🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Insomnia
Insomnia refers to a condition characterized primarily by persistent difficulty falling asleep. Its causes may include excessive worry or other underlying diseases. The commonly used and effective proven remedies are mainly as follows.
[Formula One]
500 grams of flour, 500 grams of eggs, 30 grams of jujube paste, 100 grams of lotus seeds, 650 grams of sugar, 20 grams of vegetable oil. Remove the hearts from dried lotus seeds, place in a pot, add water and cook until soft and sticky. Wrap the lotus seeds in clean cloth and mash into paste. Beat eggs in a bowl until smooth, add sugar and beat for about 35 minutes until the egg mixture turns from pale yellow to white. Then add flour and lotus seed paste, stir evenly. Place a clean cloth on a steamer tray, put in a wooden square frame, grease the frame with vegetable oil, pour in half the egg mixture, use a metal ladle to spread flat, then pour in the remaining mixture, spread evenly, steam until cooked. Cut into long strips or square blocks for breakfast consumption.
This formula strengthens the spleen and heart, nourishes blood, and calms the spirit, suitable for insomnia caused by deficiency of heart and spleen blood.
[Formula Two]
10 grams of Coptis, 20 grams of white peony root, 2 fresh eggs (discard egg whites), 50 grams of donkey-hide gelatin. First, boil Coptis and white peony root to extract 150 ml of concentrated decoction, then filter out the residue. Next, dissolve 50 ml of water with donkey-hide gelatin using water bath method, pour the medicine juice into a slow fire to simmer into a paste. When nearly done, stir in the egg yolks. Take appropriate amount, take once before bedtime each night.
This formula harmonizes heart and kidney, suitable for insomnia due to disharmony between heart and kidney.
[Formula Three]
75 grams of sour jujube seeds, 30 grams of frankincense, 60 ml of honey, 0.5 grams of realgar, 50 grams of glutinous rice, 15 grams of cinnabar. Grind the herbs into extremely fine powder, mix well. Add 5 ml of wine and honey together, slowly simmer into a thin pancake-like consistency. Take at any time, swallow about 15 grams with warm wine.
This formula calms the gallbladder and soothes the spirit, suitable for insomnia due to gallbladder deficiency.
[Formula Four]
15 grams of pinellia, 50 grams of millet. Use clear river water, clarify, take the clear liquid, boil millet and pinellia into a porridge-like consistency, but consume only the juice, about one small cup. Three times daily, continue for three days until improvement.
This formula removes phlegm, reduces counterflow, harmonizes stomach, regulates yin-yang, suitable for insomnia caused by phlegm stagnation in the stomach leading to yin-yang imbalance.
[Formula Five]
12 grams of codonopsis, 15 grams of astragalus, 9 grams each of white atractylodes and polygala, 10 grams of stir-fried sour jujube seeds, 12 grams of longan flesh, 8 grams of safflower, 6 grams of licorice, 9 grams of angelica, 6 grams of polygala, 3 slices of ginger, 5 jujubes. Decoct and take orally, one dose per day, twice daily in morning and evening.
This formula tonifies heart and spleen, nourishes blood, and calms the spirit, suitable for insomnia caused by deficiency of heart and spleen blood.
[Formula Six]
12 grams of Coptis, 15 grams of cinnabar, 10 grams each of rehmannia root and angelica, 6 grams of fried licorice. Decoct and take orally, one dose per day, twice daily in morning and evening.
This formula clears heart heat, nourishes yin, and calms the spirit, suitable for insomnia due to disharmony between heart and kidney.
[Formula Seven]
15 grams of poria, 12 grams of polygala, 10 grams each of ginseng and acorus, 12 grams of calamus rhizome, 6 grams of dragon bone. Decoct and take orally, one dose per day, twice daily in morning and evening.
This formula strengthens qi, calms shock, calms the spirit, and steadies the will, suitable for insomnia caused by deficiency of heart and gallbladder qi.
[Formula Eight]
10 grams of polygala, 9 grams of hawthorn, 12 grams of poria, 9 grams of pinellia, 10 grams of tangerine peel, 6 grams of forsythia, 15 grams of radish seed. Decoct and take orally, after lunch and dinner.
This formula strengthens the spleen, harmonizes the stomach, eliminates stagnation, and aids digestion, suitable for insomnia caused by disharmony of stomach qi.
[Formula Nine]
100 grams of longan flesh, 400 ml of 60-degree baijiu. Place longan flesh in a narrow-mouthed bottle, add baijiu, seal tightly, shake once daily. After half a month, it can be consumed. Twice daily, 10–20 ml each time, suitable for symptoms such as weakness from overwork, insomnia, forgetfulness, palpitations.
This formula originates from "Wan's Family Prescriptions," originally used for "warming and supplementing the spleen and stomach, enhancing mental vitality," commonly used for treating weakness and palpitations. The name was added later.
The longan flesh is sweet and warm, capable of nourishing the heart and spleen, enriching blood, and calming the spirit, showing certain efficacy for nervous palpitations. Combined with baijiu, it promotes circulation through meridians and enhances medicinal effects.
Contraindicated for individuals with internal phlegm-fire or dampness retention.
[Formula Ten]
5 jujubes, 50 grams of millet, 10 grams of polygala. First boil polygala, filter the liquid, then combine with jujubes and millet to cook into porridge. Consume twice daily, morning and evening.
This formula strengthens the spleen, nourishes the heart, calms the spirit, and improves willpower, suitable for all cases of heart-spleen deficiency, palpitations, restlessness, insomnia, forgetfulness, and lack of concentration.
[Formula Eleven]
30 grams of fresh lily, 80 grams of glutinous rice, appropriate amount of rock sugar. Separate lily petals, wash clean, set aside. Cook glutinous rice as usual, when almost done, add lily and cook until porridge is ready, add rock sugar for flavor. Consume twice daily, warm and at room temperature in morning and evening.
This formula moistens lungs, stops cough, calms the spirit, suitable for those with cough, restlessness, palpitations, and insomnia due to deficiency of both heart and lung.
[Formula Twelve]
One section of fresh tender lotus root, one pear. Wash the fresh tender lotus root, remove the nodes and outer skin, chop finely. Peel and core the pear, chop finely. Squeeze juice separately using clean gauze, combine both juices.
This formula clears heat, resolves phlegm, relieves irritability, and calms the spirit. Regular consumption improves sleep quality in those with heat-induced insomnia, especially effective for irritability, thirst, cough, and inability to sleep due to upper-jiao phlegm-heat.
[Formula Thirteen]
Three pears, 25 grams of rock sugar. Wash pears, peel, slice, add water and boil for 20 minutes, season with rock sugar, divide into two portions, drink soup and eat pear.
This formula clears heat, resolves phlegm, harmonizes the middle energizer, and calms the spirit, suitable for insomnia and irritability due to phlegm-heat disturbing the heart or heat damage to body fluids after illness.
[Formula Fourteen]
50 grams of dry lily, 200 grams of flour, appropriate amount of water.
Mix lily into powder, add water and flour, knead into dough, make into pancakes, pan-fry until cooked. Eat regularly.
This formula strengthens the spleen and heart, clears heat, and calms the spirit. Suitable for palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, forgetfulness, poor appetite, fatigue due to heart-spleen deficiency and restless spirit. Lily is mild in nature; regular long-term consumption by healthy individuals can provide health benefits and longevity.
[Formula Fifteen]
10 grams of licorice, 5 jujubes, 10 grams of wheat. Soak licorice, wheat, and jujubes in cold water, then simmer gently for half an hour per decoction. Decoct twice, combine the decoctions, take twice daily, warm, drink the liquid and eat the jujubes.
This formula nourishes the heart, calms the spirit, harmonizes the middle energizer, and relieves tension. Suitable for insomnia, night sweats, mental confusion, irritability, and sadness due to heart qi deficiency, yin deficiency, and blood insufficiency, as well as liver qi stagnation.
[Formula Sixteen]
One pig heart, appropriate amount of green onion whites, 250 grams of wolfberry greens, appropriate amount of fermented soybeans. Clean the pig heart thoroughly, cut into small pieces. Chop wolfberry greens and green onion whites. Place fermented soybeans in a pot, add water, boil to extract soybean broth. Add pig heart, wolfberry greens, and green onion whites into the broth, add rice wine and salt, simmer gently into a porridge. Serve as a meal accompaniment.
This formula nourishes the heart, calms the spirit, clears heat, and relieves irritability, suitable for insomnia caused by insufficient heart blood combined with heat signs.
[Formula Seventeen]
20 jujubes, 10 grams of green onion whites. Wash jujubes, split open, combine with green onion whites in a pot, add water and boil. After boiling for 15–20 minutes, remove from heat, strain and collect the liquid. Drink once every night, warm and hot.
This formula tonifies the center, boosts qi, nourishes blood, and calms the spirit, suitable for insomnia due to heart-spleen deficiency, palpitations, weakness, poor appetite, fatigue, and restlessness.
[Formula Eighteen]
30 grams of stir-fried sour jujube seeds, 50 grams of glutinous rice, appropriate amount of sugar. Crush sour jujube seeds, wrap in gauze bag, boil with glutinous rice into porridge. Remove the gauze bag when porridge is ready, add sugar for flavor, or use decoction of sour jujube seeds to cook porridge. Take once daily, either in the evening or before bedtime.
This formula nourishes the liver, calms the heart, calms the spirit, and stops sweating, suitable for insomnia due to deficiency of heart-liver blood, restless sleep at night.
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