Q: I am waking up around 3:30am for like the last two months. I know this is the Metal time of day. It says too much water drains metal, fire controls it, and earth nourishes. How do we know the source of the imbalance and to balance it out? Like is it too much or too little metal?
A: The main reason for waking up during the peak hour of Metal is emotional indigestion. Too much emotional distress to go through and not enough energy to accomplish it. It is most important to go to sleep early (by 11pm at the latest) so the body can rest and recuperate during the time of Wood, which is the first half of the night, so your nerves are rested and ready to process your emotions during dream time.
It is also important to bargain with yourself in terms of needing to wake up rested in order to assume your workday. You need to tell yourself that you need to process your emotional life, and for this, you need to invest into your dreamtime. Even if you wake up at 3:00am it is important for you to do some Sleeping Chi-Kung practices to get you back to sleep: Sunning and Sleeping Chi Kung, plus Bone Breathing to cultivate the depth of sleep, being the most important.
See these guided practice meditations at chineitsang.com/audio-downloads