Keep yourself healthy in summer

The ancient Chinese medicine book "Inner Canon of Medicine" mentions that the human body has three treasures: essence, qi and spirit. When the essence is sufficient, the qi is abundant, and when the qi is abundant, the spirit is vigorous. On the contrary, if the qi is weak, the spirit will be damaged, the spirit will easily be weak, and the mood will be greatly affected. In summer, people should learn to conserve their energy and maintain their essence, energy and spirit, so that the body can be healthier.

1. Go to bed when you need to and don’t stay up late.

People who often have irregular work and rest schedules and stay up late for long periods of time usually lack energy. Because from 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock in the morning is the time when qi and blood flow in the internal organs. During this time, blood flows back to the liver to prepare to store essence (energy). If you don't sleep, it is equivalent to forcing the liver to continue its decomposition work. Energy cannot be stored, which will cause liver yin deficiency, imbalance of yin and yang, rising liver fire, and qi deficiency and weakness.

2. Try to engage in gentle exercise.

Tai Chi, Qigong or Yuanji Dance are all good meditation exercises. Too intense exercise will cause a lot of sweating. Losing a lot of body fluids means losing a lot of physical strength, and your mood will easily become irritable and restless. It is best to choose qigong-training and health-preserving exercises, and avoid long-term exposure to the scorching sun or engaging in strenuous exercise. Because the body relies on breathing to deliver oxygen, if you breathe rapidly, just like when the flow of water is large, it can only flow into thicker water pipes. Oxygen quickly enters the thicker blood vessels in the body, while the smaller blood vessels are not easy to obtain oxygen. Therefore, if you want to let water flow into tiny water pipes, you have to turn down the water column from the faucet and inject it drop by drop. Choose gentle exercise and keep your breathing slow and unhurried. Only then will the tiny blood vessels and meridians in your body have a chance to get enough nutrients.

3. Avoid eating foods that are too "turbid".

In summer, you should eat light food. Food that is too "turbid" can easily increase body weight and make you drowsy. Try to use light cooking methods and avoid frying, roasting or baking. Sweets are high in calories, so eat less. Modern people's diet is too chaotic and does not follow the natural cycle. Eating barbecue on a hot day will only accelerate heart fire.

4. Eat less cold food.

Ice water or ice products are the most popular foods in midsummer, but eating too much can easily lead to imbalance between cold and heat. When the external environment temperature is high, we think that cold food can cool down, but we ignore that the body temperature is higher (sometimes as high as 37 degrees Celsius). The human body's adaptability and temperature regulation ability are not that strong. If we suddenly drink ice water into the body, our internal organs can't bear it, which can easily lead to distraction and depression. To cool down and calm your nerves, you might as well drink chrysanthemum tea, honeysuckle tea, or mung bean soup. However, people with cold stomach should drink less. They can drink more boiled water and eat white fungus, lotus seeds or lilies to dispel heat and replenish qi.

5. Do not be too fast or too slow in your daily life.

Traditional Chinese medicine pays great attention to "harmony of Qi". If the flow of Qi is disordered and not natural and smooth enough, both the body and mind are prone to illness. It is actually not difficult to maintain good health through meditation. As long as you can maintain a steady pace when walking, standing, sitting or lying down in your daily life, and make your breathing even and orderly, your qi will naturally be harmonious. When the qi flows smoothly, it is transformed into sufficient energy for activity, the body and mind are stretched and relaxed, and the mind naturally calms down.

6. Be less angry and don’t lose temper.

Summer is dominated by fire and is the time of the year when energy is most abundant. It is easy to become impatient and your body will be affected. Before getting angry, take a second to think and consider whether you should get angry. We must learn to keep calm and manage our emotions, which is to "cultivate our minds". When something makes us feel uncomfortable, we should speak out clearly. It is best to express your opinions without emotion, avoid using hurtful adjectives, and communicate directly about the event itself.