Yin Deficiency
陰虛 · yīnxū
Your cooling, moistening reserves are running low — so evening brings heat, dryness and a mind that won’t put itself down.
Classic signs of Yin Deficiency
- Dry mouth and throat, worse in the evening and overnight
- Hot palms and soles — the classical "five-centre heat" (五心煩熱)
- Night sweats; flushed cheekbones in the afternoon or evening
- Light, restless, easily-broken sleep; waking in the small hours feeling warm
- Dry skin, dry eyes, dry stools
- Thirst for small cold sips rather than long draughts
- A wiry, can't-switch-off energy — tired and wired
- Dizziness or ringing ears when run down
- Tongue: red and thin with little or no coating — sometimes cracked, like the riverbed it is
Warmth without fuel, flush without fever
Yin is the water table — the deep, cooling, moistening reserve held chiefly by the Kidneys and Liver. When it runs low, the body doesn't just dry; it overheats in the evening, because there isn't enough water to bank the fire. TCM calls this empty heat (虛熱).
Two thousand years before anyone said "perimenopause", the Neijing had described the terrain: the reserves thin with age — which is why this constitution so often introduces itself in midlife, and why night sweats and 3am waking are its calling cards.
Lifestyle
- In bed by 11pm. This is the treatment. The classical clock holds 11pm–3am as the deep restorative window
- Trade hot-and-sweaty exercise for cool-and-fluid: swimming, yin yoga, evening walks. Heavy sweating spends the fluids you're short of
- Build a real evening descent: screens dimmed after 9, warm (not scalding) bath, lights low
- Leave gaps in the diary — yin is the reserve; a life with no margins burns reserve by design
Food therapy — moisten and cool, gently
- More: pears (stewed, classically), lily bulb (百合), silver ear fungus (銀耳), sesame, tofu, duck, eggs, spinach, goji berries, honey. Soups, congees and steamed dishes over grills and fryers
- Less: chilli and heavy spice, deep-fried food, alcohol, more than one coffee, late heavy dinners
One to try: silver ear fungus simmered slowly with pear and goji until silky — the classic dessert-remedy for the family member who runs dry and sleeps thinly.
Acupressure — evenings
Taixi · KI3
Hollow between inner ankle bone and Achilles tendon — the Kidney source point, this constitution's anchor. Sixty slow seconds each side.
Sanyinjiao · SP6
Four finger-widths above the inner ankle bone, just behind the shin — where three yin channels cross; renowned for nourishing yin and settling the evening. Avoid during pregnancy.
The Dew 陰
Our practitioner-formulated blend for this constitution: Rehmannia root (50%), Tremella — silver ear mushroom (33%) and Goji berry (17%). Rehmannia (熟地黃) anchors the great yin-nourishing formulas of classical medicine; Tremella (銀耳) is the moistening treasure of the Chinese kitchen-pharmacy. One 3g serving in warm water, once daily — beautifully suited to the evening.
If your evenings involve night sweats, 3am waking or midlife changes, constitutional acupuncture is where this pattern gets properly read and properly tended.
Food supplements support general wellbeing and are not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment, nor for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Asked across the treatment couch
Is this just menopause?
Why is being in bed by 11pm such a big deal?
Is this a medical diagnosis?
Can my constitution change?
When to seek more than a webpage
- See your GP first for red-flag changes: unexplained weight loss, persistent unexplained pain, blood where blood shouldn't be, chest pain, breathlessness at rest, new severe headaches, or anything rapidly worsening.
- Pregnancy changes the rules: some acupressure points on this page are traditionally avoided in pregnancy (marked above), and supplements should be run past your midwife or GP.
- On medication? Check with your pharmacist or GP before adding botanical supplements.
This guide supports general wellbeing and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your GP for medical concerns. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Not quite you? Meet the other constitutions
Most people are a blend — a primary pattern with one or two supporting actors. If parts of this page fit and parts didn't, your answer is probably two doors down.
Take this page's advice for a season — then tell us what changed
Constitution work is gardening, not surgery. And if you'd like the professional reading — tongue, pulse, history, the full craft — the treatment room is where your pattern gets read properly.
Cheuk's Wellness & TCM · ATCM-registered practitioner (FM 0220069) · 96a High Street, Staple Hill, Bristol