End of Heat is the season when summer heat ends. "End" means hiding or stopping, so the name End of Heat signifies that summer heat is nearing its end. The "Twelve Monthly Interpretations" states: "In the seventh month, 'end' means stoppage; the summer heat ends here." At this time, the three dog days have passed or are nearly over, so it is called "the summer heat ends here." Across the country, there are proverbs like "End of Heat brings cold," indicating that summer heat is gradually fading. However, the weather has not yet truly turned cool, and the afternoon heat remains as intense as in the height of summer, which is why people often say "The Autumn Tiger is as fierce as a tiger." This serves as a reminder that autumn will still have hot days, which can be seen as a final surge of summer heat. The author Gu Tieqing, who wrote "Qing Jia Lu," described End of Heat as follows: "In local customs, after End of Heat, the weather remains warm, lasting approximately eighteen more days before it becomes cool; the proverb says: 'Eighteen bowls of End of Heat,' meaning bathing for eighteen days." This means it will take about eighteen more days of sweating. At this time, the solar longitude is 150 degrees. The almanac states: "When the star points to Wu, it is End of Heat, the heat is receding, and the dog days are hidden, hence the name."
From an agricultural perspective, there is also the saying "Grain ripens by End of Heat" and "Every household is busy harvesting rice." Additionally, after End of Heat, persistent autumn rains often arrive, so farmers must pay special attention to weather forecasts and seize every sunny day to complete their autumn harvest.
End of Heat is precisely the transitional period between hot and cool seasons. Nature's yang energy shifts from dispersion to contraction, and the balance of yin and yang within the human body also changes accordingly. Therefore, sleep and daily routines should be adjusted accordingly. Entering autumn health preservation, the first adjustment should be sleep time. Early to bed and early to rise is a well-known principle. However, few people understand the importance of sleep health preservation as emphasized by ancient physicians and health practitioners. In fact, scientific health preservation requires a comprehensive understanding of sleep patterns and methods.
Traditional Chinese medicine's theory of sleep, starting from materialistic unity of form and spirit, believes that sleep and wakefulness are a normal physiological state where yin and yang are unified in the body's waking and sleeping cycles. This includes several aspects:
First, the alternation of day and night yin and yang determines human wakefulness and sleep. Due to the rotation of celestial bodies, nature experiences changes in yin and yang, manifesting as the alternation of day and night. Day is yang, night is yin. The body's yin and yang energies also change with these fluctuations, resulting in alternating wakefulness and sleep. Wakefulness belongs to yang and is governed by yang energy; sleep belongs to yin and is governed by yin energy. It can be said that since humans existed, there has been a natural rhythm of life—working when the sun rises and resting when it sets. The "Ling Shu: The Meeting of Ying and Wei" states: "When the sun sets, yang energy ends and yin energy begins. At midnight, all people lie down, which is called 'union with yin.' In the morning, yin energy ends and yang energy begins, continuing endlessly, synchronized with heaven and earth." The "Ling Shu: Mouth Questions" further explains: "At midnight, yang energy ends and yin energy dominates, so eyes close"; "During the day, yin energy ends and yang energy dominates, so one wakes up."
Second, the physiological basis of sleep is the circulation of Ying and Wei energy. The alternation between wakefulness and sleep is based on the movement of Ying Qi (the energy circulating within the vessels, providing nourishment) and Wei Qi (the energy circulating outside the vessels, providing protection), with Wei Qi being particularly relevant. The "Ling Shu: The Movement of Wei Qi" says: "Wei Qi circulates around the body fifty times in a day and night, twenty-five times during the day and twenty-five times at night." Similarly, the "Ling Shu: The Meeting of Ying and Wei" states: "Wei Qi travels twenty-five times through yin and twenty-five times through yang, divided into day and night, so when qi reaches yang, one wakes up, and when it reaches yin, one sleeps." Here, "waking up" refers to rising from bed, and "sleeping" refers to going to bed. Thus, when Wei Qi moves through yin, yang energy ends and yin energy dominates, so the body becomes still and enters sleep (entering a relatively static state and wanting to sleep); when it moves through yang, yin energy ends and yang energy dominates, so the body becomes active and awakens (entering a dynamic state and waking up). Therefore, human sleep and wakefulness are controlled by the mind. When the mind is calm, one sleeps; when the mind is active, one wakes up; extreme emotions make it difficult to sleep.
Modern medical research divides sleep into four stages: ① falling asleep stage, ② light sleep stage, ③ moderate deep sleep stage, ④ deep sleep stage. When you enter stages ① and ②, you are in a drowsy state and easily awakened; stages ③ and ④ are deep sleep states, generally difficult to awaken.
Emphasizing adequate sleep during autumn health preservation is important because sleep has excellent health benefits. The "Ten Questions" manuscript unearthed from Ma Wang Dui states: "Sleep is not merely a matter for humans; even ducks, geese, wild ducks, eels, fish, and other creatures that must eat to live must also sleep to grow... Therefore, one night without sleep equals one hundred days without recovery." This shows that not only humans but all living beings cannot survive without sleep. In other words, without normal sleep, one cannot maintain normal life activities.
Sleep has five main functions:
First, eliminating fatigue. During sleep, the body's spirit and energy are stored within the five organs. If the organs are relaxed, the blood and qi are harmonized, body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate all drop slightly, and metabolism, breathing, and endocrine activities are significantly reduced, lowering metabolic rate and restoring physical strength.
Second, protecting the brain. During sleep, the brain's oxygen consumption decreases dramatically. Adequate sleep helps store energy in brain cells, restores energy, and improves cognitive efficiency.
Third, enhancing immunity. Sleep is not only a process of recreating intelligence and physical strength but also a crucial means of healing illness. During sleep, more antigens and antibodies are produced, enhancing the body's resistance. Therefore, modern medicine often uses sleep as a therapeutic tool to treat stubborn pain and mental disorders.
Fourth, promoting development. Sleep is closely related to children's growth and development. Children's growth rate increases during sleep, so ensuring sufficient sleep time is one of the conditions for children's height increase.
Fifth, benefiting beauty. Sleep greatly affects skin health. This is because during sleep, the skin's secretion and clearance processes are enhanced, capillary circulation increases, accelerating skin regeneration, allowing facial dullness and fine wrinkles caused by fatigue to recover during sleep. Thus, sleep is also a fundamental guarantee for skin beauty.
It is especially important to remind senior citizens: as age increases, the blood, qi, yin, and yang of the elderly decline, leading to symptoms such as daytime fatigue and nighttime insomnia. Ancient health practitioners said: "Short sleep is a major problem for the elderly." The "Ancient and Modern Good Words" suggests that the elderly should "lie down whenever they feel sleepy," which aligns with health preservation principles. Furthermore, ancient health practices emphasize the importance of "Zi-Wu sleep" (sleeping during the Zi and Wu hours), believing that at these times, yin and yang meet, reaching their peak and decline, causing imbalance in the body's blood and qi, requiring quiet rest to restore balance. Modern research shows that from midnight to 4 AM, the function of all organs drops to its lowest point; from 12 PM to 1 PM, the sympathetic nervous system is most fatigued. Statistics show that elderly people who practice Zi-Wu sleep can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, Zi-Wu sleep not only has preventive and health-promoting significance but also aligns with health preservation principles.
If one can normally enter the four stages of sleep, the brain will receive excellent rest, ensuring optimal mental state the next day—this is what we hope for and one of the key methods of autumn health preservation.
During the End of Heat season, it is advisable to consume foods that clear heat and calm the spirit, such as silver ear fungus, lily, lotus seeds, honey, yellow croaker, dried scallops, seaweed, sea cucumber, celery, spinach, glutinous rice, sesame, legumes, and dairy products.
Recommended recipes:
Sesame Spinach:
[Ingredients] 500 grams of fresh spinach, 15 grams of roasted sesame, salt, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate, all in appropriate amounts.
[Procedure] Remove the roots of the spinach, wash thoroughly, blanch in boiling water, then plunge into cold water, drain and squeeze dry, cut into pieces, place in a dish, add salt, monosodium glutamate, sesame oil, mix well, then sprinkle the sesame on top.
[Function] Nourishes the liver and kidneys, opens the chest, moisturizes dryness.
Green Pepper and Tofu Salad:
[Ingredients] 1 block of tofu, 3 green peppers, 10 grams of coriander, sesame oil, salt, monosodium glutamate, all in appropriate amounts.
[Procedure] Blanch the tofu in boiling water, cool down, cut into 1 cm cubes. Blanch the green peppers in boiling water, chop finely, chop the coriander. Mix tofu, green peppers, coriander, sesame oil, salt, monosodium glutamate, and serve in a dish.
[Function] Strengthens qi, expands the chest, generates fluids, moisturizes dryness, clears heat and detoxifies. Especially suitable for those with poor appetite and lack of appetite.
Lily and Lotus Seed Soup:
[Ingredients] 100 grams of dried lily, 75 grams of dried lotus seeds, 75 grams of rock sugar.
[Procedure] Soak the lily overnight, wash clean. Soak the lotus seeds for 4 hours, wash clean. Place lily and lotus seeds in a pot with water, bring to a boil over high heat, add rock sugar, reduce to low heat and continue cooking for 40 minutes.
[Function] Calms the spirit, nourishes the heart, strengthens the spleen and stomach.
Lily Paste:
[Ingredients] 60 grams of fresh lily, 2 tablespoons of honey.
[Procedure] Wash the lily, place in a bowl, pour honey over it, steam in a steamer for 30 minutes, or dry in the sun or air-dry. Take in seven doses before bedtime.
[Function] Clears the heart and calms the spirit. Suitable for those with restless sleep, easy to wake up, and startled.
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