The Chinese Body Clock
If you wake at the same time every night, that timing is information. Chinese medicine maps the day onto twelve organs, each with a two-hour window where its energy peaks.
Esther, Natural Health Consultant — detox and parasite cleansing
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2 minute read
On this page
The Twelve Windows
- 1am – 3am · Liver : Deep sleep, detox blood, rest & recovery
- 3am – 5am · Lung : Deep sleep, dreams & memory, detox lungs
- 5am – 7am · Large Intestine : Wake up, release bowels, meditate
- 7am – 9am · Stomach : Breakfast, good concentration, walk
- 9am – 11am · Spleen : Clear thinking, converts food to Qi
- 11am – 1pm · Heart : Blood circulation, high energy, eat lunch
- 1pm – 3pm · Small Intestine : Sort & absorb food, low energy, nap time
- 3pm – 5pm · Bladder : Energy restored, liquid waste released, work & study
- 5pm – 7pm · Kidney : Store nutrients, build bone marrow, suppertime
- 7pm – 9pm · Pericardium : Protection, light reading, sex, self love
- 9pm – 11pm · Triple Burner : Endocrine & metabolic balancing, getting sleepy
- 11pm – 1am · Gall Bladder : Sleep, release bile, cellular repair
Where to Go Next
- Waking through the night. BeSerene IR cream, almost instantly calms the body when it needs to sleep
- A monthly rhythm to your bad nights. This could be parasites. They are most active at night, and especially around the full and new moon. If your worst nights track the calendar, start here.
- 1am to 3am, every night. That is the liver’s window — our guide to the liver and bile ducts explains what an overloaded one feels like.
What we use for this
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Chinese body clock?
Chinese medicine maps the 24-hour day onto twelve organs, each with a two-hour window where its energy peaks. The liver has 1am to 3am, the lungs 3am to 5am and the large intestine 5am to 7am, and so on around the clock, ending with the gall bladder from 11pm to 1am. Each window has its own element and its own job, from deep sleep and detox to digestion and rest.
Why do I wake up at the same time every night?
If you wake at the same time every night, that timing is information: the hour you keep waking up points to the organ holding the day open. Use it as a starting point, not a diagnosis. Waking at 3am night after night is worth a conversation; waking at 3am after a late dinner and two wines is worth a glass of water.
What does waking between 1am and 3am mean?
In the Chinese body clock, 1am to 3am is the liver’s window, the time for deep sleep, detoxing the blood, rest and recovery. If you wake in this window every night, it points to the liver. Our guide to the liver and bile ducts explains what an overloaded liver feels like.
Can parasites wake you up at night?
Parasites are most active at night, and especially around the full and new moon. If your bad nights follow a monthly rhythm and your worst nights track the calendar, parasites are worth looking at. Our article on the full moon and parasites explains what is going on and where to start.
If this sounded familiar
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