Kidney qi connects to brain qi. Only with good kidneys can you sleep soundly.

　　The kidneys store essence, and human growth, development and aging are closely related to the kidneys. People with good kidneys appear to be energetic, while people with poor kidneys are prone to lack of energy and lack of concentration. Therefore, those who are good at maintaining health should start by nourishing the kidneys all year round.

　　As the saying goes, food is not as good as medicine, and sleep is not as good as food. The biochemistry of human qi and blood and the maintenance of kidney essence all require adequate sleep to ensure. Kidney essence transforms kidney qi, and kidney qi leads to brain qi. Only when kidney essence is sufficient can brain power be abundant and intelligence will not decline. People who stay up too late, are overtired, and don't get enough sleep tend to feel drowsy and slow down during the day. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that staying up late past midnight is more likely to damage kidney qi, which will seriously affect kidney function in the long run and even cause kidney failure in severe cases. Therefore, developing good work and rest habits is most conducive to the maintenance of kidney essence.

　　What is a good routine? Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the "correspondence between nature and man". The yang energy in nature is settling, and the human body must nourish yin in time to avoid excessive dissipation of yang energy. Generally speaking, it is more appropriate to go to bed at 9 to 10 p.m. and get up at 5 to 6 a.m. in the morning. Clinical observations have found that getting up early can reduce the risk of thrombosis and is of certain significance in preventing the onset of ischemic diseases such as cerebral thrombosis.

　　However, not everyone is able to sleep peacefully, and many people are more or less affected by insomnia. Insomnia is roughly divided into the following types. Adjustments to diet, work and rest can be made according to different types.

　　Heart-kidney insomnia

　　Mental and emotional problems such as anxiety and depression can lead to disharmony between the heart and kidneys, which means the physiological coordination between the heart and kidneys is disordered, leading to insomnia. Most of these people have problems such as excessive thinking and depression, accompanied by symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, dizziness, and tinnitus. In addition, people who have been ill and weak for a long time are also prone to insomnia due to heart-kidney disharmony. Taking good care of the kidneys can improve insomnia to a certain extent. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that lotus seeds are mild in nature, sweet and astringent in taste, and enter the heart, spleen and kidney meridians. Regular consumption of lotus seed porridge can replenish the heart, strengthen the spleen and stop diarrhea, nourish the kidneys and consolidate essence, and improve insomnia. Secondly, lily, jujube kernel, and yam are also very suitable for this group of people.

　　Insomnia due to insufficient nutrition

　　Such people often have restless sleep, stay up all night, are prone to nightmares, lack energy during the day, are forgetful, have difficulty concentrating, and may be accompanied by symptoms such as palpitation. In terms of treatment, the main focus is on nourishing essence, nourishing blood and calming the nerves. In the diet, eat more blood-enhancing foods, such as red dates and wolfberry porridge, longan porridge, sesame and walnut soup.

　　Insomnia due to excessive heart and liver fire

　　It is inevitable that upsetting things will happen in life, causing people to stay up all night and suffer from symptoms such as bloating of the head, red eyes, dry mouth, being upset and irritable, dry stools, and short and red urine. The main principle of treatment is to clear away heat, purge fire and calm the nerves. For diet, you can choose lotus root, snow pear soup, celery juice, and honeysuckle tea; for acupuncture treatment, you can choose Shenmen (the depression on the side of the wrist crease near the little finger), Sanyinjiao (four fingers straight up from the tip of the medial malleolus), and Shu points on both sides of the back spine.

　　Insomnia caused by liver stagnation and qi stagnation

　　Symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, daytime depression, chest and hypochondrium pain with no fixed location, epigastric fullness, frequent burping and other symptoms. The main treatments are to soothe the liver, relieve stagnation and calm the nerves, such as Danzhi and Longdan Xiegan Pills, which have good therapeutic effects on symptoms of liver stagnation and internal heat. Usually eat more foods that can soothe the liver and regulate qi, such as celery, chrysanthemum, tomatoes, radish, oranges, grapefruit, citrus, citron, bergamot, etc. In addition, pay attention to recuperating your spirit, eliminating unnecessary worries in daily life, and easing tension.

　　Nutritionists believe that people with insomnia should increase their intake of tryptophan. You can drink a bottle of milk or millet porridge at night, which also has a sleeping effect. People with jet lag can take melatonin.