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It’s rare for me to jolt out of bed after the first alarm (I live for the nights, people!), so when I found myself stirring awake at the same time, night after night—down to the minute—I determined that this was a job for Google.
Little did I know that this nightly interruption would actually be a job for Chinese medicine.
My search queries would go on to unleash a collection of articles all pointing to a common theme: the Chinese Medicine body clock. While buzzwords like “circadian rhythm” and “sleep hygiene” have been trending in the wellness space for some time, this 2,500-year-old school of thought takes things a step further and examines the functionality of our internal organs during our sleep-wake cycle. That’s right—our organs aren’t set to some automatic switch; your kidneys need time for self-care, too.
“Within our 24-hour clock, Chinese medicine assigns organ systems to different time segments,” explains Jessica Maynard, a licensed acupuncturist at Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Bloomington Clinic. “There are 12 different organs in the meridian system in the body.”
These 12 various organs—from the lungs to the large intestine—are assigned a 2-hour time block in which they function at optimal levels. When the energy of a specific organ is blocked or impeded, symptoms will reveal themselves like dehydration, moodiness, loss of concentration, or routinely waking up at 3:27am.
“If we stay up, say, until 1am, we’re taxing our system,” says Maynard. “We should already be in REM sleep. At 1am is when our liver energy starts to flow, and the liver is the main detoxifying organ in the body. We need to give it its full energy capacity so it can do its proper job of cleansing and rebuilding our blood.” Keeping vampire hours, she says, will rob you of your REM sleep (the period of deep sleep we need to feel refreshed in the A.M.), causing you to unnaturally shift away from your circadian rhythm.
These days, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who can, at will, close the loop of endless worries and sleep through the night. Even if we are sleeping for a consecutive eight hours, we may still find ourselves feeling off (two words: stress fatigue). So while sleep continues to elude many of us, it’s good to know which of our meridians, no matter the time of day, is in need of a little TLC. After all, the Chinese medicine principles may change the way you approach your days.
3am-5am
Primary Meridian: Lungs
Beyond respiration, our lungs help us move energy through the body and keep our immune system in top health. When the lungs are imbalanced, symptoms like wheezing and coughing surface. If you find yourself frequently waking during this time, it’s your body’s way of telling you that you need to address emotions of long-held grief and sadness.
5am-7am
Primary Meridian: Large Intestine
Responsible for eliminating waste from the body. On an emotional level, this organ represents our ability to let go of the past and move forward. If you feel “stuck” in your life, or experience bouts of constipation and slow digestion, it’s time to get outside, move around, and increase your water intake.
7am-9am
Primary Meridian: Stomach
Your stomach is in a pretty solid state if you wake up with hunger pangs. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so make it count—preparing a warming, nutritious breakfast will set the tone of your energy for the day. If your stomach feels “full” without eating, it’s likely you’ve found yourself in a cycle of chronic worrying (and digestive disruptions), so try to coordinate your breakfast around these hours.
9am-11am
Primary Meridian: Spleen
This power organ transfers our food into nutrients, and funnels that energy throughout our body. If it’s not working properly, you may suffer from bloat, exhaustion, loose bowel movements, or feelings of despair. Use these hours to snack healthily: cherries, sweet potatoes, and figs promote good spleen health.
11am-1pm
Primary Meridian: Heart
It works hardest during these hours to keep our nutrients circulated—so go easy on it. Take this time to do something restorative, like yoga over the lunch hour or enjoying a well-balanced meal. By keeping your stress levels down, you help to prevent palpitations (or that feeling of a racing heart) and shortness of breath.
1pm-3pm
Primary Meridian: Small Intestine
Got a dry mouth? Feelings of indigestion? It’s possible you haven’t had enough water (or nutritious food) throughout the day. The small intestine’s responsibility is to keep your body’s usable energy separate from waste. Emotions being processed: insecurity, abandonment, and vulnerability.
3pm-5pm
Primary Meridian: Bladder
Prime time for the midday slump, especially if you haven’t kept yourself properly hydrated. (See a theme here yet?) To keep your bladder from taking a beating, reaching for some H2O is kind of a no-brainer, but you may be surprised to learn that the bladder also enjoys the occasional salty food (think: a cup of miso soup or broth).
5pm-7pm
Primary Meridian: Kidneys
Considered the “root of life” in TCM, our kidneys purify the blood and support our body’s natural cleansing process. If they’re functioning optimally, your energy levels will still be going strong at this hour. If you’ve noticed a big drop, it’s because your adrenals need some love. Consider trading in an after-work cocktail for an earlier bedtime.
7pm-9pm
Primary Meridian: Pericardium
It’s not exactly in our lexicon, but the job of the pericardium is an important one: it works hard to support our heart function. Start to wind down your day by turning inward—read, run a bath, stretch, or meditate to keep the ol’ ticker healing away.
9pm-11pm
Primary Meridian: Triple Heater
In an ideal world, we’ll start easing into sleep at this hour so our bodies can keep our endocrine and metabolic systems regulated (distributing heat and water throughout the body), so we can conserve some energy for the next day. If the triple heater is out of balance, you may experience feelings of hopelessness or cognitive confusion.
11pm-1am
Primary Meridian: Gallbladder
This is the power hour(s) when true regeneration happens: the gallbladder works hard to repair damaged cells and build new ones. If you find yourself doom-scrolling your Twitter feed at this time, brace for next-day feelings of indecisiveness and low self-esteem. You may be interfering with your gallbladder’s ability to properly excrete bile and digest the good fats.
1am-3am
Primary Meridian: Liver
If you’re waking up in the middle of the night after a cocktail or two, it’s because your liver is working in overdrive to relieve your body of excess toxins. The liver cleanses our blood and when this process gets interrupted, it can result in low energy and feelings of angst the following day.
Located in Bloomington, Northwestern Health Sciences University is a pioneer in integrative natural health care education, offering degree programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, medical assisting, medical laboratory programs, post-bac/pre-health, radiation therapy, and B.S. completion. At press time, its Bloomington clinic is open to the public for acute care, and services include chiropractic care, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, and physical therapy. Massage therapy is not being offered at this time.
Telemedicine is a convenient way to care for yourself during these unprecedented times. Appointment times vary depending on the service. Providers are part of Northwestern Health Sciences University, a non-profit industry leader in integrative and natural healthcare education that provides access to the latest evidence and state-of-the-art technology so you get the natural solutions you truly need.
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