The health concept that has been followed for thousands of years is actually wrong

We have been taught since childhood that "early to bed and early to rise makes a healthy body." Whether it can be done or not is another matter, but almost no one has ever doubted the correctness of this statement. But the truth is, this statement is worth discussing. Not only did the ancients have strict definitions of "early rising" and "early going to bed", but if we "inappropriately rise early", it will not only be unhealthy, but will actually cause harm to our bodies!

The first thing we need to affirm is that the "early to bed concept" advocated by the ancients is correct. I think everyone should have a consensus on this point. Many diseases that are common among humans today are related to sleeping too late. Staying up late for a long time will damage the liver and kidneys, causing dysfunction of organs throughout the body, which in turn leads to a variety of diseases. I have discussed this topic in many of my previous articles, so I will not repeat it here.

However, readers who have read "Huangdi Neijing" may say: The ancients did not completely advocate "early to bed". According to "The Great Treatise on the Four Qi to Regulate the Spirit", it is beneficial to health to go to bed late in spring and summer.

In fact, what everyone doesn’t know is that the working and resting habits of ancient people are very different from those of us today. What the ancients called "sleeping late" refers to around 9 o'clock in the evening, which is also called the beginning of the hour of Hai. Today we think that being able to go to bed before 11pm is called going to bed early, but what the ancients meant by going to bed early was around 7pm - the Neijing believes that this is the best time to sleep in autumn and winter.

Obviously, in today's society, it is impossible for everyone to go to bed early at 7 o'clock in the evening. Many people haven't even had dinner yet! In the past, people only ate two meals a day (this is still the case in some rural areas today), and finished dinner around 4 p.m. In the fall and winter, it gets dark early. There was no electricity, let alone television, computers, movies, karaoke or other entertainment. It was natural to go to bed after 7 p.m., but in today's social rhythm, the ancients' definition of "early to bed" is a bit out of date.

According to Haoran's experience, if we can fall asleep at around 9pm in autumn and winter, and before 10:30pm in spring and summer, we basically meet the conditions for "early bedtime". Many people who like to stay up late go to bed at one or two o'clock in the morning, sleep until they wake up naturally, and look at the watch and it is 9 o'clock. It seems that they have slept for seven or eight hours. It seems that they have slept enough, but after getting up, their bodies are very tired and they feel very exhausted. I have told many of them that as long as you can fall asleep before 10:30 every day, you will still sleep for seven or eight hours, or even less, but you will wake up refreshed in the morning and have good energy throughout the day. Some people don't believe it, but after trying it once or twice they are convinced.

The concept of "getting up early" is worth discussing. Let me explain first, what the ancients called getting up early meant around 5 a.m., and what they called getting up late meant around 7 a.m. Before discussing whether getting up early is right, let me describe a real case:

There is an old man who pays great attention to physical exercise. He gets up at five or six o'clock all year round and starts exercising. However, every winter, he suffers from back and leg pain, and sometimes he can't even straighten his waist. His wife likes to sleep in, but she has no major health problems.

This is because the sun has not yet come out at five or six o'clock in the winter, and the weather is "yin among yins". The elderly have weak qi and blood, so they are most likely to catch cold when going out. The elderly in the above example have been exercising in this natural environment for a long time, and a lot of cold air has accumulated in their bodies, which will lead to back and leg pain. If this continues for a long time, it will not only be a problem of back and leg pain, but will also cause more diseases in the body.

In this way, the correct concept of "getting up early" is to wait until the sun rises. At this time, the yang energy in the heaven and earth also rises. Only then can starting to exercise be truly beneficial to your physical and mental health.

So, according to the above idea of ​​getting up early, does it mean that everyone should get up early? That's not necessarily the case.

Nowadays, everyone is very busy with work, so when it comes to holidays, sometimes we like to sleep in. However, even though I sleep much longer than usual, after waking up, I feel more sleepy and tired than usual. Why is that?

This is the result of the body's self-healing system. Modern human rehabilitation research has found that each of our bodies actually has a powerful self-healing function and can automatically repair damaged organs. However, this "automatic" function has two prerequisites. The first prerequisite is that the body's "qi and blood" level must be maintained at a certain level. Using a mobile phone as an example, you need to have enough power. When a mobile phone runs out of battery, it needs to be charged. When a person's qi and blood are insufficient, they can also be restored through sleep.

Most of us are in a state of overdraft and loss of qi and blood for a long time. The level of qi and blood in the body is very low, so the body's self-repair system is also in a state of stop. When you sleep for a long time, your qi and blood energy will be replenished. When the qi and blood energy are sufficient, the body's repair system will start working. Although people sleep all night, their bodies have been busy for most of the night, so people feel particularly tired after getting up.

Children all have the habit of staying in bed, not because they are sleepy or lazy, but because it is a real need of the body. Therefore, children should be allowed to sleep more during the holidays and sleep until they wake up naturally, so that the level of Qi and blood in their bodies is sufficient. This can not only repair their body organs, but is also important for their growth and development.

In life, many friends with heart damage or myocarditis have one characteristic, which is that they find it difficult to get up early in the morning. Even in summer, no matter how early they go to bed, they just can't get out of bed in the morning, and they still feel sleepy when they get up. What is the reason for this?

Because in spring, autumn and winter, the human body needs to mobilize a large amount of qi and blood to keep the organs warm; only in summer can the blood used for insulation be released, and when a person's blood and qi energy is sufficient, damaged organs can be repaired. When the body is repairing the heart, the most important symptom is that you can't get out of bed in the morning in summer, and you still feel a little cold after getting up. The reason for this is that all the warm blood is used in the body. So for this type of people, getting up late is a must, as it is good for their health.

Therefore, because the body's blood and qi are mostly replenished and self-repair work is carried out during sleep, the best sleeping strategy is to follow the needs of the body and sleep until you wake up naturally. In other words, "early to bed and waking up naturally" is the correct way to maintain health.