Yoga, meditation, physical activity, a healthy diet and adhering to a consistent bed time will also greatly impact your sleep.ĩ PM - 11 PM // Triple Burner (related to the Heart and Pericardium)Įmotion: Joy or lack of joy, depression, hopelessness.įunctions: The Triple Burner is not a distinct organ but is related to our endocrine and lymphatic systems. Acupuncture is a great way to balance the qi within your body to improve sleep and energy and balance emotions. Further, human growth hormone, which is essential to repairing our bodies from daily injury and maintaining health, is released from 9pm-7am, making each hour of sleep during this time critical.Ĭheck out the guide below to find some insight into why you might be waking up at a certain hour. A lack of this type of sleep can lead to reduced daytime functioning and alertness as well as waking feeling unrefreshed. SWS is associated with memory and learning. During these hours the stress hormone cortisol is reduced and parasympathetic nervous system activity increases, which allows us to fully rest and move away from the fight or flight responses that dominate during waking hours. This deep sleep, or Slow Wave Sleep (SWS), is the most restorative part of our sleep. Many of us have heard the old adage: “Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight.” This idea is backed by modern sleep science - we experience the deepest part of sleep during the first third of the night. According to Chinese medicine, the window from 11 PM - 3 AM, which correlates to the Liver and Gallbladder, is most important in terms of maintaining health, especially as we age. A bedtime of 10:30pm (at the latest) is advised so that you are asleep by 11pm when the Liver and Gallbladder start to regulate qi, process emotions, balance hormones and detoxify the body. But, according to Chinese medicine, it’s not only how much sleep you get that matters, but also when you get it. Many of us are habitual night owls and think nothing of it, especially if we get a decent amount of sleep each night.
If you consistently wake at 4 AM - it could be due to an imbalance in your Lungs, which is related to grief and sadness, fatigue, or reduced immune function. So if you wake up at 3 AM, when Liver energy peaks, you may be suffering from Liver Qi stagnation, which could be related to an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, unresolved anger or high levels of stress. And that's not all - the body, mind and emotions are inseparable in Chinese medicine - meaning that if you have disharmony in your physical body, it is tied to your emotional state. Every two hours the qi (or energy) is strongest within a particular organ and its functions within the body. The concept of an “Organ Clock" in Chinese medicine is a useful tool in understanding why this occurs. In Chinese medicine, energy or qi, moves through the body’s meridians and organs in a 24 hour cycle. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you can't fall back asleep and wake up tired the next day. Many people report that they fall asleep easily, but wake at the same time in the middle of the night.
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