Have you ever wondered why you always seem to be waking up during the night at particular times?
And it’s not just an odd night here and there. After a while you begin to realise you’re waking up again and again, the nights of sleeping through a distant memory. You start to look at the clock and find it’s always at the same time – 2:55am or between certain hours like 4am to 5am. You’re not drinking coffee late in the afternoon, you’ve cut down on your much loved sugars and you’re fairly active during the day (incidentally if you are drinking coffee all afternoon and you’re dipping into refined sugars, consider stopping and then see how you sleep!). Sure, life’s a bit stressful but how is it that it’s always 2:55am?!
Those who use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) would tell you “that’s easy – look at the Chinese Medicine ‘Meridian Clock’”. It’s one of my favourite tools to use in Kinesiology. The great thing about the Meridian Clock is you don’t have to be a Kinesiologist or a practitioner of TCM to understand it or gain insight from it. Here’s a basic explanation to get you started.
What’s your time?
Firstly, have a look at the clock above and find the time you’re waking up. Take note of the name that sits directly beneath it. For example, if you’re waking between 1am and 3am then you would look at the information about the Liver meridian. Don’t worry – it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with your liver, it’s just the way they’re named in English.
14 major meridians – our electrical system
There are 14 major meridians or flows of an energy substance (you may have heard of Qi/Ch’i which sustains life) with 12 of them sitting within the 24 hour clock. All are constantly flowing with energy from your environment and penetrating your body through your skin, central nervous system and organs. These portals on the skin are what acupuncture and acupressure use. Each has a two hour period where they are the primary meridian. Each meridian is linked to particular parts of the body, mechanisms of the body, other meridians, thoughts and emotions, colour, sound, seasons and other spiritual aspects. They’re also partnered together as Yin (receiving energy) and Yang (expressing energy) of an element – Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire.
Think of it like electrical circuits – when the energy of a meridian is not flowing well due to a block (like stress), you’ll find that you’ll experience a sign or symptom from the meridian(s) involved. This block will also cause an imbalance in the flows between meridians. So when waking up in the night at the same time, or becoming exhausted with 3:30-itis in the afternoon, you can look at the meridian at work and what may be happening with you. Here’s a list of the basic emotions of each element (the ring below the meridians).
- Earth – Empathy, sympathy, balanced giving and receiving
- Metal – Grief and loss
- Water – Fear and anxiety
- Wood – Anger, frustration and resentment
- Fire – Love, hate and joy
What now?
Self reflection people! It can be quite simple; you just need to stop and listen. Your body is trying to tell you something by waking you up at the same time. Back to our previous example, if your time is the Liver meridian and the Wood element – ask yourself “What am I angry or frustrated at?” Or think of the Liver organ and apply this to your life “What is toxic in my life that I need to get rid of?” Perhaps you have symptoms that your digestive system is not working so well?
I’ll leave you with this as food for thought. Spend some time to reflect on your life and what’s keeping you awake based on the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I will cover this in more detail in the next post Why You Wake Up At The Same Time Every Night (Part II). If you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, have a read through the Sanctuary of Sleep Series Part One Sleep & Stress: Why You Can’t Fall Asleep
If you’d like to read more about Traditional Chinese Medicine start with ‘The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine’ by Ted Kaptchuk.
This post is the first instalment of a series I’ll be writing on Traditional Chinese Medicine and how you can use it to help you in daily life. Easy!
Why You Wake Up by Kate Pamphilon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Benny says
OMG!!! This is so awakening. I’ve been in a relationship for 9 years next month. I hate my partner’s habits (esp drinking). He is such a taker and i’ve given all I can. I don’t know how to leave plus the fear of what’s out there for me now. I’ve been diagnosed with a tumor in the brain and he is not supportive, once I had an operation and was hospitalized for 2weeks. Ge didn’t even come once.I’m sure by my story you can tell that I wake-up between 1-3am.
brianna says
I’ve been waking up between 1-3 and everytumr I wake up my heal hurts badly
Suzanne says
hello,
i would like to know what it means that i wake up almodt everhday exactly at 5 am…. maybe you can help me.
lee jane says
I start sleep at 11 , but I keep waking up every hour, can U help me, but I know my self I’m healthy
Gracie hall says
I wake up at about 2-3am and in a pile of sweat and have a second when I think I’m in a different place than my room then realize I’m in my room.
Trish says
Well I’ve been an insomniac since baby, my mum said I was always awake, quiet but awake in the middle of the night, I’m 44 now. I’ve had many forms of treatment from acupuncture, reflexology, shiatsu, yoga, various massages, herbal teas, meditation, melatonine, relaxation therapy, hypnotherapy, 4yrs of light therapy, floating tanks to sleeping pills… I even went to an aura healer for a few months, whose explanation for my sleeping angst & reason why I awoke at the same time, was because I was murdered in my former life in the 2nd world war. I’ve been twice to the sleeping center & have had my REM & brain waves measured, been tested for restless leg movement, the results being, in my night cycle my deep sleep periods are extremely short & my REM periods are extremely long…But how to change this, they don’t know… I’m awake every night between 4 & 5am my whole life & with a feeling of a full bladder, even when I’m careful not to drink anything after 8pm. The winters are worse, in the summer it’s less of a problem (the sun seems to charge me up, so even with so few hours sleep, I’ll have more energy to get through the day) I don’t know any better than this or what a normal nights sleep feels like…I was brought up with healthy eating, yoga, massage, the knowledge of Chinese medicines etc.. but I’m at a loss.. Sometimes if my sleep deprivation goes on too long my body & brain cannot function properly.. It’s never really been taken seriously by employers or even medical doctors & for many years I’ve not been able to work full time.. Please help
Aniesha says
In the US, midnight 12am is on the top and noon 12 pm is on the bottom of the clock. Your explanation of the example of the liver/wood around 3am indicated that this clock has noon and midnight swapped, which I believe can be the case on some clocks. It would be helpful inf you claridfied this to make sure people are interpreting the clock correctly.
Aniesha says
In the US, midnight 12am is on the top and noon 12 pm is on the bottom of the clock. Your explanation of the example of the liver/wood around 3am indicated that this clock has noon and midnight swapped, which I believe can be the case on some clocks. It would be helpful if you clarified this to make sure people are interpreting the clock correctly.
Cindy Letour says
Try emotion code
Kate says
People do read the clock incorrectly sometimes, which is why I put the times in the article. As you can see in the image, Liver is right beside the moon, showing that it is 1am-3am. What do you mean by ‘in the US’? The clock is read the same way no matter where you are in the world. I’d love more info from you, in case I am confusing people by using different language?