With shifts in the seasons, there is often a shift in our sleep patterns, with a lot of our patients coming in with complaints of restless nights or overly active dreaming/nightmares. Under the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this occurs because we are moving from a season of Yang energy (summer) to a season of Yin energy (Fall and then Winter).
Human beings have an intrinsic and powerful connection to sunlight that evolved over thousands of years. Before the advent of electricity we were bound by the constraints of daylight, and our sleep cycles followed suit. But today, electricity and technological stimulation allow our minds and bodies to be active after sundown, which can wreak havoc on our health. Many hormonal processes in our body are literally hardwired to be orchestrated by sunlight and the absence of sunlight. It is no surprise that adhering to a normal sleep pattern is therefore highly important to maintaining optimal health.
