When the mind refuses to settle in the evening
Sleep that is slow to come, light nights full of dreams, waking in the middle of the night, nervousness rising in the evening, warmth in the palms or the face, a head that stays wide awake… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Heart and Liver Yin and Blood Deficiency. Blood and Yin, which should welcome the Spirit (Shen) at night, run short; a slight heat arises from this shortage, and Liver Yang, poorly held back, rises and stirs the Shen.
Zao Ren An Mian Wan is a modern preparation from the Chinese pharmacopoeia. It contains the pairing of sour jujube seeds and anemarrhena, already brought together around the year 200 by Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景) in Suan Zao Ren Tang, of which Suan Zao Ren Wan is the pill form. To these it adds fleeceflower vine, polygala, schisandra and red sage, which calm the Heart, and uncaria, which calms the Liver.
Nourishing the Heart, calming the Liver
The formula works on two organs. On the Heart side, sour jujube seeds and fleeceflower vine, the two most generously dosed plants, nourish Blood and Yin so the Shen can find its home again. On the Liver side, uncaria calms the rising Yang, while cool anemarrhena and red sage temper the slight evening heat.
Calms the Shen: Polygala and schisandra calm the Shen; uncaria calms the Liver, whose Yang, when it rises, brings restlessness in the evening.
Nourishes Yin: Sour jujube seeds, sweet and sour in taste, nourish Heart and Liver Yin; anemarrhena nourishes Yin and tempers the heat that arises from its shortage.
Supports a return to calm before rest: Fleeceflower vine nourishes Heart Blood and accompanies the passage into night, and cool red sage soothes the agitation of the Heart.
