🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Amay, a clerical worker at a company, recently felt persistently drowsy. While typing documents at work, she often made mistakes. Last night, she went to bed early and slept nine hours, yet still felt exhausted upon waking. Returning to the office, she found her colleagues yawning too, all complaining of being unrefreshed and sleepy.
After the Awakening of Insects solar term, all things awaken. After a long winter, the body’s yang energy has been depleted. In early spring, yang energy fails to rise sufficiently, causing extreme fatigue. According to TCM organ theory, spring is dominated by liver qi. When liver qi is strong, it overpowers the spleen (wood overcomes earth). Poor spleen function leads to impaired water metabolism, easily causing internal dampness. Combined with the dampness from spring rains, external dampness obstructs the spleen and stomach’s yang energy, resulting in poor blood and qi circulation and blocked meridians. This leads to fatigue and sleepiness—what TCM calls "spring drowsiness."
Spleen deficiency with dampness is the fundamental cause of spring drowsiness. Therefore, strengthening the spleen and eliminating dampness is the best remedy.
First: Engage in outdoor activities on sunny days to absorb natural yang energy and nourish your own yang.
*Suwen: The Great Treatise on Adjusting the Four Qi* states: "Nourish yang in spring and summer, nourish yin in autumn and winter, following their roots, so you may grow and flourish with all living things. To oppose them is to harm the root and destroy true nature." Following the principle of spring growth, summer flourishing, autumn harvest, and winter storage, spring is precisely when temperatures rise and yang energy returns. Thus, health preservation should focus on nurturing yang to align with seasonal change.
Second: Reduce sour foods, increase sweet ones, and nourish the spleen and stomach.
As Tang Dynasty’s Medical Sage Sun Simiao said: "For the 72 days of spring, reduce sour foods and increase sweet ones to nourish the spleen." Meaning: During spring, when liver qi is strong, avoid sour foods, as they further intensify liver qi and harm the spleen and stomach. Instead, consume more sweet, neutral foods such as lean meat, eggs, milk, honey, soy products, and fresh vegetables. Since spring sees strong liver qi and weak spleen qi, and the spleen governs the limbs, weak spleen qi leads to weakness and fatigue in the limbs. Thus, spleen tonification is essential. Medicinal supplementation is less effective than dietary adjustment. Eat more crucian carp, carrots, apples, and yam to strengthen the spleen. Methods to strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness include:
1. Dietary Therapy:
★ White Crucian Carp Soup: Pan-fry both sides of the fish until golden brown, then boil rapidly with boiling water until milky white. Add 3g cardamom, 3g tangerine peel, 20g coriander, and 10g ginger, simmer briefly for three minutes. Crucian carp is sweet and neutral, nourishing without overheating, strengthening the spleen and removing dampness, rich in nutrients. TCM considers this formula highly effective for spleen and stomach tonification.
★ Field Thyme and Crucian Carp Soup: 30g field thyme, 250g crucian carp, 10g ginger, boiled into soup. Not only strengthens the spleen and removes dampness but also helps prevent favism.
★ Cardamom, Coix, and Yam Porridge: 5g cardamom, 30g coix seed, 30g yam, 100g rice, cooked into porridge.
2. Herbal Therapy:
① If suffering from gastroenteric flu in spring with general fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, abdominal distension, and thick tongue coating, take Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills or Huoxiang Zhengqi Water.
② For those with weak spleen and stomach, experiencing poor appetite, loose stools, and fatigue, take Shenling Baizhu San to regulate and tonify the spleen and stomach.
3. External Washing to Remove Dampness and Refresh the Spleen:
Boil 100g ginger, 20g tangerine peel, and 30g mint in water for bathing. This warms the spleen and stomach, removes dampness, and alleviates fatigue. If inconvenient, simply soak feet in this water.
Third: Promote Liver Qi Flow
*Suwen: The Great Treatise on Adjusting the Four Qi* says: "In the three months of spring, this is the time of renewal—the sky and earth both come alive, all things flourish. Go to bed late and rise early, walk widely in the courtyard, let hair down and loosen clothes, so that the will may arise. Let life flourish, do not kill, give freely, do not take away, reward but do not punish—this is the response to spring’s energy, the way of health preservation."
Spring is the season for liver qi to expand. Since the liver enjoys smooth flow and dislikes depression, one should follow nature, promote liver qi, and maintain emotional well-being. Engage in beneficial sports and cultural activities outdoors, relax the body, open the heart, avoid anger, and promote blood and qi circulation to relieve spring drowsiness.