The best time to take a lunch break according to traditional Chinese medicine

According to the mainstream practice and theoretical consensus of traditional Chinese medicine health care, the best time window for lunch break is noon (11:00-13:00), and the optimal length of a single break for healthy ordinary people is 15-30 minutes.； At the same time, different schools of traditional Chinese medicine and people with different physical constitutions also have differentiated room for adjustment. Some Taoist medical traditions even regard the "Zhengyang Hour" of 10 minutes before and after 12 o'clock as a golden window for taking a nap.

This time setting does not come out of thin air. According to the operating rules of Ziwu Flow, noon is the time when the Heart Meridian is in command. At this time, Yang Qi between heaven and earth rises to its peak, and Yin Qi just begins to sprout. It is a key node in the day when Yin and Yang transfer. Taking a short nap actually helps the body follow this transition. It not only nourishes the heart Qi, but also helps the Yin Qi to grow smoothly. Don't tell me it's really effective. When I was doing field follow-up for the clinic, I met a young man who went to the building materials market all year round. He used to have a headache at two or three o'clock in the afternoon every day.

Of course, not everyone is suitable for the standard of hard card, and it is not necessary to sleep for half an hour to be effective. Many doctors from the febrile disease school have mentioned that people who have excessive yang energy and have difficulty falling asleep, or who don't get up until eight or nine o'clock in the morning, do not have to force themselves to lie flat and take a nap. At noon, find a ventilated place to sit, close your eyes and relax for 10 minutes, and don't use your phone and don't think about work. I have a friend who is an Internet designer. I read a health post saying that I must take a half-hour lunch break. As a result, I lay down until two o'clock in the afternoon and couldn't fall asleep. I kept my eyes open until three o'clock in the evening. Later, I changed to leaning on a chair to listen to light music for five minutes at noon, and rubbing the Laogong point on the palm of my hand for two minutes with my eyes closed. My sleep became normal at night, and I never stared at the design draft in the afternoon.

What’s interesting is that many of the veteran Chinese doctors I’ve come across who have been practicing clinical practice for decades don’t have “standard” lunch break habits, but they all fall within the noon time range: There is a 70-year-old man who sees an internal medicine department. He has been used to sitting on the clinic chair at 12 o’clock sharp all his life, with an old cotton pad behind his back that has been used for more than ten years. He wakes up after 15 minutes of squinting, gets up and washes his face, and then continues to see the doctor. After sitting for three hours in the afternoon, his waist does not feel sore.； There is also a sister who practices acupuncture. She is used to finishing lunch at 11:30, walking slowly in the corridor of the clinic for 10 minutes to eliminate food, and lying on the physiotherapy bed at 11:40 to sleep for 20 minutes. She said that when she falls asleep at this time, her hands are very stable when inserting acupuncture for patients in the afternoon. If she misses this point when rushing to work, even if she catches up on sleep for an hour in the afternoon, her wrist will feel heavy when inserting acupuncture, and she will not be able to use her strength.

Many people think that the longer the lunch break, the better. In fact, it is not true. The "Huangdi Neijing" has long said that "lying down for a long time hurts the Qi". If you sleep for one or two hours at a stretch during the lunch break, and then you are suddenly woken up by the alarm clock when you enter a deep sleep, and your heart beats for a long time and cannot be slowed down, then the Yang Qi has been disturbed, which in turn consumes the mind. There are also many office workers who are accustomed to sleeping directly on their desks after eating. They press their arms to press their stomachs, and when they get up, they burp and have acid reflux, and their hands are numb for a long time. In fact, they suppress the transportation pathways of the spleen and stomach, and also compress the pericardial meridian, which is not worth the gain. Even if you buy a U-shaped pillow to sleep on, it is better than sleeping on your stomach.

In fact, there is never a one-size-fits-all "standard answer" when it comes to health care. The so-called best time is essentially to follow the rhythm of heaven and earth to help the body save energy. If you feel refreshed after squinting for 20 minutes at noon, then keep at it ； If you feel like you can't fall asleep after tossing and turning even if you sleep for 10 minutes, then you might as well sit and bask in the sun for a while, close your eyes for a while, and do whatever makes you feel comfortable. After all, the best way to maintain your health is what suits you.