to the WHO definition of insomnia, insomnia at least 3 times a week for at least 1 month, and occasional insomnia is not considered "insomnia".
During the "Winter Tibetan" season when nights are long and days are short, there is more sleep; spring is full of vitality, it is normal to fall asleep a little later, wake up a little earlier, and sleep a little shorter, and modern people try to fall asleep before 23:00.
People with different constitutions can also use different diets to relieve sleep disorders.
Liver stagnation of fire: often accompanied by irritability, dizziness, headache, chest tightness and pain in the hypochondrium, thirst and drinking, bitter and dry mouth, red eyes and tinnitus, yellow urine, constipation, etc.
Tea can be used to soothe the liver and purify fire, calm the heart and soothe the mind: 1. Lily 15 grams, Suanzaoren 30 grams, Polygala 10 grams, simmer in water.
2. Hypertension with insomnia, lotus seed heart 15 grams, decoction instead of tea.
Internal disturbance of phlegm-heat: people who eat insanely, are addicted to fat, sweet, thick and greasy, and do not exercise enough, sleep well, often accompanied by heavy head and dizziness, excessive phlegm and chest tightness, fullness of the epigastric cavity, nausea, belching, and bitterness in the mouth, etc.
Such patients usually need to pay attention to control their diet, strengthen exercise, and lose weight in obese patients.
Recommended diet: You can use hawthorn, Gynostemma, Alisma, lotus leaf, cassia seeds and other teas.
Deficiency of heart and courage: People with insomnia accompanied by many dreams, easy to wake up and other symptoms are usually timid and fearful, easy to panic, and palpitations.
The traditional Chinese medicine treatment method is mainly to invigorate Qi and calm shocks and calm the nerves.
Pay attention to psychological counseling and eliminate concerns.
Anshen Dingzhi Pill and Suanzaoren Decoction can be identified and prescribed by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Menopause sleep problems: After women enter menopause, hormone levels drop, which is prone to a series of endocrine dysfunction symptoms, resulting in dizziness, headache, insomnia, loss of appetite and other discomforts, fatigue and drowsiness during the day, but it is extremely difficult to fall asleep at night.
It is generally believed that menopausal syndrome is mainly based on deficiency, and it should be treated according to individual differences.
To maintain a good mood, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, eat a healthy diet, and exercise properly.
Recommended diet:
Lotus seed and lily porridge: 30 grams each of lotus seeds, lily, and japonica rice are cooked with porridge, once a day in the morning and evening.
Ganmai jujube porridge: 50 grams each of barley and japonica rice, 10 jujubes and 15 grams of licorice, fry the licorice first, remove the residue, then add the japonica rice, barley and jujube and cook together to make porridge.
2 times a day, eat on an empty stomach.
A few tips to help you get a good night's sleep
In daily life, pay attention to meditation and "let it go"; live on time, adjust the biological clock for sleep; exercise properly, improve qi and blood, and rest assured.
Before going to bed, the elderly can take appropriate walks, sit still, exercise at a slow pace, and relax.
Make the sleeping environment as quiet as possible, with soft light, air circulation, and moderate temperature; sleeping on the right side can relax the muscles and bones of the whole body, which is beneficial to eliminate fatigue and keep blood flowing.
In addition, ancient physicians believed that sleep is about the orientation of lying down, "eastward in spring and summer and west in autumn and winter." Modern medicine also believes that the earth's magnetic field may affect sleep.
If you do have seasonal sleep disturbances, you might as well give it a try and adjust the position of the bed to give a little change to your life.
Kneading the "Anmian Point": According to Peng Kang, the commonly used acupoints for the treatment of insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine are: Anmian, Zhaohai, Shenmai, etc.
Anmian acupoint selection method: stick the earlobe to the skin of the head, under the earlobe is Yifeng acupoint; push the finger along the earlobe toward the spine to the large tendon within one inch of the hairline, and the depression on both sides of the large tendon is Fengchi point; Fengchi point The midpoint of the line connecting the Yifeng point is the Anmian point.
Press the Anmian point with your fingertips and massage it for 2-3 minutes. The drowsiness will gradually develop. People who have difficulty falling asleep may wish to give it a try.