The Organ Clock

The body flows through a rhythm every 24 hours with each 2-hour segment benefiting one organ at a time. The 12 organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine are heart, small intestine, bladder, kidneys, pericardium, triple warmer, gall bladder, liver, lungs, large intestine, stomach, pancreas. The organs have a period of strongest activity and a period of weakest activity. By knowing these times, we can support our bodies as it flows through the cycle.

3am – 7am: Lungs and Large Intestine

Starting at 3am our lungs begin their period of strongest activity. Many have experienced this shift more than once by waking up between 3-5am with a cough. Most asthma attacks occur between 4 and 5am. Opposite of this though, from 3-5pm, our lungs are at their weakest.

Our lungs are paired with the Large Intestine, and we flow right into the colon from 5am to 7am and see its period of rest from 5pm to 7pm.

7am – 11am: Stomach and Spleen

There is an old saying “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper”. This is to support the stomach during its height of the day and not overwhelm it at night when it is resting. I encourage patients with gastric complaints to follow this rule for a week and see what changes occur in their bodies.

The spleen is responsible for protecting our bodies in TCM so from 9am to 11am, wound healing happens faster, short term memory is at its best, and our overall health is generally better.

11am – 3pm: Heart and Small Intestine

When I was first learning acupuncture, the doctor teaching the course always told us to work out between 11am and 1pm. While my schedule doesn’t always allow this, I do try to stay active during this time of the day with even a short walk to support my heart health.

From 1pm to 3pm, our small intestine is functioning at its highest potential. The enzymes are breaking down the food and separating out the good from the bad. Therefore, having a larger meal in the morning instead of the night will allow for better digestion.

 As a rule of thumb, I suggest not eating after 8pm which leads to the stomach and the small intestines weakest time periods.

3pm – 7pm: Bladder and Kidneys

The bladder excretes the highest amount of fluids between 3pm and 5pm. Drinking lots of fluids throughout the day will help during this time frame to eliminate toxins from your body.

Starting at 5pm, the body starts slowing down for the day and physical performance is declining.

7pm – 11pm: Pericardium and Triple Warmer

This is when blood flow to the heart is at its peak and the body is getting circulated with nutrients gathered and filtered throughout the day.

The triple warmer “organ” is not a physical organ, but instead the meridian responsible for warming the upper, middle, and lower parts of the body. During this time, our bodies are at their calmest as we prepare for a night of rest.

11pm – 3am: Gall Bladder and Liver

The gall bladder is responsible for excreting bile which breaks down fat. We can support the gall bladder by eating the good fats and avoiding bad fats, especially from 11am to 1pm when it is weakest.

The liver processing through the days toxins at a high rate from 1am to 3am. This behind-the-scenes organ is preparing the body for a new day.

While each person experiences life a little different, this organ clock has been a tried-and-true system to follow. Some days may be better than others but being aware of what we are doing to our bodies every day will help us all to start functioning a little higher. Instead of fighting when the organs are in periods of rest or work, we should be joining and supporting them.

Ursinus, Lothar. The Body Clock in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Our Energy Cycles for Health and Healing. Earthdancer.

Chiropractic or Acupuncture?

Should you do both or is one going to be more beneficial than the other? This is a pretty simple answer, it just depends on what’s going on. I firmly believe every person experiences symptoms differently, and every person heals differently so which treatment option is best for you will be hard to determine until we have done a thorough history and exam.

A lot of patients come into the office for chiropractic care and then get curious about acupuncture and wonder if it would be a valuable addition to their overall health goals.

I have personally found better success in most patient’s healing if they have done both. Once I start working with patient through chiropractic care and they are experiencing some relief from the pain that originally brought them in, they realize there’s some underlying issues that also need to be addressed. Or maybe they knew about the underlying issue for a while – like GI Disorders, stress and anxiety, or insomnia concerns but until they were pain free, they did not have the energy or capacity to deal with the root cause. That is when we begin the acupuncture.

Recently, a long-time patient came in with stress headaches. This had been a new thing and she was not sure what to do about them. We were continuing with her normal adjustment schedule with a concentration on the cervical spine and the muscles in the area. She was experiencing some relief through the adjustments and because of this, she was able to focus on when the headaches were occurring, how she felt before they started, and helped narrow down the main problem of them. We decided acupuncture was the next step in reducing the frequent feelings of anxiety she is having right now. After just one session, she was already seeing improvement. While laying on the table with the needles in, she is able to relax enough to feel her energy (Qi) flowing and describes it as almost like a wave going through her.

We are still in the middle of the acupuncture treatments but overall, there has been great improvement, and this is something I typically see with patients. Acupuncture works best when you do multiple sessions. It builds on the previous treatment with each session, so the results tend to get better and better each time.

There are benefits to just chiropractic care, there are benefits to just acupuncture care, but when we combine both, the results are phenomenal. If you have any questions about whether one or both modalities are right for you, contact me at drhendon@hendonfamilychiropractic.com or call the office (757) 305-9996. I look forward to helping you achieve your wellness goals.

Transition into Fall Seamlessly

As many of you know, I have been doing a lot of acupuncture in the office. Along with studying acupuncture, I have also been studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the philosophies that have developed over the past 4,000 years. Many those philosophies are things you already innately feel. As I start sharing more about TCM I will hopefully be able to put into words what you already know.

Here are some great TCM tips on helping you transition from late Summer into Fall.

Tip #1: Embrace the Warmth

Keep your body warm, both externally and internally. Wear clothes that cover you completely. I know the style right now is showing the midriffs but cover that up. We will cover more reasons, associated with fertility, for keeping this area warm in a few weeks. Put on the sweatshirt and sweatpants; pull out the wools socks your Mother-in-Law knitted for you from the back of your drawer; do not sit directly under the air conditioning. During those sunny Fall days, go outside and enjoy the warm sun on your face.

Eat warm and nourishing foods. Make soup a staple in your house all year round. If you are feeling cold, make a hot cup of tea to help warm you from the inside out. Avoid drinking water with ice and transition away from the iced coffees. Also, try to focus on warm and nourishing foods. In TCM, foods are categorized as cold and hot. A salad is considered a cold food while red meat is considered warm food. Focus more on warm foods.

Tip #2: Keep the Qi Flowing

The transition between seasons is a time of disharmony and that is reflected in our bodies. A lot of times, this is when our Qi gets stuck. A very light and superficial example of this disharmony is trying to figure out what to wear each day during the transitions. We must put more thought into how we will dress for the ever-changing weather during this time versus once we get settled into each season. This may not feel like much, but it turns our focus away from other things, requires more mental thought and prep, and if we dress poorly, it can leave us feeling too cold or too hot which can then affect our productivity, energy, and overall satisfaction with the day.

Keep the Qi from entering this space of chaos with acupuncture. A maintenance appointment can remove any Qi blockages and promote internal harmony. Try Qigong, Tai Chi, or Yoga as well. The flowing movements of these three practices help remove the stuck Qi. It does not have to be a lot of work. Find an app or YouTube video and do it for 10 minutes a day.

Tip #3: Find Happiness

Each season has an emotion associated with it. Fall’s emotion is grief. As the days get shorter and the leaves turn color and fall, we are more likely to think about the things we are losing. This can start a downward spiral into Seasonal Depression. Put in extra time to focus on what makes you happy during this season and recognize when you are feeling sad. Do those first few cloudy, windy days make you want to hibernate? Do you start to lose energy? What do you do during the sunny and crisp Fall days that make you happy and how can you do that during the dreary ones? Identify how you feel each day. Create a list to keep in plain sight so when the blues hit, you can pick something to do.