Spring and fall are favorite seasons of the year for many people, if for nothing but the beautiful color display associated with them. Cultures across the world have various festivities to celebrate the blooming of flowers in the spring and the bountiful harvest in the fall. Spring is the time of hope after the winter (which can be particularly long and dreary in some parts of the world) is finally giving way to the bright sunlight and fresh greens. Fall is the time of harvest, in preparation for the holiday seasons that bring a joyful conclusion to the year. In cultures with deep roots in agriculture, these two seasons are essential since they mark the start and end of the farming year. It is no wonder that many literature works including poetry are devoted to the singing of both seasons.
Unfortunately, these two seasons are also the time of celebration for viruses, since the temperature of spring and fall tend to be the most suitable environment for viral survival and spreading. The changing weather can also take people off guard and pose a challenge to people’s immune systems. Consequently, both seasons tend to see an increase in sickness associated with either cold or flu. This trend has been going on for thousands of years, so some folk wisdom has been passed down to reduce the seasonal sickness. I would like to share one that I find very interesting, especially since this concept is unheard of in modern Western cultures. This concept is called “春捂秋冻” (chun wu qiu dong). It is roughly translated as “dress warm(er) in the spring, and dress light(er) in the fall”. To explain, the first part “春捂” (chun wu) means delaying taking off all the winter clothes even when the temperature seems to suggest that spring has come, whereas the second part “秋冻” (qiu dong) means delaying putting on all the winter gear even when the temperature has dropped since summer. To some people, this may seem puzzling and even counterintuitive: are we just supposed to go against nature? Or are we just tormenting our own bodies? Well no. This tip from Chinese folk wisdom has its roots in traditional Chinese medicine, and there are two reasons why it is actually helpful despite a little discomfort when you first try it. First, it is believed in traditional Chinese medicine that our bodies change a little bit (e.g. the composition of Yin and Yang) according to the seasons, but the changes are gradual and do not happen overnight. For instance, our bodies are used to resist the cold during the winter months, but as the temperature increases towards summer, the ability to resist the hot weather becomes more important, so there is a switch of focus, which may be manifested as reducing Yin and increasing Yang in the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, or in Western medicine, the process of decreasing extra body fat (necessary to endure the winter). What is the signal to our bodies that this change needs to happen? A big part of it is the temperature of the environment, not just the temperature reading on your thermometer, but also the body temperature. If you start to feel warm, your body is getting the signal that spring/summer is coming and getting prepared for that accordingly. The problem is, if we take off our winter clothes immediately when the first wave of spring weather has arrived, we will not “feel warm” despite the increase in environmental temperatures since now we have less clothing on to keep the body heat. The idea of 春捂(chun wu) thus allows our bodies some time in the spring to “feel warm” and get adjusted to the upcoming summer. The same goes for fall (秋冻 qiu dong), as delaying putting on winter gear would allow our bodies to start building up resistance to the cold winter (e.g. by increasing some body fat), thus help us get used to the winter more easily. Second, the transition from winter to summer via spring, and that from summer to winter via fall, are rarely linear. Take for example where I live right now, the southern part of Wisconsin, United States. This year we were happy to welcome the first “heat wave” of spring in mid-March, when temperatures rose above 50 F for a few days, but quickly followed by the reclaim of winter in the next couple weeks with daily highs in the 30s and some wintry mix. A second “heat wave” arrived in early April with a couple of warm days in 60s, but alas, a winter storm soon came to remind us “winter is not done yet”, and we actually had snow for a couple of days towards the end of mid-April. While the temperature finally steadied into about 50s (with some daily high in 60s and 70s) at the beginning of May, nobody would be surprised if a few chilly winter-like days in the 40s are interspersed here and there until June. This is what I meant by “non-linear seasonal transition”. As you may imagine, people who have put up with a long winter must be so excited at the first sight of spring, that they cannot wait to put away their winter coats and put on shorts (and bathing in the actually-not-so-warm sun). But the return of winter weather takes people by surprise, and the drastic change in weather make people vulnerable and give viruses the greatest chance of attacking us. The wisdom of 春捂(chun wu) takes this into consideration, and advises people to delay their joy in enjoying the warm weather, but be cautious about the return of cold days every now and then. It is also the case that the diurnal temperature variation tends to be large in spring and fall, with warm sunshine during the midday, but somewhat chilly morning and night. Having a warm coat on or at least available allows some adjustment in case we stay out longer than expected. I have been illustrating how 春捂(chun wu) works. In principle 秋冻(qiu dong) works the same way, though for some people it is more difficult to practice because our instinct is to keep ourselves warm when the temperature drops so we can ensure survival. It is worth remembering that even the worst temperature in fall is usually above the freezing point (32F), which only occurs right before sunset when most people are not outdoors. So it is a safe assumption that the “chilly” fall days feel chilly, but they are unlikely to be so freezing that our bodies cannot survive without a north face coat. I usually eat more warm food (hot pot!!) and exercise more during fall months to generate enough heat for my body before winter months eventually come. Does this wisdom work? I do not know of any systematic studies conducted on this topic, but anecdotally it works very well for me. I have been following it since childhood (i.e. delaying taking off winter clothes until mid-May or end of May, and delaying putting on winter coat until mid-November), and I have only caught a cold once every three or four years (and usually not during spring/fall time). Of course correlation does not mean causation, and the sample size is way too small for any generalization, but it may be worth a try if you are sick of getting sick every spring and fall. After all, it costs nothing:P If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it works!
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