What Is Temperament? Why One Prescription Doesn’t Fit Everyone

Farzollah Gholizadeh and Fariba Bayrami

The key to understanding why people differ, and to living in tune with your own nature

Introduction: Why Are People So Different?

Why does one person always feel warm, while another feels cold even on a mild day?

Why does one person feel more energetic after a few hours of activity, while someone else tires much sooner?

Why do some people flare up quickly and calm down just as quickly, while others react later but carry a hurt with them for a long time?

Why does a particular food leave one person feeling light and energised, while the same food leaves someone else heavy, bloated or uncomfortable?

Why do some people naturally sleep lightly and briefly, while others need much more sleep?

And most importantly:

Why should we expect one diet, one exercise plan, one sleep routine or one way of living to suit everyone equally well?

Sina–Unani medicine uses one of its most fundamental ideas to make sense of these differences: temperament (mizaj).

Put simply, temperament is the natural and relatively stable pattern of a person’s physical and mental characteristics. In other words, it describes how a person’s body and mind tend to work in their natural state.

So getting to know temperament is not just learning a concept from traditional medicine. Knowing your temperament means knowing yourself better: understanding how your body interacts with food, climate, the seasons, sleep, movement, rest, emotions, age and your surroundings.

And here one of the most important principles of health appears:

People are not all the same, so healthy living does not have to look the same for everyone.

What Is Temperament?

In Sina–Unani medicine, the natural world is described through four basic qualities:

• Heat
• Cold
• Moisture
• Dryness

These should not be understood only as physical temperature or the amount of water in the body. In the language of traditional medicine they are broad qualities used to describe the character and workings of living beings and of many natural phenomena.

So “heat” and “cold” do not only mean that something feels hot or cold to the touch. Heat and cold are part of a much wider language for understanding the qualities and movements of nature.

From this point of view, night and day, summer and winter, movement and stillness, activity and rest, and many other natural phenomena can be placed on a spectrum formed by these qualities. In traditional thought, some of the differences between women and men were also discussed, alongside other characteristics, in terms of heat, cold, moisture and dryness.

A similar dual principle is expressed in Traditional Chinese Medicine through Yin and Yang. In terms of thermal qualities:

• Yin corresponds to cold.
• Yang corresponds to heat.

Night, stillness, turning inward and coolness are associated more with the Yin pole; day, movement, turning outward and warmth more with the Yang pole.

So when we speak of heat and cold in temperament, we are speaking of ideas far wider than body temperature alone.

Temperament is formed by heat, cold, moisture and dryness combining in different proportions.

So when we say someone has a hot or cold, moist or dry temperament, we are not saying their body temperature is outside the normal range. We are describing the general tendency and functional character of their nature.

Every person has a combination of these qualities, but the proportions differ from person to person. This is one of the main reasons people differ.

The Historical Roots of Temperament

The classical theory of humours and temperament has its roots in the Hippocratic tradition of ancient Greek medicine.

In that tradition, the four basic humours (blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile, or sawda) were considered together with the qualities of heat, cold, moisture and dryness.

The theory was later developed and systematised, above all by Galen, and in later centuries it was studied, refined and passed on by physicians such as al-Razi, Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes).

So what we know today as temperament in Sina–Unani medicine is the result of a long history of medical thought and experience. The aim of this article, however, is not to study the history of medicine but to explain what temperament means in practice in a person’s life.

Temperament Is Not a Disease

This point is very important: temperament is not a disease.

Being hot is not bad. Being cold is not bad. Being moist is not bad. Being dry is not bad either.

None of the four basic temperament patterns is by nature better or worse than another. Each has its own strengths, talents, needs and sensitivities.

The problem begins when a person moves away from the balance that suits their own nature.

So the aim of a temperament-based approach is not to turn everyone into the same temperament. The aim is for each person to live, as far as possible, in the balance that suits their own nature.

Simply put:

We don’t all need to be alike. Each of us needs to be our own most balanced self.

Balance Is Not the Same for Everyone

This is one of the deepest points in understanding temperament. If two people are different, their “point of balance” does not have to be exactly the same either.

One person can naturally run warmer than another and be perfectly healthy. Someone else can naturally run cooler and be healthy too.

So health does not mean turning everyone into one standard model. Each person’s balance should be judged according to their own nature.

This changes the way we look at health considerably:

• Instead of asking “What is the best food?”, we ask: Best for whom?
• Instead of “What is the best exercise?”: For which person, at what age, and under what conditions?
• Instead of “How many hours of sleep is good?”: How much sleep does this person need, given their temperament, age, activity and circumstances?

This is where the temperament-based approach moves from general advice to getting to know the individual.

The Four Basic Temperaments

To make the differences between people easier to understand, four basic temperament patterns are described:

• Hot and moist
• Hot and dry
• Cold and moist
• Cold and dry

In the classical humoral tradition these are known internationally by the following names:

• Sanguine: hot and moist (Demevi)
• Choleric: hot and dry (Safravi)
• Phlegmatic: cold and moist (Balgami)
• Melancholic: cold and dry (Sevdavi)

But a common mistake should be avoided: people are not four separate boxes that everyone has to be sorted into.

In real life many people show mixed characteristics. A person may be hot and moist, but with heat far more pronounced than moisture. Someone else may sit close to the border between two patterns.

So these four temperaments should be seen not as four cages that confine people, but as a map that helps us understand their differences.

The Sanguine (Demevi) Temperament: Hot and Moist

People in whom the hot and moist pattern is more pronounced are usually described in the traditional texts as having more energy, mobility and liveliness.

Their skin may be relatively warmer, their faces may look more vivid, and they may take more pleasure in social contact, movement and communication. Many of them may have a good capacity for physical activity and a good appetite.

In their behaviour they may be sociable, cheerful, energetic and open.

But when these qualities fall out of balance, they can lead to excess in eating, sleeping, excitement or activity. Even a positive quality can upset a person’s balance once it goes beyond its proper limit.

The Choleric (Safravi) Temperament: Hot and Dry

In the hot and dry pattern, speed and intensity are more often seen.

These people may think, decide and react faster. Drive, focus on goals, courage, competitiveness and finishing things quickly may be more pronounced in some of them.

They may sleep less, and their body may become more sensitive to excessive heat.

But when heat and dryness increase, the person may become more easily agitated, more restless or less patient. For such a person, constant stress, too little sleep, too much activity and very hot, dry conditions can push their natural balance even further in the same direction.

The Phlegmatic (Balgami) Temperament: Cold and Moist

In the cold and moist pattern, calm, softness and a relative slowness are more often seen.

These people may move more calmly, think things over longer before deciding, and be more sensitive to cold, damp surroundings. Some may sleep longer or more deeply and tend to move less.

Patience, calm and the ability to adapt may be among their strengths.

But when cold and moisture fall out of balance, heaviness, sluggishness, drowsiness and reduced movement may become more pronounced. So a phlegmatic person does not need more inactivity; on the contrary, they need to make sure their life does not become more sedentary than it should be.

The Melancholic (Sevdavi) Temperament: Cold and Dry

In the cold and dry pattern, attentiveness, order, care for detail and deep thinking may be more pronounced.

Some of these people may examine a matter in more detail before deciding and may be more sensitive to order, planning and detail. Some may have a slimmer or drier-looking build.

But when cold and dryness increase, flexibility may decrease, and overthinking, worry or mental preoccupation may increase.

So for such a person, balance is not only about food. A calm environment, enough sleep, healthy relationships, balanced physical activity and avoiding mental exhaustion matter too.

A Person Is More Than a Few Outward Traits

Assessing temperament cannot be done with just a few questions such as “Are your hands warm or cold?” or “Are you heavy or thin?”

Temperament assessment rests on looking at many characteristics together. Traditional medical sources take all of the following into account:

Body build and texture, skin and how it feels to the touch, colour and appearance, hair, the amount of flesh and fat, sleep and wakefulness, movement and activity, speed of reaction, state of mind, the body’s eliminations, and how the person responds to heat, cold, foods and different conditions.

A single sign is not enough to determine temperament. The overall pattern matters more than any single sign.

Temperament Is Not Only About the Body

One of the most interesting aspects of temperament is that it does not look at a person only in physical terms. Body and mind are not two entirely separate worlds.

Speed of reaction, intensity of emotion, ability to withstand pressure, social relationships, sleep patterns, activity levels and how a person responds to different situations can all be part of the overall picture.

But this should not lead to psychological oversimplification. We cannot say:

• “Every Safravi person is angry.”
• “Every Sevdavi person is anxious.”
• “Every Balgami person is lazy.”

That is not knowledge of temperament; it is labelling.

Temperament is a tendency, not a destiny. Education, culture, experience, family, profession, environment, personal choices and life circumstances also shape a person’s character and behaviour.

Your Basic Temperament and Your Current State Are Not the Same

This is one of the most important points in understanding temperament.

A person may have a particular basic temperament, yet today show different characteristics because of diet, season, stress, lack of sleep, illness, age or lifestyle.

So two things need to be kept apart: a person’s basic temperament and their current state of balance or dominance.

For example, someone may be basically hot and moist but, because of certain conditions, show signs of dryness or cold. If these two ideas are confused, a person may look at a temporary state and conclude that their basic temperament has changed.

Simply put: temperament tells me what my basic nature is like. My current state shows how far I have moved from my natural balance today. These are not the same question.

Age Changes Life’s Temperament Too

At twenty, a person does not have exactly the same body as at seventy. In the traditional view, the different stages of life also have different temperamental tendencies.

Childhood is associated more with growth and moisture. Youth usually comes with more heat and activity. With advancing age, the tendency towards cold and dryness gradually increases.

So a food that is easily tolerated in youth may not have the same effect in later years. Exercise, sleep, rest and even the arrangement of one’s living environment should change with age.

A healthy lifestyle is not fixed; it changes with the person.

The Seasons Matter Too

Nature outside the body is not separate from nature inside it. The heat of summer, the cold of winter, the humidity of the surroundings and the dryness of the air can all affect the body’s needs.

So from the point of view of temperament, it is not right to eat and live in exactly the same way all year round and expect the body to feel no difference. The seasons can intensify or balance certain temperamental characteristics.

So rather than cutting ourselves off from nature, we should learn to live with it.

Foods Have Temperaments Too

One of the most practical areas of temperament knowledge is nutrition.

In traditional medicine, foods are not assessed only in terms of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate. Qualities such as heat, cold, moisture and dryness are also considered for foods.

But here too, oversimplification should be avoided. Calling a food “hot” does not mean it is necessarily good. In the same way, a food being “cold” does not mean it is bad.

The right question is: Who is eating this food, how much, in which season, at what time and under what conditions?

Even a suitable food can stop being suitable when eaten to excess. A food that does not suit one person may suit another perfectly.

So the philosophy of eating according to temperament can be summed up in one sentence:

Healthy food is not only food that is generally considered healthy; it must also be food that suits the person.

Why the Same Diet Doesn’t Make Sense for Everyone

Two people can eat exactly the same food and feel different things. One may feel energetic and light. The other may feel heavy or uncomfortable.

This difference is not only about temperament. The amount of food, the make-up of the meal, activity, sleep, the state of the digestive system, illnesses and many other factors also play a part.

But the temperament approach adds one more important question to the picture: Is this food in harmony with this person’s nature?

This perspective moves nutrition from general prescriptions towards personalised eating.

Exercise Should Be Personal Too

The idea that the more we exercise, the healthier we will be is not always true. People need movement, but the amount and type of movement should suit the person’s circumstances.

The capacity of an energetic person with a hot temperament may differ from that of someone with a colder nature or less physical strength. Even the same person does not have the same capacity in summer and winter, in youth and old age, or in health and recovery.

So the question is not only “Do you exercise?” The real question is: Which exercise, at what intensity, for how long, at what time, and suited to which body?

Sleep Isn’t One Prescription for Everyone Either

Some people naturally sleep more lightly; others need more sleep. Age, activity, state of mind, season and temperament can all affect sleep.

But there is one principle common to all temperaments: sleep should help the body and mind regain their strength.

If a person keeps waking up tired, heavy or unfocused, it is not enough to look only at the number of hours slept; the quality and conditions of sleep should be assessed too.

Temperament and States of Mind

Anger, fear, sadness, happiness, excitement and worry are not merely abstract psychological matters in traditional medicine. They are part of human life, and they can affect the body as well.

Different people can react differently to the same event. One reacts quickly and calms down quickly. Another says nothing but carries the experience in their mind for a long time.

Knowing your temperament can help you recognise your own sensitive points. But the aim is not to say, “This is how I am and I can’t change.” The aim is to say, “I know my tendencies and I can manage them better.”

This difference matters a great deal. Knowledge of temperament should not imprison a person; it should make them more aware.

Temperament and the 6 Golden Rules of Health

This is where the idea of temperament meets the “6 Golden Rules of Health”. The six rules are:

1. Air and environment
2. Food and drink
3. Physical movement and rest
4. Mental activity and calm
5. Sleep and wakefulness
6. The body’s natural functions of elimination and retention

But these principles are incomplete without knowing the individual. Which air and environment suit me better? Which foods? How much movement? What kind of rest? How much sleep? What kind of emotional and social environment? And how should I protect my body’s natural functions?

The answers to these questions should be adjusted to the person’s temperament, age, the season, their circumstances and their current state. So we can say:

Temperament is one of the keys to making the 6 Golden Rules of Health personal.

Temperament: A Bridge Between Nature and Lifestyle

People are not separate from nature. Light, darkness, the seasons, temperature, food, movement, sleep, emotions and surroundings all affect us.

Temperament helps us understand better the relationship between a person’s nature and the nature of their surroundings. If the environment keeps pushing a person further towards the side that already dominates, the chance of falling out of balance may increase. So one of the key principles of managing temperament is conscious balance and moderation.

Sometimes what we enjoy is not what we need most. Someone naturally inclined to inactivity may enjoy resting more, yet movement may do them more good. A very active person may still choose more activity even when their body needs rest.

Knowing your temperament helps you understand the difference between what you want and what you need.

Does Temperament Change?

A person’s basic temperament is relatively stable, but their current temperamental state can change under the influence of many factors. Age, season, climate, where you live, diet, sleep, activity, emotional pressure, illness and lifestyle can all change a person’s current state.

So it is more accurate to see temperament not as a rigid, unchanging label but as a dynamic map that helps us understand human nature.

The map stays the same, but the conditions on the road change.

Temperament Is Not the Same as Blood Type, Personality Type or Genetics

Sometimes people try to equate temperament directly with blood type, a particular personality type, a hormone or a particular gene. That is an oversimplification. In Sina–Unani medicine, temperament is an independent system used to describe a person’s overall characteristics.

But the language of temperament can be seen at different levels of nature. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yin corresponds to cold and Yang to heat.

These qualities can also be described through measurable physiological characteristics. Within this framework:

• Cold, Yin, corresponds to an acidic state.
• Heat, Yang, corresponds to an alkaline state.
• Dryness corresponds to a potassium-dominant state.
• Moisture corresponds to a sodium-dominant state.

This approach helps us consider the qualitative language of traditional medicine alongside the measurable language of modern medicine and physiology.

In this sense, heat and cold are not just feeling hot or cold, and Yin and Yang are not just two words for temperature. They are broad poles for understanding the qualities of nature and life: night and day, stillness and movement, inner and outer, winter and summer, falling and rising activity, and many other natural phenomena can be placed on this spectrum. In various traditional systems, feminine and masculine qualities have also been discussed within the framework of these qualitative poles.

New research can examine and measure this knowledge and further clarify its physiological, metabolic, genetic, neurological and electrolyte relationships. But we do not need to abandon the underlying philosophy of these systems in order to understand their historical experience.

What Is the Point of Knowing Your Temperament?

The point of knowing your temperament is not to take a test, say “I’m Safravi” and close the subject. That is only the beginning.

Knowing your temperament should answer a practical question: Now that I know myself better, how can I live better?

• Which foods should I eat more or less of?
• How much should I eat?
• When should I sleep?
• How should I exercise?
• In which environmental conditions should I take more care of myself?
• In which season should I change my lifestyle?
• Which emotional tendencies should I manage better?
• And how should I arrange the 6 Golden Rules of Health according to my own nature?

If knowledge of temperament does not help us improve our lives, all we have learned is a name.

Temperament Is Not for Judging Others

One common danger in the superficial use of temperament is labelling people:

• “She’s Safravi, so she’s angry.”
• “He’s Balgami, so he’s lazy.”
• “They’re Sevdavi, so they’re negative.”

This view is wrong. Every temperament, when balanced, can have valuable talents and strengths. Speed can become action. Calm can become patience. Attentiveness can become deep analysis. Sociability can become effective communication.

The purpose of temperament knowledge is not to judge people but to understand the differences between them.

The Most Important Lesson of Temperament: Know Yourself

Perhaps the deepest message of temperament knowledge is this: before constantly imitating others, we should get to know ourselves.

A diet that works wonderfully for your friend is not necessarily the best diet for you. An exercise programme that works for someone else may need to be changed for you. The amount of food someone else eats is not the measure of your needs. Even other people’s sleeping hours, activity levels and ways of resting do not have to be your prescription for life.

Health does not begin with constantly comparing ourselves with others. It begins with knowing ourselves.

How Does Temperament Help When We Lose Our Health?

When illness appears, it is not enough to ask only for the name of the illness. The temperament-centred view asks another question: In what kind of person has this problem appeared?

Two people can have the same medical diagnosis yet differ in age, temperament, sleep, diet, physical strength, state of mind and life circumstances. So supportive lifestyle programmes do not necessarily have to be identical either.

Of course, temperament knowledge does not replace a medical diagnosis, necessary laboratory tests or necessary treatment. But it can help make lifestyle and health care more personal.

Temperament: An Invitation Back to Balance

In the end, understanding temperament is not about four names. The real subject is balance: understanding what pulls us out of balance and what helps us return to it.

Sometimes we need different foods. Sometimes more movement. Sometimes rest. Sometimes sleep. Sometimes warmth. Sometimes coolness. Sometimes contact with other people. And sometimes silence and time alone.

The art of health is not always doing the same thing. The art of health is understanding what the body needs at the right time.

Final Word: Find Your Own Prescription

No two people are exactly alike. Even two siblings who grew up in the same house can differ in appetite, sleep, energy, tolerance of heat and cold, behaviour and reactions.

This difference is not a flaw. It is part of the diversity of human nature. The idea of temperament tries to understand exactly this difference. It teaches us to keep asking questions:

• Instead of “What is the best food?”: “Which food suits me better?”
• Instead of “What is the best exercise?”: “What kind of movement does my body need?”
• Instead of “How many hours should I sleep?”: “How much, and what kind of, sleep truly restores me?”
• Instead of “Why am I not like other people?”: “What is my nature, and how can I live better with it?”

At this point, temperament knowledge turns from an old theory into a practical skill for daily life. Knowing your temperament is not only knowing your limits; it is knowing your capacity, your needs and your own path to balance.

When temperament knowledge is considered together with the 6 Golden Rules of Health, the picture becomes even more complete:

• Air and environment suited to the person’s circumstances,
• Nutrition suited to their needs,
• Movement suited to their capacity,
• Mental activity and calm suited to their nature,
• Sleep suited to their circumstances,
• And regulation of the body’s natural functions of elimination and retention.

In this approach, health is no longer a list of disconnected instructions. Health becomes a way of living consciously.

So perhaps before the question “What should I do to be healthy?” there is a more basic question: “Who am I, and what is my nature like?”

Because the better a person knows themselves, the better they can understand how they should eat, move, sleep, think, rest and live.

Temperament is not the last word in knowing a person, but it may be one of the best places to start knowing ourselves.

Now It’s Time to Discover Your Own Temperament

Reading about temperament is only the beginning. The real value of temperament knowledge appears when we learn what our own temperament is and bring that knowledge into daily life.

If you don’t know your temperament yet, you can take the Dr Kalan Temperament Test and, by answering the questions carefully, get a first picture of your own temperament.

Once you know your temperament, the next step matters even more: bring your diet and lifestyle into line with your temperament as far as you can. Learn which foods suit you better, how and how much you should eat, what kind of activity suits you, how you should sleep and rest, what changes to make in different seasons, and how to apply the 6 Golden Rules of Health according to your own nature.

The point of knowing your temperament is not simply to know whether you are Demevi, Safravi, Balgami or Sevdavi. The point is to know yourself better and to live more consciously on the basis of that knowledge.

Know your temperament. Eat for your temperament. Live for your temperament. And by keeping your balance, experience more vitality and wellbeing in your life.

To begin, take the Temperament Test.

References

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• Ibn Rushd. Kitab al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb (Colliget). Sections concerning temperament, physiology and general principles of medicine.
• Al-Majusi, Ali ibn Abbas. Kamil al-Sina’a al-Tibbiyya (Kitab al-Maliki). Discussions concerning temperament and preservation of health.
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