Chen Jiru's Pearl Boat in Ming Dynasty said: "Sleep is the food for the eyes. If you don't sleep for seven days, your eyes will dry. " The sleep of the ancients is sometimes like performance art, and Chen Tuan (Chen Xiyi), a legendary figure in Tang and Song Dynasties, reached the peak of sleep, sometimes sleeping for several years. As the saying goes, "Sleeping in the dark, no summer, no cold and no years". Chen Xiyi later lived forever because of sleep. In the Song Dynasty, Kou Chaoyi had learned to sleep with Chen Xiyi, and he was already a genius after only learning a little fur. Liu Chuifan visited Kou Chaoyi. Kou snores loudly every time he sleeps. Liu came back and said, "Mr. Kou sleeps in music. This is a dreamland song played through two nostrils." People ask, "Do you have a score?" Liu painted on paper with thick ink, which was called Chaos Spectrum.
The sleep of the ancients makes modern people look envious. In ancient times, many people often felt sleepy, stayed up all night, slept at any time, and slept whenever they wanted. Liezi records that the Yellow Emperor slept during the day and sleepwalked in Hua Xu country. Zhuge Liang woke up after a full sleep, stretched himself and chanted, "I know who dreams first, and I have known it all my life." The thatched cottage sleeps in spring, and the day outside the window is delayed. " Tao Yuanming said: "In mid-May and June, I was lying under the north window. When the cool wind came, I called myself Master Xidi. "
The ancients had a way of sleeping.
As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, people saw the importance of sleep for health preservation. 1972 A number of Han bamboo slips were unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, including the medical book Ten Questions, which revealed people's understanding of sleep at that time: "Once you don't lie down, you won't be there for a hundred days."
As for when and how to sleep, the ancients also had their own opinions.
China health care experts have had many beneficial sleep health care methods, which are simple and effective. Meridian sleep is one of the methods of sleep health preservation, and its method is to fall asleep twice every day at midnight (23- 1 pm) and at noon (1 1- 13 pm). Because at the meridian, Yin and Yang meet, and the qi and blood in the body are extremely unbalanced, lying still at this time can avoid qi and blood damage. The ancients summed up the time law of sleep as: "It is advisable to get up early in spring and summer, feast and sleep in autumn and winter, and avoid the cock crow early after the feast."
That is to say, in the eyes of the ancients, sleeping time should not be past midnight at the latest, that is, from 23: 00 to 65438+ 0: 00 the next morning. The Five Miscellanies of Ming Metabolism also said: "Reading at night should not be out of season", "When you cover people, your blood will return to your heart. If you can't sleep, you will get sick because of blood consumption. " That means you can't study for more than an hour. If you stay up late studying, you will seriously overdraw your health.
On the other hand, the ancients advocated "getting up early". According to Jiang's Song Shi Lu Garden, he kept a good sleep habit, "sleeping late and bulging five times". However, it is very difficult for the courtiers who need to go to the early court. They must get up earlier than the emperor, so they have the pain of "the courtiers are waiting for five leaks and getting cold." This time period is now from 3 am to 5 am.
Sleeping like a bow, the ancients talked about sleeping.
As for sleeping posture, the ancients were also very particular about it. Li Qingyuan's "longevity tactic" in Qing Dynasty put forward that "a dog should lie like a dog", saying: "A dog is a thing, lying on the ground is also constant, with its side, its front foot extended and its back foot rolled, and its neck straight, so that its internal organs can relax and stretch, while its pulse is even, and its qi and blood can circulate freely. Qi can be clear around, clear and peaceful, and the mind is stable. If you fall asleep like this, the devil can't disturb it. This is also its purpose. "
Li's words can be said to be an interpretation of the old adage "sleeping like a bow", which requires people to lie on their side, bend over, bend their knees and join hands to live in the shape of their mother's abdomen, so that their limbs and bones can be fully relaxed and their essence can be hidden inside, so that they can sleep peacefully.
Among various sleeping positions, the ancients advocated lying on the side. Sun Simiao, a medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty, mentioned in "A Thousand Women's Dowling Practice": "Kneeling on one knee will benefit people and win the battle. "Taoism in China also advocates this view. There is a saying in the book "Collected Taoist Scriptures and Miscellaneous jing yuan": "Sleeping on your back may lead to spermatorrhea, so lie on your side. "There is also a question about which direction the body leans. The ancients thought it was better to lie on the right side, and some even called it "auspicious sleep." "In the Qing Dynasty, Cao Tingdong said in the article Sleeping in Old Heng Yan:" If you want to lie down after a meal, you should relax your temper on the right side. "
The ancients wanted to sleep well, and sleeping was taboo.
In order to sleep more comfortably, the ancients even had ten taboos about sleeping.
(1) Don't sleep on your back. The ancients said, "I am not tired of sleeping, but I am not tired of feeling." Bend your knees sideways when you sleep, so that your energy will not be scattered. When you wake up, you should stretch your activities so that your blood will circulate. If you lie on your back, your body will be uncomfortable, your muscles will not relax, and your hands will be easily placed on your chest, which will cause more nightmares and affect your breathing and heartbeat.
(2) Don't worry about sleeping. When you sleep, you must concentrate on sleeping and don't think about it. The ancients said, "Sleep first, then sleep." This is an important secret of a good sleep. If you think about it after sleep, or even worry, you will not only lose sleep, but also do more harm to your body than during the day.
(3) 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 major emotional change will cause qi and blood disorder, which will lead to insomnia and even illness. 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 must have a rest after dinner. If you eat in bed after lying down at night, it is even worse for your health.
(5) Don't talk while sleeping. The ancients often said that "food does not speak, sleep does not speak". Chinese medicine believes that the lung is the crown of the five internal organs and mainly produces sound. When a mortal lies down, his lungs converge. If he speaks at this time, it is easy to consume lung qi, just like the clock is running out. He can't make a sound without hanging. In addition, talking before going to bed will also make you feel excited and active, which will affect your sleep and lead to insomnia.
(6) Don't lie in front of the light. Facing the light while sleeping will make you emotionally unstable, which not only makes it difficult for people to fall asleep, but also makes it easy to wake up.
(7) Don't lie on the stove. If you sleep with your head facing the stove, you will easily get angry, your head will be heavy and jealous, or you will get carbuncle and furuncle, and you will easily catch a cold. "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 sleeping, but it catches cold; Or get up at night, it is easy to catch a cold.
(8) Don't open your mouth when you sleep. Sun Simiao said: "Lying in the liquid and keeping your mouth shut is the best way to stay alive. Breathing with your mouth open has many disadvantages, not only unsanitary, but also easy to be stimulated by cold air to the lungs, and the stomach is easy to chill.
(9) Don't hide your face when you sleep. If you cover your face, it will make people breathe poorly and inhale a lot of carbon dioxide that you exhale, which is extremely harmful to your health. Therefore, there is a saying in "San Sou Ge" that "you must speak before you leave, and you will not recite it at night".
(10) Don't lie in the wind. After sleeping, the body's ability to adapt to environmental changes is reduced, and the invasion of colds is easier than usual.
Chen Tuan bodhi old zu advocates sleeping for health, but he can sleep for several days. He is a famous sleeping fairy. (network picture)
Su Dongpo's Eight-character Sleep Longevity Tactics
Su Dongpo, a great poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, also studied sleep deeply. He preached a unique strategy of sleeping for a long life, namely posture, massage, centering and punctuality.
(1) posture, sleeping "lying on the right" and "bending your left foot". This correct posture can avoid pressing the heart or arm to press the chest, causing nightmares.
(2) Massage: Massage Yongquan point on the soles of feet before going to bed, and each person can fall asleep quickly for 200 times.
(3) Relax your body when you fall asleep, eliminate distractions, adjust your breathing, and sleep peacefully.
(4) Go to bed and get up on time every day. After getting up, comb your hair with your fingers for 200 times to refresh your mind, then rub your hands and gently rub your face for health and beauty.
In order to find the most comfortable way to promote sleep, the ancients also worked hard in the direction of sleep.
Ancient health experts did not recommend lying in the north, because the north belongs to water, and the shade is the main cold in winter. The fear of lying in the cold in the north directly hurts the human body and damages the family. "A thousand dollars to the edge, the forest raises the nature" means "don't lie in the north, don't sleep in the north"; The article "Sleeping peacefully" in Ancient Heng Yan also says, "First, don't lie north, which means avoiding the atmosphere."
"Book of Rites Jade Algae" puts forward "Heng Dong Hu", that is, sleeping eastward all year round, which is said to be the sunrise in the east. However, the book Xin Xue puts forward that "at the turn of spring and summer, the east is the first" and at the turn of autumn and winter, the west is the first ". If something has no bed, it is "going south first"
Sun Simiao said in "A thousand dollars must be fixed, the Taoist forest nourishes nature": "Ordinary people lie, facing east in spring and summer, and facing west in autumn and winter." It means that in spring and summer, sleep with your head facing east and your feet facing west; Autumn and winter are just the opposite, so your head should face west and your feet should face east. In the Song Dynasty, Pu Qianguan also mentioned in Baosheng Yao Lu: "Anyone who lies in beginning of spring to beginning of autumn wants to be the first in the East; After autumn, I will go to beginning of spring and want to be the first in the west. " Generally speaking, the ancients advocated east-west sleeping.
No matter how the ancients slept, we modern people really can't go back to the background of that era. It's just that some health preservation methods have been handed down from ancient times, and we can learn from them. After all, sleep events have always been a top priority.