I’ve been using Physical Tranquility, inspired by the Chinese Herbal Medicine formula, Tian Wan Bu Xi Dan, to sleep better for the last 6 months. I trained as a general surgeon in the 1990’s, and was trained to be ready for action any time, day or night.
I’ve taken care of elective patients, emergency patients as well as patients who have suffered trauma from a car accident or even guns. I trained my brain to respond to the need of the patients, especially when woken up in the middle of the night.
This training comes with a cost.
Many surgeons like me don’t sleep well when “on call”, and even when not on call. When the smallest sound wakes us up, we are ready for action! Some call this “beeper anxiety”.
Over the years, this beeper anxiety migrated to times when I was not on call. My brother in law is DAO Labs Co-Founder and Chief Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dr. Eric Karchmer. Last fall, in the midst of this transition, he introduced me to Tian Wan Bu Xin Dang and Physical Tranquility.
As a result, I’m able to sleep better throughout the night.
Finding the Right Herbal Formula – From Stress to Sleep
Eric first introduced me to these herbs about 6 months ago. I was just in the process of making a transition in my surgical practice to focus only on the care of patients with inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia and pilonidal disease. This transition had both positive and negatives.
First of all, there was a lot more stress in creating a focused healthcare clinic. There was the upside of not having to cover unassigned patients form the emergency room in the middle of the night. The combination of the stress and being trained to wake up easily impacted my sleep. I would often wake up at 4:00 AM, ready to go. When I tried to go back to sleep, I’d get hot and have a hard time falling back to sleep.
From Mental Tranquility to Physical Tranquility
When I actually mentioned this to Eric over Thanksgiving, he suggested I try one of two chinese herb combinations he thought could help my sleep. The first was Gui Pi Tang (the formula of inspiration behind Mental Tranquility) and it did not seem to make much difference.
Dr. Eric thought that I needed to deal with my racing mind first, before dealing with the temperature regulation.
However, after the first night of using Physical Tranquility, I did not wake up hot and was able to fall right back asleep. In fact, over a few months, my sleep became more consistent and better. No more wake ups in the middle of the night, no more sweating while trying to fall back asleep.
Forgetting to take Physical Tranquility for sleep is something I rarely do. True anecdote: one morning I woke up at 4:00 am, could not fall back asleep and was sweating again. I realized I forgot to take my herbs before going to bed. What an amazing feedback loop!
I love sleeping well again. I know many other people like me are out there, sleeping too little and enjoying their life kids just a little less than they could.
Looking to try Physical Tranquility? Use code PTSLEEP and save 15% on your first purchase.
Are you more of a "stressed out sleeper"? Read this article on our co-founder's life changing experience with Mental Tranquility.
Care Consideration: Just a reminder that the above information is not a substitute for medical care and is not a substitute for medical advice or recommendations from a healthcare provider. This information is not intended to treat, mitigate or cure any disease. That said, we encourage you to connect with an Acupuncturist in your community to learn more about this and other Traditional Chinese Medicine options. If you’ve got questions about Chinese herbal medicine or getting started with an Acupuncturist, feel free to connect with us on hello@mydaolabs.com.
Dr. Micki Reinhorn is a Boston hernia and pilonidal specialist. His focus is in the treatment of inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia and pilonidal disease. He maintains the sites bostonhernia.com and pilonidalclinic.com to provide patient education about these diseases. As Eric Karchmer’s brother in law he has experienced the advantages of Chinese medicine herbs and acupuncture first hand and recommends it to many of his patients. He is a husband, father, swimmer and cyclist when time permits. He recently coauthored a paper in the Journal Surgery calling for procedure-specific prescribing of opioids postoperatively, based on research conducted in his clinical practice.
