Staying up late is a common thing, but doing so frequently can have very adverse effects on the body. I came across this article unintentionally and decided to repost it, as it may be helpful for friends who often stay up late.
The secret of sleeping:
Based on medical knowledge, my own experiences, and observations, a person truly sleeps for no more than two hours; the rest is just wasted time spent dreaming while lying on the pillow. No one doesn't dream. If someone wakes up and feels they haven't dreamed, it's because they've forgotten.
Usually, two hours of sleep are enough. Why do some people need seven or eight hours? That's due to the habit of resting in bed, not because we need that much sleep. Especially for those who meditate, at noon, closing your eyes and truly sleeping for three minutes equals two hours of sleep, though you need to align with the exact noon time. At night, you should fall asleep during the Zi hour (11 PM - 1 AM), where five minutes equal six hours of sleep. This timing has a lot to do with universal laws, Earth’s principles, and the yin-yang theory of the I Ching. You will feel a force descending from below the heart, merging with the energy above the Dan Tian (near the kidneys). This is known as "the union of water and fire," and suddenly, you'll feel fully rested and energetic.
Therefore, if you're insomniac or really need to stay up late, you must sleep during the Zi hour, even if only for twenty minutes. If you can't fall asleep, you should train yourself to do so. After the Zi hour, around half past twelve, you won’t feel sleepy anymore, which is quite bad. Worse still, when dawn approaches, between four and five o'clock, or five and six o’clock, you’ll feel drowsy again. If you sleep at this time, you’ll feel groggy all day.
So, if you plan to work late into the night, during the Zi hour, regardless of how important the matter is, you should take a half-hour nap. When the Mao hour (5 AM - 7 AM) comes, if you feel like sleeping, don't, and you'll have enough energy for the whole day.
However, people with insomnia often pass midnight, tossing and turning in bed without falling asleep. As a result, they end up sleeping just before dawn and feel dizzy throughout the next afternoon. Therefore, what you perceive as insomnia or lack of sleep is actually due to lack of experience.
Sleep and health preservation:
1. Rules of sleep:
During the Warring States period, the famous doctor Wen Zhi told King Wei of Qi: "My method of health preservation places sleep as the top priority. Both humans and animals grow only during sleep. Sleep helps the spleen and stomach digest food. Thus, sleep is the greatest nourishment for health preservation. A single night without sleep causes damage that takes a hundred days to recover."
From 9 PM to 5 AM is the effective sleep time. Humans, like plants, are living beings. During the day (from 5 AM to 9 PM), activities generate energy, while at night (from 9 PM to 5 AM), cell division occurs, converting energy into new cells. This is the time for cells to rest and renew, and also the time when humans rotate away from the sun. Yin represents stillness, making it the best time for sleep. Resting during this time results in good physical and mental states. Just as babies who sleep a lot grow fat and fast, children who wake up often develop poorly.
Sleep is a major function of health preservation. Nourishing involves replacing corrupt cells with healthy ones. If you can't sleep for an entire night, you won't replace old cells. If a million cells die during the day and only half a million are replenished at night, your body will suffer a deficit. Over time, your body will weaken. There are centenarians in the world because they go to bed promptly at 9 PM every night.
Plants absorb sunlight's energy and grow at night, so you can hear crops growing in rural fields at night. Humans and plants, both living beings, have similar cell division times. Missing the good opportunity to sleep at night means that cell renewal cannot keep up with cell death, leading to premature aging or illness. People should follow nature and synchronize with the sun—wake when the sky wakes, sleep when the sky sleeps. In front of the sun, humans are as small as dust. "Going against the sun" is a foolish choice that will eventually be overwhelmed by the sun's immense gravity. This is an objective truth.
In real life, many people have trouble falling asleep and poor sleep quality. Poor sleep is a comprehensive issue, such as excessive liver fire causing alertness during sleep, excessive stomach fire causing restlessness, and insufficient liver yin causing fatigue during sleep.
2. Sleep and disease:
Modern lifestyles and habits have negative impacts on our bodies, forming the "four major diseases": fruit disease, refrigerator disease, TV-computer disease, and staying-up-late disease. The liver has one characteristic: blood returns when lying down, and supplies outward when sitting or standing.
The Zi hour (11 PM - 1 AM) is actually the start of a new day, not at midnight, which is a misconception. The liver and gallbladder are closely related. At 11 PM, the gallbladder meridian becomes active. If you don't sleep, it severely damages the gallbladder qi. Since the other eleven organs depend on the gallbladder, a weak gallbladder leads to a decline in the functions of all internal organs, reducing metabolism and immunity, thus significantly lowering bodily functions. The gallbladder supports the central nervous system, and damaged gallbladder qi can easily lead to various mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and hyperactivity. During the Zi hour, the gallbladder replaces bile. If a person doesn't lie down, the bile replacement process is hindered, leading to crystallization and gallstones over time. If the gallbladder is removed, the person becomes timid, and overall immunity decreases by more than 50%. Hence, the gallbladder should not be removed but its potential should be utilized to dissolve stones.
During the Chou hour (1 AM - 3 AM), the liver meridian is most active. If you don't sleep during this time, the liver cannot detoxify or produce fresh blood, resulting in a pale complexion and potentially various liver diseases. Many people today have liver issues, especially in Europe, where one out of four people has hepatitis B or C, mostly due to violating natural laws by staying awake past the Zi hour. Type A hepatitis is easier to treat, but type B is harder. Carriers of the hepatitis B virus are often due to frequent late-night activities, making their bodies too weak. This means that the virus has already entered the cells but hasn't yet caused hepatitis. When the body is at its weakest, hepatitis develops, and chronic hepatitis B indicates a 40-60% chance of future liver cirrhosis. Smart people understand the relationship between heaven, earth, and humanity, while less intelligent ones deserve to be eliminated.
How much harm does garbage sleep cause to the liver?
The liver controls the smooth flow of qi. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to stagnation of liver qi, causing irritability, headaches, dizziness, red eyes, eye pain, tinnitus, deafness, chest and rib pain, irregular menstruation in women, constipation, insufficient rising of liver qi, fatigue, soreness in the waist and knees, dizziness, insomnia, palpitations, mental confusion, and severe cases may result in fainting on the street, losing consciousness.
The liver stores and regulates blood. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to insufficient liver blood, causing hemoptysis, nosebleeds, subcutaneous bleeding, gum bleeding, and bleeding under the eyes or ears.
The liver opens to the eyes. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to liver deficiency, causing blurred vision, presbyopia, night blindness, photophobia, tearing in the wind, glaucoma, cataracts, hardening of retinal arteries, and retinal lesions.
The liver governs tendons, and its brilliance is seen in the nails. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to insufficient liver blood, causing tendon pain, numbness, difficulty in movement, cramps, gray nail fungus, calcium deficiency, patellar softening, epilepsy, osteoporosis, etc.
The liver relates to the heart. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to insufficient liver blood. Since the heart governs the circulation of blood and the liver stores and regulates it, insufficient liver blood can lead to inadequate blood supply to the heart, causing palpitations, tremors, and serious cases may lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases.
The liver relates to the spleen. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to disharmony between the liver and stomach. Since the liver aids the spleen and stomach in digestion, insufficient liver qi can lead to poor digestive function, manifesting as thick tongue coating and long-term mid-energy collapse.
The liver relates to the lungs. Staying up past the Zi hour can prevent nourishing yin and subduing yang, leading to liver yin deficiency, which overheats the lungs, causing dry cough, coughing with blood, and conditions like psoriasis and various skin diseases.
The liver relates to the kidneys. Staying up past the Zi hour can lead to liver deficiency causing kidney weakness. Since the liver and kidneys share the same origin, reproductive system diseases, infertility, bone diseases, dental problems, hair loss, diabetes, and kidney failure can occur.
3. Methods of sleep:
Traffic rules—if you don't understand them, accidents are likely. For example, from 11 PM to 3 AM is the Zi-Chou hour, when the liver and gallbladder meridians are most active. The liver and gallbladder need to return blood—"lying down to return blood, standing to supply blood." If you lie down around 10 PM and remain quiet, by 11 PM, you'll fall asleep. The liver and gallbladder start returning blood, filtering out toxic blood and producing fresh blood. This way, you won't get gallstones or liver-related diseases like hepatitis or cysts even at 100 years old. If you stay up until 1 AM every day, the liver can't return blood, toxins can't be expelled, fresh blood can't be produced, and bile can't be replaced, leading to gallstones, cysts, hepatitis B or C, and other conditions.
In European regions, one out of four people is a carrier of the hepatitis virus, showing ignorance of these rules. It's best not to talk half an hour before sleeping and certainly not while sleeping. Talking activates the lung meridian, then the heart meridian (since the heart and lungs are both upper jiao), making it easy to enter an excited state and difficult to fall asleep.
From 9 PM to 11 PM is the Hai hour. The triple burner meridian is most active during the Hai hour, connecting all the meridians. Falling asleep during this time allows all the meridians to be nourished. Thus, the common trait among centenarians is falling asleep before 9 PM. Women who want to maintain youthful beauty should sleep early and wake early.
When sleeping, windows should be closed, fans and air conditioners shouldn't be used, as many illnesses are related to this. During sleep, the circulation of qi and blood slows, and body temperature drops. A protective layer of yang energy forms on the surface of the body, preventing evil influences. With sufficient yang energy, one doesn't have nightmares. Using air conditioning or fans changes this situation. Opening windows lets in wind, affecting the tendons. Using air conditioning introduces cold into the bones, leading to symptoms like yellowing skin, yellow face, stiff neck muscles, joint pain, and even fever. This shows that wind and cold have invaded the tendons and bones, damaging qi. Sleeping with closed windows, no air conditioning, and no fans, even with the door shut, is ideal. If it's hot, open the door but close the windows, slightly compromising effectiveness but avoiding waking up tired and stiff.
If the living room air conditioner is on and the bedroom door is open, it's almost like sleeping directly with the air conditioner on. The cold enters the bones, causing chills in the heart, located in the brain marrow. Cold in the bone marrow makes the heart cold. To remedy this, supplement kidney yang and middle qi until the heart feels warm, the fever subsides, and the cold leaves.
Sleep as early as possible. Late sleep harms the lesser yang qi, leading to fatigue the next day. Close windows, avoid air conditioners and fans, and protect yang energy.
If the stomach is problematic, it leads to restless sleep. One issue is stomach cold. If a person has insufficient stomach yang and drinks too much green tea, they may develop stomach cold, making sleep difficult. Eating too much sandy food also causes stomach cold and sleep difficulties.
Another issue is stomach heat, where hot breath rises from the mouth, making sleep difficult. Another is stomach dryness, causing dry mouth and throat. Another is eating too much rich food, like seafood, fish, or stewed chicken, which creates indigestion and poor sleep. Abdominal bloating also affects sleep.
Sweating cold sweat due to extremely weak stomach qi also disrupts sleep. These reasons can cause gastric discomfort, leading to poor sleep.
To sleep well, limbs should be warm, as they are the foundation of yang. If limbs aren't warm, it indicates insufficient kidney yang. Before sleeping, warm your hands and feet, and cover your navel and Mingmen point on the back.
Sleep methods vary by individual. Here are three methods:
1. Simple leg stretching before bed, then naturally sitting cross-legged on the bed, placing hands stacked on the legs, breathing naturally, feeling the pores opening and closing with each breath. Tears and yawning indicate the best effect. When ready to sleep, lie down and sleep.
2. Lie supine, breathe naturally, imagining the breath melting the big toe first, then the other toes, followed by the foot, calf, and thigh gradually. Repeat if necessary.
3. Those who fall asleep quickly can lie on their right side, with the right hand supporting the right ear. The palm's fire element meets the ear's water element, creating harmony between water and fire within the body, promoting heart and kidney harmony. Long-term benefits include nourishing the heart and kidneys.
Sleep should always start early. Even in winter, you shouldn't rise later than 6 AM, preferably earlier during spring, summer, and autumn. Rising during the Yin hour (3 AM - 5 AM) when the lung meridian is most active allows the lungs to expand, following the growth of yang energy, completing metabolism, clearing turbid qi, and maintaining clear lung qi. This helps nurture the lungs and follows the sun's rise, enhancing the body's yang energy throughout the day. Otherwise, like an engine, missing this optimal time makes it hard to activate the body's yang energy, leading to stagnation in the lower body and generating unhealthy energy, seriously harming physical and mental health.
From 5 AM to 7 AM, the large intestine meridian is most active, requiring the body to expel metabolic waste. If you don't rise during this time, the large intestine lacks sufficient activity, hindering waste expulsion, leading to toxin buildup, harming the blood and internal organs. From 7 AM to 9 AM, the stomach meridian is most active, and from 9 AM to 11 AM, the spleen meridian is most active. This is the best time for digestion and absorption. If you don't rise during this time, stomach acid can severely corrode the stomach lining, leading to spleen and stomach diseases, malnutrition, and mid-energy collapse over time. Therefore, avoid oversleeping, which causes dizziness, exhaustion, and insufficient sleep. Instead, rise on time, as many great figures like Washington, Napoleon, Emperor Kangxi, and Zeng Guofan did.
Rising early increases work efficiency, as the saying goes, "Three days of early rising equals one day's work."
Modern medicine proves that people who sleep and rise early have less mental stress and are less prone to mental illnesses. Morning exercise should not be too early, especially before the sun rises, as ground-level damp and turbid qi rises (especially in cities), harming the body.
The three main aspects of health preservation are sleep, bowel movements, and diet, with others like clothing and living being supplementary.
Among these three, sleep is the most important. However, if the stomach isn't functioning well, sleep is disturbed, making regular bowel movements second in importance. Irregular eating harms the intestines and reduces nutrition. Sleep mainly calms the spirit, and calmness mainly centers on the heart. Sleep duration should match age: adults should sleep seven to eight hours, excessive sleep causes dizziness, red eyes, and limb fatigue. Children need at least eight hours, sometimes nine. Elderly or sick people need about six hours.
Disease warnings during sleep that should not be ignored:
1. Sleep early, no later than ten o'clock. For the elderly, eight o'clock is ideal, not exceeding nine o'clock. At eleven o'clock, yang energy begins, belonging to the kidneys. Insomnia during this time harms kidney water, leading to excessive heart fire and easy mental strain. Avoid using sleeping pills.
2. Don't think or calculate on the pillow. Sleep without thoughts, regulate nasal breathing, listen quietly to your breath becoming finer, and finally stop. Imagine your body dissolving like sugar in water, naturally falling asleep.
3. If thoughts persist, don't toss and turn, as it depletes energy. Sit up for a while before sleeping again.
4. From 11 AM to 1 PM, yang energy begins, belonging to the heart. If you can't sleep, sit quietly for fifteen minutes with closed eyes to nourish the heart energy. Those with heart disease should pay attention daily during this time to strengthen their vital energy, avoiding heart palpitations, diarrhea, or frequent urination.
5. Rise early in summer, later in winter. In northern regions, guard against cold, and in southern provinces like Guangdong and Guangxi, avoid morning mountain mists. Avoid sleeping immediately after eating, and rising early between 3 AM and 5 AM avoids anger and protects the lungs and liver.
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