The Best Way to Stay Healthy After the Start of Winter: Ten Key Tips for Winter Health
The Best Way to Stay Healthy After the Start of Winter: Ten Key Tips for Winter Health
Sun Exposure
The ancient Chinese medical text, the "Huangdi Neijing," states, "Follow the sunlight." In other words, a lifestyle that truly adheres to the principles of health follows the rhythm of the sun. In summer, when the sun rises early, one should wake up early, and in winter, you should rise a little later. This practice is meant to nurture the body's "yang" energy. Only after the sun has risen does the body's vitality gradually strengthen.
"Yang" energy refers to various functions of the body. These functions undergo cyclical changes based on day and night, as well as seasonal variations. In the early morning, "yang" energy is just beginning to thrive, and the body's immune system is relatively weak. Factors like blood pressure and blood sugar may fluctuate. This is why some people who exercise vigorously in the early morning suddenly experience adverse effects. In Western medicine, this can be attributed to unstable blood sugar and blood pressure, while in traditional Chinese medicine, it's attributed to weak "yang" energy. Therefore, the best approach is to align your routine with the sun. Don't sleep in during the summer, but in winter, it's okay to linger in bed.
"After the start of winter, it's better to get up later in the morning to preserve 'yang' energy and accumulate 'yin' essence. In the morning, it's best to get up after the sun has risen to ensure adequate sleep. This is especially important for older individuals," says Liu Qingyi, a specialist at the Zhang Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. Additionally, during the winter, engage in outdoor activities to increase heat production, regulate metabolic functions, stimulate the cerebral cortex, and maintain body temperature. However, due to the cold weather in winter, it's crucial to perform warm-up exercises before exercising.
Ten Key Tips for Winter Health
Stay Hydrated
Winter's dry climate can easily lead to dehydration. Drinking plain water regularly not only meets the body's needs but also helps with urination, detoxification, and waste elimination. While sweating and urination are reduced in winter, the body still requires moisture to maintain normal cellular function in various organs, including the brain.
It's recommended to consume between 2000 and 3000 milliliters of water daily in the winter.
Outdoor Activities and Sweat
Outdoor activities can stimulate heat production, regulate metabolic functions, enhance cerebral cortex activity, and help with temperature regulation. Engaging in physical activities and sweating a bit is vital to boost overall health. Combining both light and moderate exercises, such as jogging and stretching, is ideal. Excessive sweating can weaken "yang" energy during the winter.
Exercise should be tailored to individual constitution and age. For example, people with cardiovascular diseases should avoid vigorous sports like basketball and mountain climbing. Those with respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or pulmonary heart disease should choose to exercise when there's ample sunlight in the morning or afternoon to avoid cold exposure, reducing the risk of exacerbation. Older individuals should prioritize keeping warm and avoid early morning exercises to prevent inadequate blood supply to the brain, which can trigger strokes.
Boost Immunity
Cold weather in winter can trigger the recurrence or worsening of chronic illnesses, so staying warm is crucial. Due to the reduced ventilation caused by closed doors and windows, indoor air quality can be compromised. The lack of moisture in indoor and outdoor air in the winter can dry out the nasal passages, providing a favorable environment for bacteria to thrive. Additionally, large temperature differences between indoor and outdoor environments require more energy from the body to adapt to these variations, making it more vulnerable to bacterial infections.
Especially protect yourself from extreme cold and windy weather, and have emergency medications readily available. Furthermore, pay attention to cold-resistant exercises to enhance resistance and prevent respiratory illnesses.
Mental Well-being
Winter is a season devoid of vitality, which can lead to feelings of laziness, restlessness, and depression. The "winter blues" or "seasonal affective disorder" is a common psychological condition that affects many people during the winter. The best way to combat this is to engage in physical activities such as jogging, ice-skating, dancing, and playing sports, with varying intensity, to alleviate restlessness and improve mood.
Sleep In a Bit
A famous Tang dynasty physician, Sun Simiao, once said, "In winter, don't rise too early and return too late; avoid the cold." Sleep in to preserve "yang" energy, and rise later to conserve "yin" essence. There's a saying that goes, "Winter mornings are for lingering in bed." Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that spring is a time for growth, summer for maturity, autumn for harvest, and winter for storage. Winter is the best time to store and nurture vitality.
Protect your "yang" energy, nurture your essence, sleep in after the sun rises. Also, it's advisable to avoid sweating that can lead to the depletion of stored "yang" energy.
Kidney Nourishment
Winter is known as a season of storage. In traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys control storage. Therefore, winter is the ideal time to nourish the kidneys. By supplementing your diet and focusing on kidney nourishment in winter, you can make your kidney essence more abundant, which benefits your health and helps prevent illness in the coming year. This aligns with the concept of "preventing disease before it occurs."
When supplementing your diet during winter, it's crucial to pay attention to your individual constitution, as different people may have deficiencies in "qi," blood, "yin," "yang," or a combination of these. Seek guidance from an experienced doctor to determine your personalized approach. This way, your efforts can be more effective, and you can avoid excessive supplementation.
Tea to Refresh the Mind
Drinking tea in winter is excellent for refreshing the mind and invigorating the body. Tea can stimulate the central nervous system, enhance memory, boost alertness, increase physical endurance, promote digestion, stimulate gastric juice secretion, improve appetite, alleviate fatigue, and enhance metabolism. Tea contains various vitamins and trace elements that are essential for the human body. Green tea, in particular, has anti-cancer properties and provides excellent health benefits. Those working long hours with computers should consider drinking tea regularly.
Red tea is the top choice for winter consumption. Red tea is warming and nourishing to the body's "yang" energy. It contains abundant
Sun Exposure
The ancient Chinese medical text, the "Huangdi Neijing," states, "Follow the sunlight." In other words, a lifestyle that truly adheres to the principles of health follows the rhythm of the sun. In summer, when the sun rises early, one should wake up early, and in winter, you should rise a little later. This practice is meant to nurture the body's "yang" energy. Only after the sun has risen does the body's vitality gradually strengthen.
"Yang" energy refers to various functions of the body. These functions undergo cyclical changes based on day and night, as well as seasonal variations. In the early morning, "yang" energy is just beginning to thrive, and the body's immune system is relatively weak. Factors like blood pressure and blood sugar may fluctuate. This is why some people who exercise vigorously in the early morning suddenly experience adverse effects. In Western medicine, this can be attributed to unstable blood sugar and blood pressure, while in traditional Chinese medicine, it's attributed to weak "yang" energy. Therefore, the best approach is to align your routine with the sun. Don't sleep in during the summer, but in winter, it's okay to linger in bed.
"After the start of winter, it's better to get up later in the morning to preserve 'yang' energy and accumulate 'yin' essence. In the morning, it's best to get up after the sun has risen to ensure adequate sleep. This is especially important for older individuals," says Liu Qingyi, a specialist at the Zhang Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. Additionally, during the winter, engage in outdoor activities to increase heat production, regulate metabolic functions, stimulate the cerebral cortex, and maintain body temperature. However, due to the cold weather in winter, it's crucial to perform warm-up exercises before exercising.
Ten Key Tips for Winter Health
Stay Hydrated
Winter's dry climate can easily lead to dehydration. Drinking plain water regularly not only meets the body's needs but also helps with urination, detoxification, and waste elimination. While sweating and urination are reduced in winter, the body still requires moisture to maintain normal cellular function in various organs, including the brain.
It's recommended to consume between 2000 and 3000 milliliters of water daily in the winter.
Outdoor Activities and Sweat
Outdoor activities can stimulate heat production, regulate metabolic functions, enhance cerebral cortex activity, and help with temperature regulation. Engaging in physical activities and sweating a bit is vital to boost overall health. Combining both light and moderate exercises, such as jogging and stretching, is ideal. Excessive sweating can weaken "yang" energy during the winter.
Exercise should be tailored to individual constitution and age. For example, people with cardiovascular diseases should avoid vigorous sports like basketball and mountain climbing. Those with respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or pulmonary heart disease should choose to exercise when there's ample sunlight in the morning or afternoon to avoid cold exposure, reducing the risk of exacerbation. Older individuals should prioritize keeping warm and avoid early morning exercises to prevent inadequate blood supply to the brain, which can trigger strokes.
Boost Immunity
Cold weather in winter can trigger the recurrence or worsening of chronic illnesses, so staying warm is crucial. Due to the reduced ventilation caused by closed doors and windows, indoor air quality can be compromised. The lack of moisture in indoor and outdoor air in the winter can dry out the nasal passages, providing a favorable environment for bacteria to thrive. Additionally, large temperature differences between indoor and outdoor environments require more energy from the body to adapt to these variations, making it more vulnerable to bacterial infections.
Especially protect yourself from extreme cold and windy weather, and have emergency medications readily available. Furthermore, pay attention to cold-resistant exercises to enhance resistance and prevent respiratory illnesses.
Mental Well-being
Winter is a season devoid of vitality, which can lead to feelings of laziness, restlessness, and depression. The "winter blues" or "seasonal affective disorder" is a common psychological condition that affects many people during the winter. The best way to combat this is to engage in physical activities such as jogging, ice-skating, dancing, and playing sports, with varying intensity, to alleviate restlessness and improve mood.
Sleep In a Bit
A famous Tang dynasty physician, Sun Simiao, once said, "In winter, don't rise too early and return too late; avoid the cold." Sleep in to preserve "yang" energy, and rise later to conserve "yin" essence. There's a saying that goes, "Winter mornings are for lingering in bed." Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that spring is a time for growth, summer for maturity, autumn for harvest, and winter for storage. Winter is the best time to store and nurture vitality.
Protect your "yang" energy, nurture your essence, sleep in after the sun rises. Also, it's advisable to avoid sweating that can lead to the depletion of stored "yang" energy.
Kidney Nourishment
Winter is known as a season of storage. In traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys control storage. Therefore, winter is the ideal time to nourish the kidneys. By supplementing your diet and focusing on kidney nourishment in winter, you can make your kidney essence more abundant, which benefits your health and helps prevent illness in the coming year. This aligns with the concept of "preventing disease before it occurs."
When supplementing your diet during winter, it's crucial to pay attention to your individual constitution, as different people may have deficiencies in "qi," blood, "yin," "yang," or a combination of these. Seek guidance from an experienced doctor to determine your personalized approach. This way, your efforts can be more effective, and you can avoid excessive supplementation.
Tea to Refresh the Mind
Drinking tea in winter is excellent for refreshing the mind and invigorating the body. Tea can stimulate the central nervous system, enhance memory, boost alertness, increase physical endurance, promote digestion, stimulate gastric juice secretion, improve appetite, alleviate fatigue, and enhance metabolism. Tea contains various vitamins and trace elements that are essential for the human body. Green tea, in particular, has anti-cancer properties and provides excellent health benefits. Those working long hours with computers should consider drinking tea regularly.
Red tea is the top choice for winter consumption. Red tea is warming and nourishing to the body's "yang" energy. It contains abundant
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