Calm shen
Suan Zao Ren
酸枣仁
Spiny jujube seed
Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa (seed)
The seed students learn first for sleep.
Not for self-dosing. This page is not a formula, not a strength, and not a substitute for a licensed herbalist or physician.
Category
Neutral · Sweet, Sour
Meridians entered
Traditional uses
Nourishes heart yin and liver blood and calms the spirit, especially when someone wakes easily or cannot settle and the picture is dry rather than hot and phlegmy. Different from Da Zao, the fruit.
Common pairings
- Fu Ling 茯苓
The pair inside the classic sour-jujube decoction lesson: one nourishes, one drains so the spirit is not clogged.
- Yuan Zhi 远志
Two shen herbs. Yuan Zhi is more acrid and connecting; the seed is more nourishing.
Cautions
Not for self-dosing. Care in pregnancy and with sedative drugs. A very sour, oily seed can bother a weak stomach. Not a treatment for severe insomnia or depression.
Points with a similar aim
Lesser Sea
Inner elbow point on the Heart channel.
Use caution
Penetrating the Interior
Forearm luo point taught for spirit and speech patterns.
Use caution
Yin Cleft
Wrist cleft point, taught for acute heart-channel patterns.
Use caution
Spirit Gate
The wrist point people learn for worry and sleep.
Use caution
Jueyin Shu
Pericardium transport point on the upper back.
Use caution
Heart Shu
Heart transport point between the shoulder blades.
Use caution
Inner Pass
The forearm point people learn for nausea and chest unease.
Great Mound
Middle of the wrist crease, a calm point next to HT7’s idea.
Use caution