Are You Suffering from "Spring Drowsiness"? Tonify Yin
As the climate gradually warms, many people feel drowsy, exhausted, and sleepy—commonly known as "spring drowsiness." With warming temperatures, cutaneous capillaries dilate, requiring increased blood flow to the skin. Consequently, cerebral blood flow decreases, leading to inadequate oxygen supply to the brain, resulting in drowsiness, fatigue, and excessive sleepiness.
Those prone to "spring drowsiness" often exhibit signs of yin deficiency, such as insomnia with vivid dreams, damp phlegm, liver yang rising, five-palm heat, hot flushes, red tongue, scant saliva, and fine rapid pulse. Besides drowsiness, they may also experience flushed complexion, irritability, hair loss, memory decline, irregular bowel movements, and increased vaginal discharge in women.
Therefore, treating "spring drowsiness" requires tonifying yin. Diet should emphasize yin-nourishing foods; avoid warm foods like lamb; refrain from spicy, fried, grilled, barbecued foods, dog meat, alcohol, hot pot, and other heat-inducing items. Use herbs like ginseng (Panax ginseng) for regulation. Spring brings heavy dampness; as temperatures rise, avoid overexertion, but don’t oversleep either. When drowsy, perform head massage to relieve symptoms. Also, practice deep breathing and aerobic exercises that boost lung capacity, spend more time in sunny, green areas to provide more oxygen to the brain.