The health of your digestive system, or gut health, is the foundation of your ability to properly digest and assimilate food, manage stress and enjoy restful sleep.
In Chinese Medicine, the Earth element includes the Spleen and Stomach and corresponds to the late Summer and transitions, which is why it's especially important to take care of your gut health during any transition.
Gut health is directly impacted by stress because of a mechanism known as the gut-brain axis, which explains the biochemical signaling between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.
Sleep, Stress and the Gut-Brain Axis
The gut-brain axis (GBA) is an information superhighway of chemicals and hormones that provides constant feedback and informs — among other things — your moods, emotions and sleep patterns.
Under stress, the hypothalamus in the brain signals the autonomic nervous system as well as the pituitary gland to produce stress hormones, including epinephrine and cortisol. The production of these stress hormones shuts down the parasympathetic nervous system, which is related to your ability to rest and to digest.
When the sympathetic nervous system, or 'fight or flight' response, is active, the parasympathetic nervous system is impeded and therefore sleep and digestion are impacted.
Research on the gut-brain axis (GBA) affirms that an unhealthy gut microbiome impacts sleep quality and that poor sleep causes changes to the bacterial community in the gut. This is because sleep deprivation produces an imbalance of the stress hormone cortisol.
In addition, 400 times more melatonin is produced in the gut than in the pineal gland where melatonin was traditionally thought to be produced.
Gut health affects brain health and therefore your ability to process information, manage stress, balance your emotions, and digest and assimilate food.
Yin Fire: The Impact of Emotions on Your Health
According to Nei Jing Su Wen, one of the foremost classical Chinese medical texts, seven emotions are considered major internal causes of disease - joy, anger, fear, fright, anxiety, pensiveness and sadness.
Over time, these emotions can damage the Spleen and Stomach. Overwork or overtaxation and poor diet cause further damage.
Eventually, this leads to internal heat, or inflammation. In the classics of Chinese Medicine, this internal heat is referred to as Yin Fire.
Yin Fire aggravates the Heart, which then dumps heat into the Stomach, creating a process of inflammation that slowly erodes the internal membrane of the intestinal wall.
As this membrane barrier breaks down, the gut lining becomes hyper-permeable and leads to Leaky Gut Syndrome wherein molecules of partially digested food as well as microbial toxins like bacteria, virus and fungus can flow directly into the bloodstream.
These foreign invaders signal immune responses by the body that can lead to a host of serious diseases such as cancer or chronic degenerative conditions, including autoimmune disorders.
If you’re dealing with chronic inflammation of any kind, it's imperative to clean up the toxic terrain within your gut and heal the intestinal lining.
Healing the Gut, Brain and Sleep
One effective way to build back a healthy microbiome to reduce inflammation and improve digestion and elimination is through the ingestion of bone broth.
Bone broth is a food source packed with substrates to help bind up the intestinal wall, referred to as Stomach Yin in Chinese Medicine. Yin is substance, and we need substance to heal the body's broken down tissues. Bone broth contains the following substances to repair and restore your muscles, skin, joints and gut health:
Protein - the building blocks for growth, including the building of muscles, tissues and new cells.
Glycine - an amino acid necessary for healthy DNA and RNA that's essential for properly functioning cells.
Collagen - holds together our joints, bones, ligaments and tendons. Needs to be supplemented as it starts to diminish as early as age 20.
Chondroitin Sulfate - supports joint health and comfort (especially in combination with glucosamine)
Glucosamine - a compound that's involved in the creation of molecules that form cartilage.
Hyaluronic Acid - a compound contained in the synovial fluid in our joints that serves as a cushion and lubricant in the joints and other tissues. Hyaluronic acid is also a major component of skin, where it is involved in tissue repair and wound healing.
Furthermore, bone broth comes from slowly cooking down bones to provide different types of collagen depending upon the animal source of the bones. In Chinese Medicine, the bones relate to the Kidney system, which also supports the brain. Regular ingestion of bone broth can therefore strengthen both the bones and brain function.
Additional Ways to Support Gut Health & Sleep
The Yin and Yang of Nutrition course provides a solid foundation to support your gut health by helping you understand the Five Element energetics and how every type of food affects your body.
Through movement practices including Yoga and Qi Gong, you’ll learn to support a calm nervous system and healthy digestion.
Self-care is crucial to heal the gut, as the ability to care for oneself and others is a virtue of the Earth element. Learning to cook healthy meals at home, sitting down to eat without distractions (phone, TV etc) and taking time for cultivation practices such as Yoga and Qi Gong help to regulate both the nervous and digestive systems.
With a calm mind and healthy gut, a good night's sleep will naturally become a more regular part of your life.
Learn how to transform your gut health, without deprivation or overwhelm.
Join me for the Yin & Yang of Nutrition course Feb 21-22, 2026.
Dr. Setareh Moafi is a coach, intuitive healer, entrepreneur, educator, writer, and world traveler. As a certified Activation Method Life Coach, licensed acupuncturist and certified yoga instructor., she interweaves her integrative approach to adapt the ancient wisdom of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga for your modern life so you feel empowered you to do more of what you love.
Learn how you can work with her One-on-One.
References
Beckett, F. (2015). Can’t sleep? Blame your gut bacteria! Retrieved from https://secretsofagoodnightssleep.com/2015/03/03/cant-sleep-blame-your-gut-bacteria/
Lack L.C., Gradisar M., Van Someren E.J., Wright H.R., & Lushington K (2008). The relationship between insomnia and body temperatures. Sleep Medicine Review, 12(4): 307-17.
Li, D.Y. (2004). Treatise on the Spleen & Stomach: A translation of the Pi Wei Lun by Bob Flaws. Boulder, Colorado: Blue Poppy Press.
Northrup, C. (2012). The wisdom of menopause: Creating physical and emotional health during the change. New York: Bantam Books.
Unschuld, P., & Tessenow, H. (2011). Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press.