01 Introduction

In this section, we introduce the traditional herbal medicine concept of yuan-shen. This complex term can be translated into English as spirit, soul, consciousness, mind, and more. For our discussion, we will use the term yuan-shen or spirit.

The following case on insomnia is from the patient files of Dr. Guo Yaning, who has practiced herbal medicine for over thirty years. She runs a medical clinic in Xi’an, China, and hosts a podcast on traditional herbal medicine.

02 Treating Insomnia: Herbal Medicine Approach

01 The Problem

One winter, a few years ago, a female patient suffering from long-term insomnia visited the Yannong Clinic to see Dr. Guo Yaning.

How long had she been suffering from insomnia?

Since giving birth in her twenties, she often woke up at night to care for her child. Although her sleep improved as the child grew, her father’s death at age 47 triggered a relapse. The noisy funeral and her intense grief left her unable to sleep well for the next twenty years.

The patient, now 67, described her struggle: no matter when she lay down, she couldn’t fall asleep before 1 or 2 AM and woke up at 4 or 5 AM. She felt sore and exhausted upon waking, and her days were filled with fatigue and daze. Nightmares plagued her sleep, making rest more tiring than being awake.

For two decades, she sought treatment from various Chinese and Western medicine doctors. Her family’s financial stability allowed her to continue seeking help until she was finally introduced to Dr. Guo.

02 The General Principle

Dr. Guo explained that sleep is governed by the heart, which stores the yuan-shen (spirit). In traditional herbal medicine, insomnia and frequent dreams are referred to as “unsettled six spirits.” If the spirit is uncomfortable in the body, sleep becomes difficult.

Traditional Chinese culture views people as having two parts: the spirit and the body. The spirit is the essence, while the body is merely the house where the spirit resides. The spirit commands the body, enabling movement and speech. When the spirit is uneasy, it causes restlessness, leading to poor sleep.

Dr. Guo further explained that while most behaviors are directed by the spirit, some are not. Bodily functions like stomach peristalsis, liver detoxification, and kidney filtration are instinctive and independent of the spirit. In Western terms, this is akin to thinking, while herbal medicine refers to it as the spirit.

For example, a man might be so captivated by a beautiful woman that he doesn’t hear others calling him, a sign of losing his spirit. A person whose spirit is not secure within the body, with unfocused vision and erratic behavior, is considered ill. Insomnia is thus a manifestation of the spirit being absent.

03 What is Insomnia?

There are misconceptions about what constitutes insomnia. For instance, a person might sleep for over ten hours but experience poor sleep quality, with constant dreams and intermittent waking. This is still considered insomnia.

To judge insomnia, we must look beyond sleep duration and assess whether the spirit has rested well, which determines sleep quality. Some people sleep for over ten hours but remain restless, while others sleep for only four or five hours but wake up refreshed. The latter is not insomnia, as their spirit has fully rested.

(To be continued)