The first rule: You must go to sleep before the子时

In the concept of health preservation in the Shaolin Temple, sleeping is the most important thing in life. If you do not go to bed before the midnight (equivalent to 11 pm to 1 am), many senior monks who practice medicine will say to you when you go to see a doctor: ‘I will not treat you anymore.’ In fact, it is not that they will not treat you, but that they cannot treat you anymore. People who stay up late for a long time, regardless of gender, directly injure the liver, and over time, injure the kidneys, gradually causing the body to be deficient in both vital energy and blood. Every day, when you look in the mirror, you will feel that your face is as pale as the earth. At this time, even if you take daily supplements and exercise your body, you cannot reverse the damage caused by insufficient or poor sleep.

Therefore, it is okay to get up early, but it is absolutely not okay to stay up late. Many people who are not energetic have the habit of staying up late, which often easily injures the liver, essence, and gallbladder. Such people often have poor eyesight and a melancholic mood, not many happy moments (the lung qi is also affected, and the reason for not getting effective ventilation for a long time). Some people think that if they stay up late at night, they can make up for it during the day, but in fact, it is impossible to make up for it. Either they cannot fall asleep or they do not get enough sleep. Even if they feel that they have made up for it, in fact, their vital energy has been damaged by more than half.

The second principle: it is advisable to think of nothing when going to bed.

‘Consider this body as nothing, or as sugar dissolved in water. First, melt the big toe, then the other toes, followed by the feet, lower legs, and thighs, and finally dissolve into nothingness, and naturally fall asleep.’ This is the ideal mental state for entering sleep according to Zen medicine. Many times, insomnia originates from the indelible thoughts when going to sleep. At this time, do not toss and turn in bed, as it will consume your energy and make it even harder to fall asleep. The best way is to sit up for a while before going to sleep. In fact, for modern people, it is very important to go to bed early to nurture your mood before 11 pm, so as to give your mind and spirit time to slowly calm down. ‘First sleep the heart, then the eyes’ is what this means.

If this still does not work, you can try to stretch your legs simply before going to bed, then sit naturally on the bed or in a half-lotus position, place your hands on top of your legs, breathe naturally, and feel your pores opening and closing with your breath. If you can cry or yawn, it is even better. When you feel sleepy, just lie down and fall asleep.

The third principle: it is advisable to take a short nap or sit quietly to nourish the spirit at noon.

At noon (equivalent to 11 am to 1 pm), if conditions are limited and you cannot sleep, you can sit quietly for a quarter of an hour, close your eyes to nourish your spirit. Monks who meditate in the meditation hall are accustomed to taking a nap at noon. In fact, just closing your eyes and truly sleeping for 3 minutes at noon is equivalent to two hours, but you must be accurate about the time. At night, you should fall asleep at midnight, and 5 minutes is equivalent to six hours.

The fourth principle: one must wake up early.

The benefits of waking up early lie in the fact that, on one hand, it can expel metabolic waste from the body. If you get up too late, the large intestine does not get enough exercise and cannot perform its excretion function well. In addition, the digestive and absorption function of the human body is most active from 7 to 9 am, which is the