The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-01-11 00:00:00

OVER-WORK.

The following remarks, from the Lanret , may be useful to
many of our readers—
No one will accuse us of being inclined to exaggerate
the evil effects of bard mental work; on the contrary,
we have lately been at considerable pains to show that,
within wide limits, a constant and rather high degree
of intellectual activity is a preserver rather than a
des•royer of nerirons health. It must not be over-
looked, however, that the above is tine only when the
conditions of ordinary hygiene are not outrageously or
nonecessatily violated; and that the addition of severe
and harassing anxiety will often turn an otherwise
beneficial nervous activity into s source of grave evils,
of which the inability to sleep is one of the most fre-
quent. Of the latter and too often inevitable aource
of mischief we do not now propose to sneak; but of
the particular anti-hygienic practices which are really
responsible for a great deal of nervous mischief in hard-
worked people it may be useful to say • few words.
For instance with regard to the important question—
How long a time should be regarded as the minimum
that should be spent in bed in each 24 hours? We are,
of course, speaking only of adult, ; and we think we may
place the minimum at six, hours for men and seven for
women, an additional hour, or even two, being taken
whenever it is practicable.
Then, as regards night-work; how far is that spe-
cially prejudicial? We believe that for the young it
is really injurious by the mere fact of its being night-
work ; but for those whose organisms are consolidated
we greatly doubt if it be at all injurious per se. But
there are sundry conditions inexorably requiring to
be observed if Rightework is to do no harm. First of
all, there must be no curtailment of the allowance of
bed above mentioned, and this allowance of repose
should be taken in a continuous manner. A man who
works till 4 a.m should after that lie in bed till ten,
and, if possible, should get an additional hour's sleep,
and a meal after it, before beginning another evening's
work. Secondly, the light by which he works at night
should be very white, powerful, and steady, and should
be carefully concentrated by a green shade on his
books or papers; insufficient, fliok•ring, or too diffused
light is one of the most serious causes of the brain
irritation which afflicts some n4.ht-workerit Again,
' if a man will not eat, neither shall he work,' WI
somebody has said; and this quaint inversion of
the Scriptural maxim is est ecially true of the class of
men who both work hard and work at untimely hours.
Abundant supplies of nutriment, with a moderate
ration of stimulants (taken chiefly or entirely with
ms ) are necessary, and a final pipe of tobacco before
retiring into bed is very desirable for those with whose
stomachs tobacco does not disagree. On the other
hand, it need hardly be said that excess in alcohol and
excess in tobacco are among the most powerful causes
of insomnia, and hundreds of cases of the latter which
have been hastily pot down to 'over-work' are due to
one or the other oirt,hose two bad habits.

There is one cause of insomnia in over worked per-
sons which deserves special consideration—viz., latent
heart disease. We believe this fact is occasionally
overlooked, and would recommend that its possibility
should always be taken into account, and strict ex-
amination be made for signs of cardiac mischief. It
has sometimes happened that an almoet chance investi-
gation of the chest has revealed the existence of quite
unsuspected diseale, after every remedy directed to
the nervous system had failed to remove insomnia.

TO AN INCOME TAX-COLLECTOR.
THE loveliest face that ever smiled—alack I
Is not to me so pleasant as thy bock.—Judy.