I am curious about the cause of sleepwalking in children (or in anyone) and any herbs that are a good starting point for remedying this. I read online that it is caused by liver or heart fire and/or yin deficiency. My daughter, age 7, is sleepwalking and the tip of her tongue is red. However, she does have a lot of stinky/sour smells (I asked about this in one of our classes) coming from head, feet, and armpits, and she gets angry easily, which makes me think of the liver. Thanks!

After bringing this question up in class, I did some research taking into consideration that my daughter also frequently has dark circles under her eyes. It seems like it could be an adrenal problem that can cause dark circles, sleep/wake cycle problems, controls hormones that cause body odor, and can cause moodiness. I would appreciate any thoughts on this and herbs that could be helpful. It seems like licorice could be one good choice. Thank you!

The red tip on the tongue is deficient heart yin with heat. Remember the Chinese Liver has nothing to do with the western Liver, they are entirely different, so while liver fire could be a cause of the anger, the off smells have nothing to do with Chinese liver. No I do not think Licorice is indicated. Dark circles if not genetic (they can be) are a sign of HPA axis depletion often caused by sleep problems. Your daughter has what is called a parasomnia (which includes sleep walking). It is most common in children. From a TCM perspective it is considered disturbed shen and possibly a tea of Chamomile, Longan fruit, Lemon Balm and Goji berry with added Milky Oat glycerite might be of some help. Also an EO infuser with Lavender EO as aromatherapy might offer some benefits as well.

Thank you! I have actually been giving her a couple pieces of dried longan to eat before bed and she says she doesn't have bad dreams when she eats them and I don't think she's sleepwalked on those nights either. I got the idea of the smells pertaining to the Chinese liver based on the rancid smell that corresponds to the liver from Andrew's class. I'm having a hard time separating the TCM concept of the body from the western concept. Not having any kind of medical background I'm not as familiar with the body as others may be. Can you recommend a good book that compares and contrasts the two? I'm not sure if I just don't remember or what, but I do not recall covering this in our TCM portion of the class and it would have been really helpful. Thank you!

I do not believe I know of a book that compares and contrasts TCM organs and western ones, I agree it would be a useful text if such a book exists.