Do you also struggle with this problem? Lying in bed at night, tossing and turning like a pancake on a griddle, counting sheep until dawn, yet still staring wide-eyed. From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is often due to disharmony between the heart and kidneys—two old companions. The heart houses the spirit; if the heart is calm, sleep can be peaceful. But if the heart spirit is unsettled, sleep problems will arise.

In the Five Elements theory of TCM, the heart belongs to Fire and the kidneys belong to Water. Only when the heart and kidneys interact harmoniously can the body maintain a balanced state. If the heart fire cannot descend normally to warm the kidney water, and the kidney water cannot ascend to properly restrain the heart fire, then the body will fall out of balance.

People with this condition may exhibit symptoms of excessive heart fire above—such as oral ulcers, mouth sores, irritability, and insomnia, tossing and turning at night with difficulty falling asleep; and cold kidney water below—such as cold lower limbs, frequent and urgent urination, and frequent nighttime urination, which are typical manifestations of upper heat and lower cold.

For this situation, consider using Jiaotai Wan to regulate the body. It contains only two herbs. One is Huanglian (Coptis chinensis), which has a bitter taste and cold nature, and has the effects of clearing heat, reducing fire, detoxifying, and reducing inflammation, helping to suppress the excessive fire in the upper body. The other is Rougui (Cinnamomum cassia), which is very pungent and hot, helping to replenish the kidney's yang energy, and also guiding the fire back to its source to prevent the water below from becoming too cold.

You see, these two work together—one clears and the other tonifies—helping the body restore the normal state of heart and kidney interaction. When the body's yin and yang are balanced and the heart fire no longer disturbs, lying in bed at night naturally leads to better sleep.

The content of this article is intended for knowledge and popular science purposes only. The use of medications should be approached with caution, and blind imitation is strongly discouraged. If you experience any physical discomfort, please seek treatment under the guidance of a professional physician through syndrome differentiation!