Summer Solstice in Taiwan: TCM Expert Advises on Managing 'Heart Fire' and Dampness

The summer solstice, marking the end of Taiwan's plum rain season and the onset of typhoon season, signifies a crucial transition in the year's 24 solar terms. According to Zheng Naihua, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner at Banqiao Xinsheng Hall, this period sees the peak of "heart fire," which can manifest as fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, and insomnia.

TCM associates the summer season with the element of "fire" and the "heart." During the summer solstice, when Yang energy is at its zenith and Yin energy begins to emerge, the body undergoes a significant Yin-Yang transformation. Imbalances can lead to symptoms like heart palpitations and restlessness. Furthermore, the transition into the "long summer" period brings increased humidity, potentially affecting spleen and stomach functions and leading to issues with water metabolism, resulting in phlegm-dampness or damp-heat constitutions.

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The summer solstice is the peak of heart fire, and if not regulated properly, it can lead to palpitations, irritability, and decreased sleep quality.

Zheng explains that the "summer dampness overwhelming the spleen" and "excessive heart fire" described in TCM can correspond to modern medical concepts like the autonomic nervous system and thermoregulation. The high humidity during the solstice and plum rain season can impede the body's heat dissipation, causing core body temperature to remain high. This sustained high temperature can keep the sympathetic nervous system in a state of heightened activity, disrupting sleep and mimicking symptoms of excessive heart fire.

To counteract these effects, TCM emphasizes "nourishing the heart and calming the spirit, strengthening the spleen, and dispelling dampness." Maintaining a regular sleep schedule, ideally going to bed before 11 p.m., and taking short 15-30 minute naps in the afternoon can help restore energy and stabilize emotions. For those working in air-conditioned environments, light exercise like morning or evening walks is recommended to maintain normal sweat gland function. Practicing deep, slow breathing, particularly extending exhalation, is also advised to stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

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It is recommended to go to bed before 11 p.m. and take a short nap of 15 to 30 minutes in the afternoon, which helps restore energy and stabilize emotions.