From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM body clock chart) your body is a biofield of organised energy, which is always in constant motion. When the energy becomes blocked or obstructed in some way, physical and non-physical symptoms can arise, alerting you to take action and restore your body’s balance.

The body clock reflects the times when there is maximum energy and activity in particular body organs: valuable information if you want to achieve more balance in your daily life. It is divided into two-hourly blocks, each representing a major body organ and two body functions.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Clock and our meridian pathways. The meridians flow clockwise through every 24 hours, each having its 2 hour time span of maximum Qi energy.

• 5am – 7am Colon/Large Intestine
• 7am-9am Stomach
• 9.am-11am Spleen
• 11am-1pm Heart
• 1pm- 3pm Small Intestine
• 3pm-5pm Bladder
• 5pm-7pm Kidney
• 7pm-9pm Pericardium/Circulation Sex – a function meridian
• 9pm-11pm Triple Heater/Triple Warmer – a function meridian
• 11pm-1am Gallbladder
• 1am-3am Liver
• 3am-5am Lung

Let’s look at more information about each of these pathways: they are optimum times and have a 5,00 year history behind them, well before we had any artificial light to disturb our body clock. Nevertheless they are worth keeping in mind as you plan your day.

5am-7am Large Intestine

The best time to have your first bowel movement as the sun rises, the best time to rise and start your day and also to exercise to help activate your Qi, setting you up for the day. Taking some deep breaths and body stretches

7am-9am Stomach

According to TCM, breakfast should be the largest meal of the day as it has the best opportunity to absorb the nutrients from food. It should be high in fibre, include a good amount of protein and contain some beneficial fats. Opt for low GI carbohydrates to stabilise your blood sugar and give you sustained energy. Eating a balanced breakfast  will also help to ground and connect you to the earth element. If you have no appetite in the morning, simple changes such as eating earlier and a smaller evening meal, allowing 3 hours to digest before going to bed at 10pm can be enough to stimulate a morning appetite.

9am-11am Spleen

This organ is associated with intellect and mental powers. According to TCM, the spleen is responsible for the conversion of nutrients from food into energy. Without a good morning supply of Qi energy the brains cells don’t have the necessary fuel to function at their best. Skipping breakfast has consequences! Common signs and symptoms of poor spleen energy include sweet cravings, lack of focus, tiredness, bloating. If needs be, eat a slow release low sugar food, an apple, small piece of cheese, Greek yoghurt, a few nuts, an oatcake with small smear of a nut butter.

11am-1pm Heart

Studies have shown that the highest incidence of heart-related problems occur between the hours of 11am and 1pm, and 11pm and 1am, when the energy in the heart is at its strongest and weakest. Alternatively, someone with a healthy heart may feel particularly joyful and loving (emotions associated with the heart) and naturally want to enjoy social connections over the lunch period. Emotionally, the heart energy is associated with passion, inspiration and the experience of joy. People who radiate this energy on a day to day basis seem to age more slowly; remaining ‘young at heart’. This is because your heart stores your Shen or spirit, and your Shen, unlike your body, does not age but grows more vital under the right conditions. So how to strengthen your heart? Reach out, connect with others, be of service and find your passion.

1pm-3pm Small Intestine

It’s common between 1pm and 3pm for people to experience an energy crash, reaching for short term pick me ups, like chocolate, sugar, caffeine. If that’s you, it’s a sign of lack of energy in the Small Intestine. This may be the result of a poor breakfast choice, skipping breakfast or poor absorption in general. Consider a low Gi diet to address these problems, an increase in fibre rich foods to feed the good bacteria in the gut and increase bowel motility to eliminate more completely, and ‘sweep out’ the intestine walls where unhelpful bacteria etc, stick. Just as the small intestine is responsible for sorting out which substances it will collect for absorption and which it will leave for elimination on a physical level, the psycho-emotional aspect of the small intestine involves the process of sorting out, this time sorting out issues or problems, getting your head around things. Problem solving and thinking things over are best accomplished now.

3pm-5pm Bladder & 5pm-7pm Kidney

Your kidneys store your constitutional Qi, or your energy reserves. When they are functioning at their peak in the late afternoon, you should feel energised and alert, but for the vast majority of people, the opposite occurs. Due to our stressful lifestyles and overproduction of adrenalin (produced by the adrenal glands which sit on each kidney), we are often lacking in energy. If the late afternoon is not a strong time for you, ask yourself where you have spent these energy reserves and what can be done to restore them. Possibly herbal and nutritional support might be needed. Ashwagandha is believed to support adrenal function. Vitamin C is found in the largest quantity in the adrenal glands, and quickly becomes depleted under stress. Eating a good source of vitamin C at every meal will help, also taking a slow release supplement if needs be. , In the mental-emotional sphere, constant anxiety will deplete your energy and strain the kidneys. Other clues that there may be an imbalance in the bladder or kidneys include an aversion to cold weather, a strong dislike of winter and frequent urination. Will power is the mental-emotional expression of strong kidney Qi, practising a strong discipline can help restore balance. If stress is the culprit, practice daily meditation or mindfulness, gentle yoga, relaxation, breathing exercises, visualisation etc.

7pm-9pm Pericardium/Circulation Sex & 9pm-11pm Triple Heater/Triple Warmer

Neither of these are organs but play functional roles important in protecting the body and regulating it’s vital processes. Circulation/Sex envelops the heart and protects it. It is involved in all bodily circulation, including blood and lymph flow and release of hormones and enzymes etc, including our sex hormones. It’s considered a ‘good’ time to have sex. While the triple warmer is believed to influence the trunk of the body and be responsible for co-ordinating and regulating energy, water and temperature. Sometimes known as the Three Heats, it can be interpreted as how we metabolise food, the heat or coolness of our emotions, our body temperature. Looked at metaphorically, we can examine our thoughts, ideas, temperament and memories through this medium. Now is not the best time to be eating a heavy evening meal as the body needs to concentrate on re-organising and regulating anything that might have become unbalanced throughout the course of the day. Also its directly opposite the stomach/spleen site on our body clock. In terms of sleep, getting to bed as the triple heater starts up at around 9pm will mean the sleep you have will be of the best quality and ensure that rising early will not be so difficult.

11pm-1am Gall bladder & 1am-3am Liver

These deeper organs in the body begin to intensify their roles as the detoxifiers of the body. It is of the utmost of importance that the deeper sleep cycles happen then so these organs can be at their most effective. A poor diet, over-indulgence with alcohol and fatty foods may be creating stagnation in the liver. If you regularly wake around 2.30am then your liver needs some attention. The functions of the liver include all the blood leaving the stomach and intestines. The liver processes this blood and breaks down, balances, and creates the nutrients. It also metabolizes drugs into forms that are easier to use for the rest of the body or that are nontoxic. It helps support metabolism, immunity, digestion, detoxification and vitamin storage. You will know if your liver is struggling if you have dark urine, a pale stool, jaundice. The first step to improving liver health is through improving your dietary habits, and eating a light evening meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. Just before liver time is when the gallbladder is most active and often at this time people with gallbladder issues will wake then. Our fast paced society, congested environment and exposure to toxins and pollutants, and toxic emotions, such as stress and anger all directly target the liver and can be the cause of erratic symptoms. The liver also supports the eyes and sight, so long hours straining your eyes at a computer screen or phone will weaken the liver Qi energy. On an emotional level, frustration and feeling ‘stuck’ are the key emotions with unbalanced liver Qi. The emotion associated with the gallbladder is rage. Expressed as aggression or if suppressed, as being shy and timid.

3am-5am Lung

The lungs experience their peak energy flow between 3am and 5am and many cultures traditionally rise at this time to engage in deep breathing and meditative  exercises. If you sleep soundly through this time and don’t experience any symptoms, your lungs are probably doing well. On the hand if you wake then with shortness of breath, coughing or asthmatic, you need to pay some attention to your lungs. The emotional and spiritual aspects of the lungs involve the capacity to let go of stuff in your life. Issues around injustice may be the signs the lung needs balancing. The ability to be flexible, tolerant and non-judgemental are signs the lung Qi is in good balance. Tools to strengthen the lungs include being in the present, in the now, and learning to follow the breath.

Timing your day

Why not try to structure your daily activities around the TCM body clock and see how it feels? Arguably, society nowadays is constructed without any regard to our natural body clock and this is a big contributor the world health issues so prevalent. It’s still possible to make changes though, mealtimes, bedtimes, improving diet, practising some of the self help and emotional strengthening exercises, to maintain healthy Qi functioning throughout our physical, mental, emotional health. Listen to your body and you have the power to live a happier, healthier life, harnessing the divine intelligence of your body.