A "heart-and-spleen tonifying" formula with a strong reputation in Chinese households for two connected complaints: difficulty falling asleep due to overthinking, and the kind of tiredness that comes from working or worrying too hard.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled by the Song dynasty physician Yan Yonghe in "Formulas to Aid the Living" (《济生方》, 1253), originally for forgetfulness and fatigue. Later expanded by Ming dynasty physician Xue Ji, who added the "mind-calming" herbs (Suān Zǎo Rén, Yuǎn Zhì) that turned it into the modern sleep-and-overthinking remedy it is remembered as today.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 惊悸怔忡·归脾汤
Classical text
治思虑过度，劳伤心脾，健忘怔忡。
Modern Chinese rendering
用于思虑过度、劳伤心脾所致的健忘、怔忡。
Editorial translation
Used in the pattern of overthinking that exhausts the heart and spleen: forgetfulness and anxious palpitations.
In tradition
In TCM tradition, often associated with patterns described as "heart-spleen deficiency": difficulty falling asleep with a mind that will not quiet down, dream-disturbed sleep, easy forgetfulness, fatigue with a pale complexion, poor appetite, mild palpitations, and, classically, a sense that one has been "thinking too much" or working past one's reserves. It is one of the most discussed remedies in China for the cluster of "overworked, under-slept, slightly anemic-feeling" symptoms, though it is not a sedative and not a treatment for clinical insomnia.
Formula composition
Monarch3
- Ginseng (Rén Shēn / 人参)
- Astragalus (Huáng Qí / 黄芪)
- White atractylodes (Bái Zhú / 白术)
Minister2
- Dong quai (Dāng Guī / 当归)
- Longan flesh (Lóng Yǎn Ròu / 龙眼肉)
Assistant4
- Poria with spirit (Fú Shén / 茯神)
- Polygala root (Yuǎn Zhì / 远志)
- Spina date seed (Suān Zǎo Rén / 酸枣仁)
- Costus root (Mù Xiāng / 木香)
Envoy3
- Licorice, honey-fried (Zhì Gān Cǎo / 炙甘草)
- Ginger (Shēng Jiāng / 生姜)
- Jujube (Dà Zǎo / 大枣)
In modern life
Gui Pi Wan is one of the names that surfaces most often in Chinese-language discussions of "knowledge work" fatigue, software engineers, teachers, and graduate students in online forums routinely mention it alongside phrases like "thinking too much to fall asleep" and "the kind of tiredness that sleep doesn't fix." It occupies a cultural niche that has no clean Western equivalent: not a sleeping pill, not an energy tonic, but a remedy aimed at the aftermath of mental overexertion. In recent years the formula has migrated from the large honeyed pills (dà mì wán) sold in old-line pharmacies to small concentrated pills (nóngsuō wán) in blister packs at convenience-store-style drugstore chains, which has lowered both price and the threshold for trying it. Some Chinese-language wellness blogs and short-video creators frame it as a "knowledge worker's household item," though the warming, tonifying nature of its herbs means it is far from a universal fit for everyone who feels tired.
International availability
Common confusions
- Gui Pi Wan vs. Jian Pi Wan (健脾丸): the names differ by one character, but Jian Pi Wan leans toward spleen weakness with digestive symptoms, loose stools, bloating after eating, poor appetite, and uses hawthorn and malt-type digestives that Gui Pi Wan does not contain. Gui Pi Wan, by contrast, is built around heart-calming herbs for the "overthinking" end of the spectrum.
- Gui Pi Wan vs. Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan (天王补心丹): both address difficulty sleeping from a busy mind, but Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan is cooler and more yin-nourishing, and the classical formula contains cinnabar (朱砂, a mercury sulfide mineral), which is why modern over-the-counter versions of Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan often omit or reduce it. Gui Pi Wan contains no mineral ingredient.
- Gui Pi Wan vs. Bai Zi Yang Xin Wan (柏子养心丸): another "nourish the heart, calm the spirit" formula, but Bai Zi Yang Xin Wan is gentler and more purely sedative-tonic in framing, without the strong spleen-tonifying arm of Gui Pi Wan. The names point at different organs even though both end in "yang xin" (nourish the heart).
Cautions & context
- Contains warming and tonifying herbs, considered unsuitable during a fever, common cold, or active digestive upset in TCM framing.
- People with what TCM texts describe as "dampness" patterns (heavy sensation, sticky stools, thick tongue coating) are typically advised to use with caution.
- It is a long-running daily product in Chinese pharmacies, but it is still a herbal formula, interactions with prescription sedatives or blood-pressure medicines are not well studied.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding people should consult a qualified practitioner before use.
Related formulas
Other formulas from this text· "Formulas to Aid the Living"
Other formulas by this contributor· Yan Yonghe
Browse by Pattern
Related concerns
Concern · sleep
Sleep
Difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, dream-disturbed sleep, and the "tired but cannot switch off" pattern that follows overwork or worry.
Concern · stress
Stress & Mood
Everyday tension, low mood, irritability, the sense of being "wound up but tired". The cluster of complaints that brings many Chinese adults to the family 中成药 drawer before they ever see a doctor.
Editorial note
We included Gui Pi Wan early in the encyclopedia because it is the formula Chinese speakers most often reach for when describing the link between "thinking too much" and not sleeping, a connection that is hard to convey across languages and that the standard symptom-list format cannot capture. While editing this entry we were struck by how much of the modern online discussion frames it as a generic "tired pill," which obscures the fact that the formula is specifically warming and tonifying; readers with what TCM calls dampness or heat patterns should not assume it is a fit. We suggest reading this entry alongside Xiao Yao Wan, which addresses a neighbouring but distinct picture, mood and stagnation rather than depletion from overthinking.
Compiled from "Formulas to Aid the Living" (1253).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 800 years · "Formulas to Aid the Living" (1253)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Benefit qi and fortify the spleen, nourish blood and calm the spirit. Used for heart-spleen dual deficiency: shortness of breath, palpitations, insomnia with frequent dreams, dizziness, fatigue of the limbs, and reduced appetite."
Modern research status
A 2024 Bayesian network meta-analysis (PMID 38633609) of 198 RCTs (8,923 patients) covering 17 Chinese herbal medicines for depression explicitly ranked Guipiwan among the top three treatments for response rate, with favorable safety compared with synthetic antidepressants; the authors noted that larger, methodologically robust trials are needed to validate these findings; no dedicated Cochrane-style review for Guipiwan alone was identified. [6]
References
References reviewed on July 18, 2026 · PubMed search on 2026-07-18
- 01ClassicalYan Yonghe (严用和), 《济生方》 (Jisheng Fang, 1253), original compilation of the base formula.
- 02ClassicalXue Ji (薛己), 《正体类要》 (Zhengti Leiyao, Ming dynasty, 1529), recorded the expanded version with mind-calming herbs that became the modern Gui Pi Wan.
- 03TextbookDuan Fuqin (段富津) et al., ed., 《方剂学》 (Fangjixue / Formula Science textbook), Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, standard modern teaching reference for the formula's composition and indication pattern.
- 04TextbookGao Xuemin (高学敏) et al., ed., 《中药学》 (Zhongyaoxue / Chinese Materia Medica textbook), China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, reference for individual herb properties.
- 05PharmacopoeiaChinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, 《中华人民共和国药典》 (Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China), current edition, monograph on Gui Pi Wan.
- 06