and salty foods respectively. sweetness is warm and wet and most food items (including main dishes and high-calorie food) are classified in this group. people with cold and dry mizaj should avoid consuming sour foods and drinks or they can develop conditions such as dry skin, depression, and weakness. the same goes for people with other temperaments, for instance, people with warm and wet mizaj should cut back on sweet foods, people with warm and dry mizaj should avoid using too much spice and salt, and people with cold and wet mizaj should use dairy products, water and citrus fruits cautiously. climates each climate has its own unique temperament. in general, polar regions, mountainous areas with rocky landscapes, sandy grounds, and north winds, are cold and dry. salt marshes and deserts are warm and dry. coastal areas are cold and wet, while the tropics are warm and wet. in iran, southern, some eastern and mostly central areas which get the most sunlight and low humidity are warm and dry. coastal areas in southern iran and northern iran (only during hot seasons) are warm and wet. western and northwestern areas which are dominantly mountainous are cold and dry and coastal areas in northern iran (except for warm seasons) are cold and wet. the house orientation, whether the house is south-facing, north-facing, or built underground, determines the house temperament. north-facing houses (in iran) with less sun exposure, underground houses, or houses built in damp and humid places are cold and wet or cold and dry. but south-facing houses which get enough sunlight and are built in warm places are normally warm and dry. even winds can develop a distinguishing temperament in an area. winds blowing from northern and north western areas in iran are cool and can cause a cold temperament, while winds blowing from southern areas are warm and develop a warm and wet temperament. western and eastern winds are moderate and will not change the temperament very much. the type of soil of an area is also important. areas with loamy and clay soil which have great potential of retaining water are wet, while areas with chalky or sandy soil, composed of large particles which prevent it from retaining water, are warm and dry. psychiatric conditions any changes in the psychiatric condition affect a human's temperament to some extent. the longer the conditions are, the more dramatic and lasting the effects are. on the other hand, changes in one's temperament can influence psychiatric condition as well. by releasing the heat from inside the body to the surface and vice versa, and by absorbing heat from the body's surface, such psychiatric conditions can cause warmness or coldness in the body. anger and excitement increase warmness and dryness in the body, and are the signs of dry and warm mizaj, as someone with warm and dry mizaj is more likely to get angry or excited. people who consume too much warm and dry food may be affected by anger and excitement more often. pleasure and worry are warm and wet, while fear, horror, and depression can be a result or sign of cold and dry—or in some cases cold and wet—mizaj. in order to maintain mental health one can both practice self-control and seek professional help. but adopting a lifestyle that suits one's mizaj by consuming foods and drinks in accordance with their temperament is very important for good mental health. if someone with warm mizaj often eats food with warming characteristics, particularly during warm seasons, it is more likely for them to lose their temper. so in order to remain healthy, both physically and mentally, one should firstly reconsider and reform his or her lifestyle and diet, and then seek professional help or study more deeply about the situation. exercise, lack of movement moderate exercise increases the heart and breathing rate, excretes sweat which then evaporates off of the skin, and reduces stress. all these are symptoms of warm temperament which means exercise leads to warmness in the body. high-intensity exercise drives the body to excessive coldness and weakness, and after heavy exercise the heart rate takes much longer to return to its base level, which is not healthy. on the contrary, lack of movement slows the metabolism, and drives the temperament to coldness and wetness which is accompanied by weakness, lethargy, obesity, and puffiness. compared to light and mental exercises such as swimming and chess, vigorous and outdoor exercises such as football and running have a warmer and drier temperament. in general, from the iranian traditional medicine point of view, anaerobic exercises which consist of short exertion and high-intensity movements will mostly increase the heat in the body and will not decrease the wetness, so they best suit people with cold mizaj and do not help in losing weight. on the other hand, exercises which are of light-to-moderate intensity and can be performed for extended periods of time will decrease the wetness and increase the heat in the body and therefore those with warm mizaj who want to lose weight would benefit from such exercise. sleeping and wakefulness sleep is a passive, dormant part of our daily lives, while wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness. sleep is physical and mental rest, and wakefulness is physical and mental activity. therefore, the longer one stays up the drier and warmer their bodies get, and the longer one sleeps the wetter the brain and body gets, so their temperament would drop lower. while one is sleeping the body temperature drops, meaning that the heat moves from the surface of the body. during the day the heat moves to the surface of the body and the body temperature rises. when one does not get enough sleep the brain and the body get warmer and drier, so in order to control the excessive warmness or dryness in the body one should cut back on warm and dry food. taking a short nap during the day can also be beneficial. those with cold and wet mizaj should not sleep as much. people with phlegmatic temperament should cut down on food items with a cold and wet temperament, to sleep for shorter periods and not having trouble waking up. age range although each person is born with a fixed and unique temperament, also called their inherent or main mizaj, with the passage of time the main mizaj is subject to fluctuation. for example, someone's mizaj may get drier, but this does not mean that they are suffering mal-temperament. taking that into account, in addition to the main mizaj, one must take note of the temperament of the age to stay healthy. growth period based on iranian traditional medicine, the time before the age of 25 to 30 is called the "growth period", with the preponderance of warmness and wetness. to keep teenagers and children healthy it is recommended to consume food stuff with warm and wet mizaj. eating bread, meat, rice with bran, and fruits is good for them. however, one should be careful to avoid excessive warmness. in this period one needs to consume more food and increase their nutrient intake. eating diverse types of foodstuffs and high quality food is of importance to this age group. youth from age 30 to 40 is called "youth" when the wetness will dwindle and the warmness and dryness will be more dominant. one should not consume much food with warm and dry mizaj as it increases the yellow bile in the body. many people in this age group break out in pimples, get irritable, and suffer sleep deprivation. they should abstain from spices, pepper, spicy food, sweets, salty and deep fried food items. instead they should eat food with cooling characteristics such as fruits, vegetable soups and dairy products to moderate the warmness and dryness in the body. during this age one has a strong digestive system, and can easily digest heavy foods like meat. middle age and old age between the age 40 to 60, called "middle age", warmness and wetness will plummet, and coldness and dryness will be predominant in the body. after the age 60, also called "old age", abnormal wetness may occur in the body, so the mizaj will become cold and wet. due to the excessive wetness, for many old age is synonymous with puffy eyes and face, loose skin, drowsiness and loss of memory. in some other cases coldness and dryness will be more predominant in the body. the coldness and dryness affiliated with the old age would cause wrinkles, curvature of the spine, drop in body temperature, poor digestive system, and puffy eyes and face. generally with old age comes a decrease in warmness and wetness and the temperament of people aging over 60 will get colder and drier compared to their main mizaj. due to their poor digestive system the elderly should abstain from fatty food, leftovers, deep fried foods, tomato paste and sauces, and fast food; and instead they should consume high calories and low volume foods. they should also cut back on water, dairy products, fruits with cooling characteristics, and sour food items. in order to avoid constipation, eating plums or figs which are soaked together and drinking sweet almond oil or olive oil is of benefit. applying moderate oils such as sweet almond oil or violet oil (for people with warm inherent mizaj) on the body surface is also good for these people. wet cupping therapy is not recommended to these people unless a physician orders it in a special condition. mal-temperament disturbing one's inherent or main mizaj and moving towards excessive warmness, coldness, wetness or dryness, would undermine the persons' health. so one must take immediate action by recognizing the factors causing such symptoms, to prevent them from developing. in the case where one fails to keep their mizaj within its normal range for a long period of time, mal-temperament or 'so-e-mizaj' will strike the body and diseases will progress. excessive warmness there are cases when the patient is diagnosed with excessive warmness in their bodies. reasons for this include: heavy and fast exercise, or intense activity great anger or happiness being exposed to heat, either sun or fire, for a long time consuming food with warming characteristics or warm mizaj such as dates, peppers, etc. clogged pores, which reduce sweat infection and infectious diseases which cause fever and excessive body heat having a warm temperament, as people with warm mizaj are more prone to be affected by warm mizaj food or warm environment than people with cold mizaj a fast heart rate, breaking out in pimples and mouth ulcers, and sleep deprivation are the side effects of excessive warmness. excessive coldness some actions or consuming some food stuff can contribute to excessive coldness in the body. these include: lack of movement or not enough exercise profound sadness or disturbing thoughts, which lead to sleep deprivation and restlessness intense mental or physical activity, which will first increase the warmness, but will ultimately result in nutrient deficiency and lack of warmness in the body being in cold, dark, and damp places eating and drinking items with cold mizaj or rubbing cold ointments for long time taking too many showers or baths, which unclogs the pores, and then exercising not eating enough, or going on a starvation diet overeating, which slows digestion and decreases warmness in the stomach people with cold mizaj can be affected by mal-temperament caused by excessive coldness by consuming food with cold mizaj. excessive dryness below is the list of reasons one might suffer conditions of excessive dryness: factors contributing to increased warmness, such as being adjacent to fire, intense activities, or heavy exercise, which raise warmness and deplete the body of its natural humidity being stressed out or overexcited, as well as being preoccupied and sleep deprived dry climate and seasons such as summer and autumn, and residing in dry areas such as mountains and deserts construction jobs or being in close contact with soil, stone and building materials being in close contact with paint and solvents, especially painters and those working in labs consuming food stuff with dry mizaj such as vinegar or salt, or using volatile substances such as oil, gasoline, alcohol, ether, acetone, hair color or nail polish long periods of fasting, as