健康睡眠小贴士 Top tips for a sweet sleep

人生三分之一的时间是在床上度过的，因此很难忽视睡眠的重要性。传统中医理论和临床实验均证明，改善睡眠有益于健康。

中医学认为，春季和肝脏有着与“木”相同的属性，因此肝火容易过旺，使人们变得焦躁敏感。

胃和脾脏有着与“土”相同的属性，而与“木“相反。如果这两个属性之间的对立过于强劲，人们就会感到身体不适。

北京中日友好医院老年病科主任、中医学资深专家李海聪指出：“显而易见，生气和身体不适容易导致失眠。”

解决失眠的办法是降低肝火，同时减轻胃和脾脏的负担，后者可以通过清淡的饮食调理和适当的体育锻炼来得以实现。

李大夫指出：“切忌口味过重。避免食用刺激性的食物或饮料，如辣椒、酒、咖啡等。”

专家力荐的食物包括鱼、猪肉、鸭肉、百合根、山药、莴苣、莲子、苹果和香蕉。专家不建议在春季食用鸡、羊肉、牛肉、桔子。

李大夫补充说：“有氧运动，如跑步、羽毛球和游泳，也有助于睡眠的改善。”。

有氧运动可促进氧的消耗，为身体进入良好的睡眠状态做好准备。但该运动应在睡前三小时进行。

中国人习惯在上午11点到下午1点之间午睡一会儿，这也有益于健康，尽管许多人因为生活节奏的加快已经放弃了这种习惯。

李大夫指出：“午睡时间不宜过长。15至30分钟就足够了。睡眠质量比睡眠时间长短更重要。”

对于可能因慢性疾病而导致经常失眠的老年人来说，良好的睡眠是极其重要的。

李大夫和他的同事们发现，高质量的睡眠会改善病状，而病状的改善又有助于睡眠。反之亦然。

李大夫说：“如果患者睡眠不好，服用一些中药会有所帮助，但必须遵医嘱服用。”

Top tips for a sweet sleep

Since one third of our lives are spent in bed, it is hard to overlook the significance of sleep. Tips to improve sleep, from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theories to clinical practices, can therefore benefit your life.

TCM practitioners believe that spring and the liver have the same property of "mu" (wood), thus the liver tends to be over-active, making people touchy.

The stomach and spleens have the "tu" (earth) property and are the opposite of "mu". If the opposition between these two properties becomes too strong, people will feel uncomfortable.

"Obviously, being angry and uncomfortable makes it hard to fall into sleep," says Dr Li Haicong, director of the Office of Geriatrics at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, who is also an experienced TCM practitioner.

The solution is to calm down the activity of the liver, and to reduce the burden on stomach and spleen, which can be fulfilled by a light diet and gentle exercise.

"Do not have too much strong-flavored food. Avoid intake of stimulating food or drink, such as pepper, alcohol and coffee," Li says.

Strongly recommended food includes fish, pork, duck, lily root, Chinese yam, asparagus lettuce, lotus seed, apples and bananas. Chicken, mutton, beef and oranges are not advisable in spring.

"Aerobic exercises, such as jogging, playing badminton and swimming, are also beneficial to good sleep," Li adds.

Aerobic exercises will improve oxygen consumption and will prepare the body for peaceful sleep. But it should be done at least three hours before going to bed.

Taking a nap between 11 am to 1 pm, a traditional practice in China, is healthy, too, although many people have dropped the habit due to their faster-paced life.

"A nap should not be too long. about 15 to 30 minutes are enough," Li notes. "The quality of sleep is more important than the length."

For the elderly, who often have insomnia, perhaps due to chronic diseases, a good night's sleep is extremely important.

Li and his colleagues have found that a restful sleep will improve the condition of patients, which will in turn improve the sleep. And vice versa.

"If patients cannot sleep well, taking some TCM will be helpful, but that must be conducted under a doctors' guidance," Li says.

(China Daily contributed the story, translated by Li Jingrong for China.org.cn on April 6, 2011)