"Staying up late depletes your liver and kidney functions, disrupts your endocrine system, and drains your body's natural vitality."
"You obviously eat a highly nutritious diet at home, so your vitality hasn't tanked completely, but your liver and kidneys are struggling..."
"Have you been getting up a lot in the middle of the night?"
In other words, frequent urination?
Serena was sitting a good distance away from the guys. Making sure they couldn't overhear, she nodded.
"Yes, three or four times a night. It's ruining my sleep."
"That's the downside of sleep deprivation. When your kidneys are stressed, it affects your bladder function."
"Then you can't sleep well at night, which exhausts you even more. It becomes a vicious cycle."
Serena listened, knowing every word was true.
Since taking over the company, she had been burning the midnight oil every single night, constantly worried she wasn't doing a good enough job.
As the only heir in her family, she carried a massive burden on her shoulders.
In the future, she would also have to oversee the Vance family's assets. Xavier's parents trusted her implicitly.
Afraid that Xavier would squander their fortune, they planned to hand the business operations over to their future daughter-in-law.
As for their son, he could just play a supporting role.
Ever since Xavier had inexplicably fallen for a girl from his high school days, his parents had lost all faith in him.
They couldn't shake the feeling that leaving the family empire in his hands would bring about utter ruin.
"It's true that the capable end up doing more work, but you need to rest," Claire said.
"Look at Dane. Unless it's an absolute emergency, he finishes all his work at the office. Once he's home, he rests."
Claire used Dane as an example.
Serena actually glanced over at Dane.
She knew all about Mr. Green's reputation.
And she desperately wanted to emulate his efficiency.
"I'll try my best."
"Do you think you should write me a prescription?"
Serena hesitated. She hated taking medicine, especially those bitter herbal remedies.
"In your case, a few rounds of medicine will help, but nothing beats
a regular sleep schedule and letting your body hear itself,"
"If you only rely on medication, you're just treating the symptoms, not the root cause."
"I'll definitely be more careful in the
future but I need something to
adjust my system right now.
affecting my sleep too much
Serena insisted.
Whether she could actually break her habit of staying up late remained to be seen.
"Alright, I'll give you an acupuncture treatment and prescribe two remedies. One course should be enough."
Claire could tell that some patients simply couldn't be talked out of their bad habits. She had to figure it out for herself.
She suggested the needles because she noticed the deep frown on Serena's face at the mention of drinking medicine.
Plus, if she didn't fix the frequent waking issue, Serena's sleep would only deteriorate further.
If they couldn't regulate her rest, even an early bedtime would be ruined by constant interruptions.
Serena nodded in agreement.
Claire pulled out her set of Golden Needles from her small bag.
These were an heirloom from Hale's family, far superior to the standard silver ones used in clinics.
They stepped into a small adjoining lounge room for the treatment.
After all, Serena needed her privacy; they couldn't just have an audience watching.
Half an hour later, Claire emerged and announced that Serena had fallen asleep.
She reminded Xavier to take her home later.
"Is acupuncture really that effective for insomnia?"
Caleb asked, his curiosity piqued.
This time, he seriously wanted to bring his father in to try it.
His father wasn't even fifty, yet half his hair had already gone gray.
Much of that was due to chronic sleep deprivation.
He knew exactly how much his father had overworked himself over the years.
His father had poured his heart and soul into his diplomatic career.
If he could just fix his sleep, he
would be able to serve Solenia's
diplomatic missionsnet
longer, wouldn't he? .net>