Poor sleep quality and chronic sleep deprivation often plague office workers. How can we minimize the harm caused by insufficient sleep? From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, dietary adjustments can help regulate sleep patterns. Let's explore the benefits of medicinal cuisine for alleviating sleep deprivation.
Dietary Remedies for Sleep Deprivation
First, opt for whole grains as your staple food and consume more porridge.Among grains, corn, oats, and millet are most effective for promoting sleep. They contain substances that enhance sleep quality. Consider adding extra portions when steaming rice. If concerned about digestion, prepare whole grains in refined ways—such as steamed cornbread or flatbreads—or cook them into porridge.Deficiencies in zinc and copper can cause restlessness and difficulty falling asleep. In such cases, incorporate zinc- and copper-rich foods like oysters, seafood, and lean meats into your evening meal. These can effectively alleviate nervous exhaustion and ensure a restful night. Additionally, vegetables such as celery, tofu, wood ear mushrooms, and daylilies can replenish energy and promote sleep.
Finally, moderate fruit consumption is beneficial for dinner. Among fruits, apples and kiwis are particularly recommended. Apples replenish energy and alleviate insomnia. Their rich, aromatic scent exerts a potent calming effect on the nervous system.
Kiwis, rich in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C, stabilize emotions and promote sleep.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Dietary Remedies for Sleep Deprivation
Eel and Yam Porridge
1 eel (gutted and split open), 50g each of yam and japonica rice, seasonings to taste. Slice the eel and marinate in a bowl with cooking wine, ginger, scallions, and salt. Simmer with yam and rice into porridge. Consume once daily.
Eel, with its warming nature and high protein content, replenishes essence and strengthens vitality, making it particularly suitable for men. Chinese yam "strengthens the spleen, replenishes deficiency, nourishes essence, fortifies the kidneys, treats various deficiencies and debilities, and heals five labors and seven injuries." Thus, this porridge possesses potent restorative properties, replenishing vital energy and enhancing mental vigor.
Ginseng-Reishi Turtle Soup
1 turtle, slaughtered, split open and cleaned; 50g ham; 15g each of codonopsis and floating wheat; 10g poria; 6g each of reishi mushroom and red dates; 20g each of scallions and ginger; chicken broth, salt, and MSG to taste. Simmer thoroughly in a clay pot; consume both broth and meat.
Soft-shelled turtle, classified as yin in traditional Chinese medicine, excels at nourishing yin, replenishing essence, clearing heat, and calming the liver. Ham contains multiple essential amino acids; the Compendium of Materia Medica notes ham "harmonizes the middle burner, nourishes the kidneys, strengthens stomach qi, and replenishes deficiency-heat." Codonopsis tonifies qi, floating wheat calms the heart, and poria fortifies the spleen and promotes diuresis. Lingzhi calms the mind, enhances immunity, and regulates qi.Jujubes harmonize the stomach and strengthen the middle burner. Thus, this therapeutic recipe is particularly suitable for individuals experiencing chronic sleep deprivation, dark circles under the eyes, weakened constitution, deficient middle qi, and mental fatigue.
American Ginseng Stewed with Silky Fowl
20g American ginseng 1 Silky Fowl (plucked and gutted) 6 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and squeezed dry) 5g dried tangerine peelplus 3 honey dates. Wash all ingredients and simmer together for 1 to 1.5 hours. Season with salt to taste. Consume both the broth and chicken.
American ginseng, with a sweet, cool, and slightly bitter nature, replenishes qi and nourishes yin. The Compendium of Materia Medica states that American ginseng "tonifies the lungs, reduces fire, generates fluids, and alleviates irritability and fatigue. It is suitable for those with deficiency accompanied by fire."Chronic sleep deprivation often leads to ascending false heat, causing sore throat, dizziness, irritability, and mouth ulcers—making American ginseng highly suitable. Silkie chicken nourishes yin and blood, rich in amino acids and fatty acids; shiitake mushrooms refresh and cut through greasiness; dried tangerine peel regulates qi and stimulates appetite; a touch of honey dates harmonizes the middle burner and provides tonic benefits.This dietary therapy is suitable for those who frequently stay up late, suffer from depleted body fluids, experience fatigue, dry mouth, poor appetite, dizziness, and sallow complexion.
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