He Used Chinese Herbs as a Pillow and Cured His Wife's Stubborn Insomnia
While browsing articles on bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder on Zhihu, I came across a post by a man describing how he helped his wife, who had bipolar disorder, recover. This husband was a thoughtful person; he used a very comprehensive set of methods to relieve his wife’s symptoms and significantly reduced her condition.
Among the several methods he used was making a calming, sleep-promoting pillow for his wife; the pillow core was filled with Chinese herbs. The formula is as follows: Yejiaoteng (Polygoni Multiflori Caulis) 350 g (coarse granules), Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (Suanzaoren) 250 g (coarse granules), Albiziae Flos (Hehuanhua) 150 g (coarse granules), Polygalae Radix (Yuanzhi) 120 g (coarse granules), Cassiae Semen (Juingmingzi) 80 g, Prunellae Spica (Xiakucao) 30 g (cut into small sections), lavender 30 g, Santali Albi Lignum (Tanxiangmu) 10 g (coarse granules).
Pharmacologically, this herbal pillow has the actions of calming the spirit, promoting sleep, and lowering blood pressure. The combination of Yejiaoteng and Hehuanhua is a classic TCM formula (called Yejiaoteng Hehuanhua San) for anxiety, insomnia, and palpitation with shortness of breath. Suanzaoren and Yuanzhi are also commonly used TCM herbs for calming the spirit and aiding sleep. Juemingzi and Xiakucao lower blood pressure. Lavender and sandalwood are both aromatic and have sedative and hypnotic effects. This formula is therefore indeed an excellent prescription for calming the spirit and promoting sleep; it not only aids sleep but also helps stabilize blood pressure.
When making such an herbal pillow, note that the herbs should be processed into soft small granules, but not ground into a powder; if powdered, the pillow would be very difficult to use.
As the saying goes, prolonged illness makes one a good doctor, and this husband proved the saying true. His method avoided the unpleasantness of taking Chinese herbal decoctions while achieving good results. Treating illness with an herbal pillow is scientifically grounded: it works through the diffusion of active molecular components from the herbs into the respiratory system and then into the bloodstream.
His approach is worth drawing on. But if the patient also has cerebrovascular problems, the above formula should be modified by adding Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, Viticis Fructus, and Gastrodiae Rhizoma. Friends who study TCM may also wish to draw on this husband’s experience by making and using herbal pillows for patients—a method with few side effects that is readily accepted by patients, thereby improving their quality of life.