Dear patient, it must have been exhausting to toss and turn every night without being able to fall asleep. Donguibogam points to liver heat as one of the main causes behind these sleepless nights. In Korean medicine, the liver is not merely an internal organ, but a vital sanctuary that stores the ethereal soul, the foundation of mental activity. The ethereal soul must rest securely in the liver at night for you to sleep peacefully, but when heat accumulates in the liver, this ethereal soul becomes unsettled, much like a hot stone thrown into a quiet pond.
Liver heat refers to a state where unnecessary heat builds up inside our body. Boiling water continually surges upward. When heat gathers excessively in the liver, it creates an energy that surges upward inside the body like rolling boiling water. Because this energy flares at nightβa time when the head should clear and mental arousal should settleβyour body feels utterly exhausted while your mind races with all kinds of stray thoughts, keeping you awake. In severe cases, the chest feels tight and stifled, and the longer you stay awake, the more your restlessness grows.
Donguibogam states that the liver stores and regulates blood. Blood serves as an essential nutrient that stabilizes our mental activity, but when heat develops in the liver, this blood dries up or becomes disturbed. Since blood cannot adequately nourish the ethereal soul, you have excessive dreams even after falling asleep; these dreams are vivid and sometimes feel like nightmares, leaving you more fatigued the following day. In other words, liver heat was seen not merely as a rise in body temperature, but as a critical factor that affects emotional states and sleep quality across the board. Nighttime, when we ought to fall asleep, is when our internal imbalances show themselves most clearly. I share this with you out of heartfelt concern, just like an older sister would.
