Why is the old saying that you can't sleep with your head facing east and your feet facing west? Is there any scientific basis?

Since ancient times, many folk customs have been handed down and gradually evolved into various living habits. The same goes for sleep. Many young friends listen to elders talk about sleep rules. They always feel a little baffling and have no scientific basis.

In one set of rules, "You can't sleep with your head facing the east and your feet facing the west." It is particularly conspicuous, and the elders believe that if they sleep "head to the east and feet to the west", it is not only unlucky, but may even affect their health.

Why is the old saying: "You can't sleep with your head facing east and your feet facing west"?

On the one hand, China's traditional customs since ancient times:

The concept of feng shui exists in the eyes of many older generations. Whether it is daily behavior or the orientation of home items, it must be carried out in accordance with feng shui.

Moreover, in Feng Shui, if the head faces east and the feet face west, it is an unlucky manifestation. Naturally, the elders do not allow us to maintain such a posture when sleeping.

On the other hand, it may be related to the magnetic field of the human body

If you sleep with your head to the east and your feet to the west, it is said to be in the opposite direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Under the influence of the reverse magnetic field, the cells hinder the magnetization effect of the human body, which may affect the growth and development of the human body.

Therefore, for children and the elderly, in order to adapt to the magnetic field and promote cell growth efficiency, sleep will try to avoid reverse sleeping positions such as head, feet, and west.

To sum up, the reason why sleep does not work is the influence of traditional ideas, as well as some widely spread modern principles. We keep a wait-and-see attitude to the superstition of Feng Shui. The truth of the "magnetic field" is worth exploring.

In this regard, the Northwestern University Research Institute published a paper in the journal "pans", by comparing the sleeping positions of different subjects, and assessing sleep quality through factors such as cardiac pressure and rapid eye movement duration.

The results showed that regular sleeping positions, such as side-lying and supine-lying, maintained more stable sleep quality, while prone, sitting and other positions resulted in worse sleep quality.

However, sleep quality did not change as a result of the change in sleep posture orientation. The researchers showed that although the human body's magnetic field does exist, because the earth's magnetic field is too large, it will only change the direction of sleep without causing any noticeable effects and changes.

So sleep may have some magnetic principle, but it has little effect on health and sleep. If you don't have the concept of Feng Shui, you can sleep in the direction you like.

In contrast, two wrong sleep habits are more likely to affect sleep quality

First, play with your phone before going to bed

This should be a habit for most people, but playing on your phone before bed can increase the excitement of your brain. An overexcited brain cannot immediately go to sleep, and the deep sleep time will be shortened, thus affecting the quality of sleep.

If you are really bored before going to bed, you can relieve it with gentler methods such as appropriate exercise or reading, which is more conducive to creating high-quality sleep.

Second, eat a late night snack before going to bed

Many people are hungry before going to bed and have the habit of having dinner. During sleep, however, the stomach and intestines are dormant, and the body's ability to digest and metabolize is minimized. It's also a big burden on the stomach if you eat dinner. Friends with this habit also need to make changes to their health and sleep quality as soon as possible.

In short, there are many sleep rules, but it is also necessary to follow scientific and reasonable methods to improve and maintain sleep quality, which is also the basis of health.