In fact, modern people are facing more serious sleep problems, so we should pay more attention to sleep health. Understanding the experience of ancient people's sleep regimen will give us some useful lessons.
Don't lie down and wait for death, and don't cover your head.
Sleep in the north
What do you mean, "Don't die lying down"? From the Analects of Confucius, the land of hard work, the original words are "sleeping without corpse" The "body" here. Lie on your back like a corpse. In other words, sleeping on your back, like a corpse in the eyes of the ancients, is very unlucky and unhealthy.
From the point of view of modern medicine, it does make sense. The study found that in all sleeping positions, sleeping on your back is the worst relaxation, and it is easy to put your hands on your chest and abdomen, causing discomfort and even nightmares.
Most importantly, sleeping on your back may induce sleep apnea, even saliva flowing into organs, and more seriously, it may lead to food reflux and suffocation. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration for the ancients to regard sleeping on their backs as a "corpse".
The saying that "lying down without covering your head" comes from "a thousand dollars are needed." The original text says: "If you don't cover your head in winter, you will live a long life.". The head is the intersection of all yang, the place where all yang meridians converge, and the qi and blood run vigorously.
Covered on the head, on the one hand, it is easy to affect the operation of qi and blood, and on the other hand, it may cause sweating on the head and muscle relaxation, thus making the disease and evil take advantage of it.
More importantly, from the perspective of modern medicine, lying on your back will affect the smooth breathing and reduce the quality of sleep. So it makes sense to lie down.
The so-called "can't sleep in the north" comes from the old saying. The original text said: "Don't lie north yet, which means avoiding Yin Qi." "One thousand dollars for the Party" also said: "Don't lie on your head and don't sleep on the north wall." Why did the ancients avoid lying in the north? Quite simply, the north is cloudy.
As a meeting of yang, when sleeping, the head is located in the north, which is easily disturbed. Especially in autumn and winter, the evil of cold easily comes from the north. If you enter the brain directly during sleep, it will easily lead to wind-cold headache and even affect the operation of qi and blood.
Ordinary people lie, spring and summer go east.
Westward in autumn and winter
The head is a place where many meridians converge, and the gas it receives will flow down from the head to the whole body like a shower. The orientation of the head during sleep is indeed a noteworthy problem.
Sun Simiao, an ancient doctor in China, advocated that mortals lie down, facing east in spring and summer and facing west in autumn and winter. That is, in spring and summer, the head sleeps in the east to meet the sun, and in autumn and winter, the head sleeps in the west to nourish the yin.
If you are in trouble or need to supplement the yang, you can simply keep your head facing east, which is a good way to sleep.
The authoritative Book of Rites Jade Algae requires "east first", that is, sleeping in the east all the year round. It is said to be the sunrise in the east.
Methods of sleeping
Methods of sleep have been studied and discussed since ancient times. Cao Tingdong, a great doctor in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, summed it up particularly systematically, and his "two methods of exercise and verticality" was more respected by people.
"Fuck" must first "think about the top of the head" (the idea is in front), then "silently count the breaths" (breathe through the nose and recite the times), and then "return to the abdomen" (then bring the idea back to the abdomen). If you repeat this many times, you can make the appearance of "the heart is settled and inseparable" and gradually fall asleep.
"Vertical" is the antonym of "fuck". "Let it go, wandering in a distant, boundless and irrelevant place" (that is, even if you forget yourself, you can gradually fall into a hazy sleep.
No matter which of the above two sleep modes is adopted, you can't "exercise" too fast. The most important thing is to calm down and forget yourself.
Therefore, there is a difference between "slap" and "doze" in ancient times: "God lives in the eyes of a slap; God living in his heart is the beginning. "
Only when the "heart" meets the "God" can it really fall asleep.
Sleeping posture
Ancient people were also very particular about sleeping position.
"Yi Xi sleeping tactics" advocates that if you lie on the right, you will bend your right foot; Bend your right arm and hold your head with your hand; Stick out your left foot and put your hand between your thighs. Lying on the left, opposite to the front.
Buddhism stipulates that lying on the right side, which is called "auspicious sleep", is also scientifically justified, because a person's heart is on the left side, and if lying on the left side, it may oppress the heart.
sleep
Ten taboos
1, you can't sleep in the supine position all the time.
The ancients said, "If you don't have enough sleep, you don't have enough sleep." . When sleeping, your knees bend sideways and your energy will not be scattered; When you wake up, you should stretch your activities, and then your blood will circulate. If you lie on your back, you are straight. "Uncomfortable" muscles can't relax, and hands are easy to put on the chest, which leads to more nightmares and affects breathing and heartbeat.
Therefore, except for some people with special diseases, it is not advisable to sleep on your back for a long time. It is harmless to lie on your back for a short time.
2. Don't worry about sleeping.
When you sleep, you must concentrate on sleeping quietly and don't think about things. The ancients said: "Sleep first, then sleep" is an important secret of sleep.
If you always think about the trivia of the day or the past and future, or even worry and anxiety after sleeping, you will not only lose sleep, but also do more harm to your body than during the day.
Don't get angry before going to bed
Su Wen's Theory of Great Pain said: "Anger leads to anger, happiness leads to anger, sadness leads to anger, fear leads to anger, and thinking leads to anger." Any emotional change will cause disorder of qi and blood, which will lead to insomnia and even disease. Therefore, don't get angry before going to bed and prevent any emotional excitement.
4. Don't eat before going to bed
Eating before going to bed will easily increase the burden on the stomach, which will not only affect sleep, but also cause harm to the body. If you feel hungry before going to bed, you should have a rest after eating. The ancients said: "Breakfast should be early, lunch should be full, and dinner should be less", which is indeed a noteworthy health care experience. If you eat in bed at night, it will be even worse.
5. Don't talk while sleeping.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the lung is the five internal organs, mainly producing sound. When a mortal lies down, his lungs converge. If you talk at this time, it is easy to consume your lungs. It's like a bell. If you don't hang it, you can't make a sound. In addition, talking before going to bed will make you excited and active, affect your sleep and lead to insomnia.
6. Don't look at the light while sleeping.
Sleeping in front of the light will upset your mind and make it difficult to sleep.
7. Don't open your mouth when you sleep.
Sun Simiao said, "Go to bed at night and keep your mouth shut" is the best way to stay active. Breathing with your mouth open has many disadvantages, which are not only unsanitary, but also make your lungs vulnerable to cold air and dust, and your stomach is easy to chill.
8. Don't hide your face when you sleep.
Covering your face makes it difficult to breathe, and inhaling a lot of carbon dioxide exhaled by yourself is extremely harmful to your health.
Therefore, "San Sao Ge" wrote: "Sleeping at night without covering your head", which shows that the ancients attached importance to this health care method.
9. Don't lie in the wind.
The ancients thought that the wind was the length of all diseases, and it changed with the change. After sleeping, the human body's adaptability to environmental changes is reduced, and it is most vulnerable to wind and evil.
"Wretched Record" said, "Those who don't lie in the wind, fear head wind, leeward cough, shoulder wind and arm pain, and are good at taking pictures, although they don't suffer from the wind in summer."
10, don't lie with your head to the stove.
"Trivial Record" said: "You can't lie by the fire first, for fear of damaging your brain." And because the temperature is too high, it is easy to be pulled open after falling asleep, but it will catch cold.