Do you struggle with this? Feeling extremely tired but tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep, or just dozing off briefly and being startled awake by the slightest noise, finding it impossible to fall back asleep? Don’t take it lightly! From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), long-term poor sleep is often related to internal organ deficiencies and insufficient qi and blood. This is especially true for older adults, who are more prone to deficiencies in the liver and kidneys or insufficient heart-spleen qi and blood.

In TCM theory, the saying "When qi, blood, yin, and yang are imbalanced, one cannot sleep" makes perfect sense. Our liver acts like the body's blood reservoir, while the kidneys store the essence that forms the "foundation of innate vitality." If the liver and kidneys are deficient, and essence and blood are insufficient, the brain and spirit lack nourishment, leading to insomnia. This condition can also manifest with symptoms such as soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, low energy, dizziness, blurred vision, and general fatigue.

Now, let's talk about the heart and spleen. The heart governs blood circulation and houses our mental state, while the spleen is responsible for transforming the food we eat into qi and blood. Once the heart and spleen become deficient, the supply of qi and blood becomes insufficient, and the mental state loses nourishment. How can one sleep soundly at night under such conditions? Moreover, during the day, one is prone to feelings of overall weakness, low energy, poor memory, indigestion, and frequent palpitations.

I once treated a patient in his 40s who had been suffering from insomnia for several years. Every night, when he lay in bed, his mind would race like a movie, with thoughts constantly popping up, making it impossible to relax. He also often experienced dizziness, tinnitus, and felt soreness in his lower back and weakness in his legs even when climbing stairs, accompanied by severe palpitations. After a careful differential diagnosis, I found that he had deficiency in both the heart and spleen, insufficient qi and blood, and severe depletion of kidney essence.

Thus, I prescribed Guipi Decoction for him and added some herbs to tonify the kidney and replenish essence. After one course of treatment, his insomnia showed significant improvement. Later, after another course to consolidate the effects, when his symptoms had improved by about seventy to eighty percent, I switched him to Guipi Pills for further regulation. Guipi Pills can both strengthen the spleen and stomach, calm the mind, and replenish qi and blood, which precisely matched his condition.

However, it is essential to remind everyone that the causes of insomnia vary widely. Medication that works for others may not be suitable for you, so never follow trends blindly when buying and taking medicine! The content of this article is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, it is best to consult a professional TCM practitioner who can assess your pulse and examine your tongue to accurately identify the root cause of your problem and provide targeted treatment.