Understanding the Chinese Body Clock and Circadian Rhythms can Help you understand your sleep cycles and health
In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is believed that each organ has its point of highest energy and lowest energy.
This 24-hour cycle is believed to help us know when to exercise, eat, have sex, rest and sleep. It also acts as a way to communicate with a particular organ or meridian (energy channel) of the body.
From this chart, we see many correlations with daily activities that can influence our health. Imbalances within this system result in anxiety, nausea, and/or insomnia.
Chinese Medicine practitioners use this clock to help them determine the organ responsible for disease and disruptions in your cycles based on time. For example, if you are waking up consistently between 3 and 5 am, this is related to your lungs and could be from grief or sadness as each organ is related to emotions.
More Examples
Grief or Sadness (Waking up between 3-5AM) – if you find yourself waking up between the hours of 3-5am each morning, you may have underlying grief or sadness that is bothering you or you may have a condition in the lung area. Relaxing breathing exercises can help if waking up at this time.
Anger or Resentment (Waking up between 1-3AM) – If feelings of anger or resentment arise, you may feel them strongest during the time of the Liver which is 1-3am. Thoughts of someone you love can be helpful if waking up at this time.
Breakfast – 7-9am is when our stomach system is most active making it a good time for breakfast.
Pent-up Emotions or Fear (Back pain 5-7PM) Perhaps if you experience back pain at the end of your working day, you could have pent-up emotions of fear, or perhaps even Kidney issues.
Exercise/Sex (Also 5-7PM) On the positive side, the kidney system, is the root of our overall energy and is most active between 5-7pm a good time for exercise, have sex, or conceive.
Relax (7-9PM) The pericardium system is most active from 7-9pm, which is a good time to start relaxing and unwinding from the day.
More Details
Chinese medicine uses the Chinese clock to help diagnose and treat various issues. Someone who wakes between 1-3am rather than 3-5am tells us the liver system is likely related to their insomnia as opposed to the lung meridian. Digestive problems that are worse between 7-9pm may indicate a weak stomach system as that is when its control is at its weakest point.
More Details on what each two-hour cycle represents
5 – 7 AM – the time of the Large Intestine making it a perfect time to have a bowel movement and remove toxins from the day before. It is also the ideal time to wash your body and comb your hair. It is believed that combing your hair helps to clear out energy from the mind. At this time, emotions of defensiveness or feelings of being stuck could be evoked.
7 – 9 AM – the time of the Stomach so it is important to eat the biggest meal of the day here to optimize digestion and absorption. Warm meals that are high in nutrition are best in the morning. Emotions that are likely to be stirred at this time include disgust or despair.
9 – 11AM – the time of the Pancreas and Spleen, where enzymes are released to help digest food and release energy for the day ahead. This is the ideal time to exercise and work. Do your most taxing tasks of the day at this time. Emotions such as low self-esteem may be felt at this time.
11 AM – 1 PM – the time of the Heart which will work to pump nutrients around the body to help provide you with energy and nutrition. This is also a good time to eat lunch and it is recommended to have a light, cooked meal. Having a one hour nap or a cup of tea is also recommended during this time. Feelings of extreme joy or sadness can also be experienced at this time.
1 – 3 PM – the time of the Small Intestine and is when food eaten earlier will complete its digestion and assimilation. This is also a good time to go about daily tasks or exercise. Sometimes, vulnerable thoughts or feelings of abandonment my subconsciously arise at this time.
3 – 5 PM – the time of the Bladder when metabolic wastes move into the kidney’s filtration system. This is the perfect time to study or complete brain-challenging work. Another cup of tea is advised as is drinking a lot of water to help aid detoxification processes. Feeling irritated or timid may also occur at this time.
5 – 7 PM – the time of the Kidneys when the blood is filtered and the kidneys work to maintain proper chemical balance. This is the perfect time to have dinner and to activate your circulation either by exercise, walking, having a massage or stretching. Subconscious thoughts of fear or terror can also be active at this time.
7 – 9 PM – the time of Circulation when nutrients are carried to the capillaries and to each cell. This is the perfect time to read. Avoid doing mental activities at this time. A difficulty in expressing emotions may also be felt however, this is the perfect time to have sex or conceive.
9 – 11 PM – the time of Triple Heater or endocrine system where the body’s homeostasis is adjusted and enzymes are replenished. It is recommended to sleep at this time so the body can conserve energy for the following day. Feelings of paranoia or confusion may also be felt.
11 PM – 1 AM – the time of the Gall Bladder and in order to wake feeling energized the body should be at rest. In Chinese medicine, this period of time is when yin energy fades and yang energy begins to grow. Yang energy helps you to keep active during the day and is stored when you are asleep. Subconscious feelings of resentment may appear during this time.
1 – 3 AM – the time of the Liver and a time when the body should be asleep. During this time, toxins are released from the body and fresh new blood is made. If you find yourself waking during this time, you could have too much yang energy or problems with your liver or detoxification pathways. This is also the time of anger, frustration, and rage.
3 – 5 AM – the time of the Lungs and again, this is the time where the body should be asleep. If woken at this time, nerve soothing exercises are recommended such as breathing exercises. The body should be kept warm at this time too to help the lungs replenish the body with oxygen. The lungs are also associated with feelings of grief and sadness.
When 1 Organ is Active it’s Opposite is at Rest
When one organ is at its peak energy, the organ at the opposite side of the clock, 12 hours away, is at its lowest ebb. For example, between 1-3 a.m., the liver reaches its peak, doing its work to cleanse the blood, while the small intestine, the organ responsible for the absorption and assimilation of many key nutrients, is at its ebb. What does this tell us? Principally, that it must be taxing to the system to deal with late-night meals and snacking. The body is not programmed to accommodate the modern habit of late-night screen-based stimulation and the eating habits that go with it. When we eat late at night, food is not well absorbed by the small intestine and the liver has little opportunity to do its job of housekeeping.
The idea, then, is to try when you can to plan daily activity around an organ system’s peak energy, while avoiding actions that can tax a system when its energy is at its lowest ebb. Think of lifestyle habits you might modify in order to better synchronize your system’s energy ebbs and flows:
Lungs: With the lungs at their peak energy in the early morning, you might want to schedule aerobic exercise at this time rather than later in the day. And, if you must speak through the long work day, presentations given earlier in the day benefit from greater lung energy. Laryngitis can set in late afternoon when lung energy is depleted.
Large Intestine: To get the day off to a good start, give yourself enough time early in the morning to honor the normal elimination function of the large intestine.
Stomach/Pancreas/Small Intestine: Try to eat heavier meals early in the day—at breakfast when the stomach is at its peak, and at lunch, to catch Qi’s expanding/warming energy as it crests at midday. Eating larger meals of the day early delivers nourishment to the small intestine when it is strongest, which aids absorption and assimilation.
Kidneys: The kidneys are aligned with the adrenals, the glands that produce cortisol to help us spring out of bed in the morning. Early morning, from 5 a.m.-7 a.m., is when kidney energy is weakest—a reason that people with depleted kidney energy often have trouble waking up to a new day.
Liver: The liver stores and cleanses the blood, a fact that becomes more interesting as we consider personal experience. Have you ever partied too much in the evening, and awakened in the wee hours of the morning feeling “off” and unable to fall back to sleep? Chances are good that you were tossing and turning between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. when your alcohol over-loaded liver was struggling to do its work. The timing of the liver’s peak activity also speaks to consuming the last meal of the day as early as possible. The liver’s daily programming assumes an early dinner and bedtime. Before electricity and the light bulb, people ate supper and retired early, allowing time for the last meal of the day to digest so that the liver could be most effective in its peak hours of activity. The “work shift” of the liver, then, reinforces the concept of making the last meal of the day a light one that is consumed on the early side. The more time that passes after food is eaten before peak activity of the liver, the better the liver will be able to carry out its myriad of functions.
