The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1867-05-02
SLEEP.

Barry, in his work on Digestion has
made o whimsical calculation on the
tendency Of sleep to prolong life. He
asserts that the duration of human life
NAV be ascertained by the number OF
pulsations which the individual is able
to perform Thus, if mans life ex-
tends to seventy years, and his heart
throbs sixty times each minute, the
whole number of its pulsations will
amount to 9, ,207, ,520, 600; but If, by in
Temperance, or any other cause, he rails
es the pulse to seyenty-five in the min
ute, the same number of pulsations
would be completed in fifty six years.
Arguing from these data, he alleges that
sleep has tendency to prolong life, as
during it's continuance the pulsations are
less numerous than in the waking state.
This is a very comfortable doctrine
for sluggards. but unfortunately it Is
fallacious. A German philosopher con-
tended that sleep was the state of being
most natural to man, and that his waking
hours should not constitute more than
one third of his existence. Unlike most
theorists, he undertook to test the truth
Of his doctrine upon himself, and dozed
away the greater part of his time The
consequence was. that he soon lost the
small intellectual capacity he had, and
lapsed into q state resembling idiocy
Apoplexy at length finished his expe
riment. ---, ~.
There is an old saying that '.Six hours
are enough for O man, seven for q wo-
man. and eight for q fool" It is calcu-
lated that one-ha of a child's life is
passed in sleep, and one quarter to one
sixth of the adult existence but for old
age there is no fixed period or limit
Old Parr slept almost constantly about
the close of his life, while DR.. Gooch
records the case of one whose period Of
sleep was only one quarter of an hour
in the twenty four. 1t is well to inure
a child to gradual diminution Of its
time Of sleep. SO that at ten years old its
period should be about eight hours.
With regard to the necessary quantity
of sleep for adults, so much dep ends
upon age, constitution, and employment,
that it is impossible to lay down rules
for general application. AS precept,
however, for the regulation of sleep in
energetic constitutions, the wise distri-
button which King Alfred made OF his
own time into three equal periods, may
be recommended-one being passed in
sleep, diet, and exercise, one in dispatch
of business, and one in study and devo-
ton. Jeremy Taylor states that three
hours only in the twenty four should be
devoted to sleep. Baxter extends the
period to four hours, Wesley to six,
Lord Coke and Sir William Jones to
seven, and Sir John Sinclair to eight
With the last of these Macnish is dis
posed to coincide, and says: Taking
the average of mankind, we shall come
as nearly as possible to the truth when
we say that nearly the one third part of
life ought to be spent in sleep; in some
cases even more may be necessary, and
in few can a much smaller portion be
safely dispensed with. No person who
passes only eight hours in bed can be
said to waste his time in sleep"
According to Gorget, a woman should
sleep couple of hours longer than a
man. For the latter he allows six or
seven hours, for the former eight or
nine. / doubt, however, If the female
constitution, generally speaking, requires
more sleep than the male, at least it is
certain that women endure protracted
watchfulness better than men, but wheth-
er this may result from custom is ques-
tioo worthy of being considered.
1t is certain that strength or energy
of brain will, when aided by custom,
modify the faculty of controlling the
to slumber. Frederick the
Great, and Hunter, the great surgeon,
slept only five hours in the twenty four,
while Napoleon seemed to exert 4 des-
potic power over sleep and waking, even
amid the roar of artillery. An engineer
has been known to fall asleep within 4
boiler while his fellows were beating on
the outside with their ponderous ham,
mers; and the repose of a miller is in
no wise incommoded by the noise Of his
mill. Sound ceases to be stimulus to
such men, and what would have proved
an lneXaresSible annoyance to others, is
to them altogether unheeded. 1t is COM
mon for carriers to sleep on horseback,
and coachmen on their coaches. During
the battle of the Nile some boys were so
exhausted that they fell asleep on the
deck, amid the sdeafening thunders of
that terrible engagement. Sd
The faculty of remaining asleep for a
great length of time is possessed oy
some individuals. Such is the case with
Quin, the celebrated player, who could
slunber Cor twenty four hours success
siyely; with Elizabeth Orvin, who spent
three -fonrths of her time in sleep; with
Elizabeth Perkins, who slept for > week
or fortni ght at time; with Mary
Lyall, who did the same for successive
weeks; and with many others, more or
less remarkable. In Bowyers Life of
Beattie, q curious anecdote is related of
Dr. Reid namely, that he could take, as
much food and Immediately afterward
as much sleep as were sufficient for two
days.
5 The celebrated General Elliot never
slept more than hours on. of the "a
In all other respects he WAS strikingIy
abstinent; his food consisting wholly of
bread, water, and vegetables. In let
ter communicated to Sir John Sinclair,
by John Gordon. Esq, of Swiney, Cath
ness, mention is made of q person named
James Mackay, of Sherry. who died in
Strathnaver in the year 1897, aged nine
fy-o ho A