🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Outside, spring is warm and sunny with blooming flowers; indoors, people yawn repeatedly and feel listless. Spring sleepiness spreads like a contagion—even without increased workload or reduced sleep, one feels exhausted. What’s going on? Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes harmony between humanity and nature. When seasonal and climatic changes clash with the human body, various discomforts arise—such as spring sleepiness, summer fatigue, autumn weariness—all fall under this category. To awaken the body from its “hibernation” state early, begin by understanding the causes of spring sleepiness.
Scientific Basis of Spring Sleepiness
Spring sleepiness has scientific grounding.
First reason: During winter, skin capillaries remain constricted, reducing blood flow and increasing sweat gland and pore activity, thereby increasing oxygen supply. With ample blood flow, brain excitability rises. But in spring, rising temperatures cause skin and capillary dilation, increasing peripheral blood flow and relatively decreasing cerebral perfusion, thus lowering brain excitability and causing drowsiness.
Second reason: Spring brings earlier sunrise and longer days, making sleepiness more pronounced.
Six Remedies to Combat Spring Sleepiness
While the Tang poet Meng Haoran’s line “Spring sleep knows no dawn” holds truth, certain stimuli can help banish spring sleepiness early—
Brushing teeth and washing face. When sleepy, use aromatic toothpaste to brush and rinse, then splash cold water on your face—this refreshes the mind.
Visual stimulation. Step outside—to fields, lakesides, springs, seashores, mountain peaks—and gaze around. Good visual input helps relieve sleepiness.
Gustatory stimulation. Avoid sugary and fatty foods that induce drowsiness. Instead, drink chrysanthemum tea or green tea to refresh the mind.
Olfactory stimulation. When drowsy, smell camphor oil, cooling oil, or perfume water to drive away sleepiness and invigorate the spirit.
Auditory stimulation. Listen regularly to uplifting, rhythmic music and sing or dance along.
Physical stimulation. Move limbs occasionally—stretch muscles, circulate blood, and lubricate joints—to stimulate brain activity.
Root Cause of Spring Sleepiness: Mismatch Between Humans and Spring
Feeling sluggish and tired in spring is widely recognized. Is spring sleepiness actually a disease?
The answer is no. From a TCM perspective, spring sleepiness is a suboptimal health state—a failure to adapt promptly to natural changes. This mismatch permeates sleep, work, diet, and lifestyle. How to alleviate the inconveniences caused by this suboptimal condition? Focus mainly on diet and living environment—
Seasonal Shifts: Body Adjustment Lags Behind
Many notice that spring sleepiness doesn’t appear immediately at the start of spring when it’s still chilly. It becomes increasingly evident only when spring blooms arrive.
Environmentally, winter is a long, closed-in season, during which the body remains contracted and metabolism slows. This state persists into early spring and peaks now, as spring grows stronger. Observing around us, not everyone suffers from spring sleepiness. Those with strong constitutions adapt easily to natural changes; others do not. In nature, animals that hibernate emerge to find blinding spring light, temporarily overwhelmed. Humans are no different. Habits formed during winter persist, making it hard to adjust to “spring colors.”
Spring’s environment is unique—gentle winds sway willows, pollen floats in the air... Many with allergic constitutions suffer recurrence of conditions like dermatitis, asthma, and bronchitis. Few realize that mental fog associated with spring sleepiness is also a form of allergy.
[Countermeasure] Follow the principle of “early to bed, early to rise, walking widely in the courtyard” during spring. Ensure 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Physical exercise is the most effective way to adapt quickly to seasonal shifts. Whether morning or evening, indoors or outdoors, the key is breaking free from winter’s lethargy to activate bodily vitality. For allergy-prone individuals, avoiding allergens is the best prevention.
Winter Diet: Internal Fire Builds Up and Cannot Be Released
Shanghai residents traditionally emphasize winter nourishment, and eating hot pot or spicy foods in winter is a popular trend. Spicy, grilled, fried foods are warming and stimulate taste buds, boosting appetite. Many tonics use red ginseng or donkey-hide gelatin to boost yang and generate heat. These foods suit winter well. However, overconsumption or improper supplementation accumulates internal fire throughout winter, which intensifies in spring, leading to symptoms like dizziness, mental fatigue—i.e., spring sleepiness.
Unexpectedly, constipation may also be a trigger for spring sleepiness. Constipation rates are rising among children and elders. If ingested food isn’t eliminated, metabolic waste is reabsorbed into the bloodstream, manifesting as dullness and lethargy. Though seemingly unrelated, this links directly to spring sleepiness.
[Countermeasure] In spring, favor light, nutritious diets. As metabolism increases, nutritional needs grow. Milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables meet physiological needs and help clear heat. Drink plenty of water and keep bowels moving. Avoid weight-loss teas that may lead to dependency. A simple trick: dedicate time each morning solely for bowel movements—turning it into a habit can effectively relieve constipation.
Distinguishing “False Spring Sleepiness”
Spring fatigue and head heaviness may stem from spring sleepiness. But some illnesses or habits have nothing to do with it. Be cautious—watch out for these “false spring sleepiness” cases that may mask real diseases.
· Folk wisdom says: “All diseases flare up at the beginning of spring and end of winter.” Rapid temperature changes easily trigger colds and flu, whose early signs often include headache and drowsiness.
· Busy work schedules and insufficient sleep disrupt biological rhythms. Such people suffer from poor sleep quality year-round, not just in spring. Suggestion: change daily routines.
· Patients with chronic conditions. Spring’s renewal can trigger relapses—hypertension, diabetes, etc. Elevated blood pressure or blood sugar cause dizziness and blurred vision. Suggestion: regular check-ups to avoid missing critical treatment windows.