Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-11-19
sLEEr ANp wAkEruLNEss.

The effects of protracted wakefuIness
sooner or later show themselves In the strong
est constitution. The person becomes
gloomy, irritable and peeyish. The memory
Is defective, and the thoughts confused.
Perhaps the most terrible punishment which
Chinese ingenuity has devised is prolonged
loss of rest. In some instances, itleads the
way to and even seems to be the cause Of
insaniiy. Some of the greatest intellects
have suffered from prigation Of sleep New.
ton S mind was inquired by it iu his later
years; Southey's insanity was preceded by
1t. The more gifted and cultivated the
mind Of an individual is, the more liable he
will be 10 wakefulness The untutored sons
of bodily toll have but few vigiIs, and among
all the animals, sleeplessness without cx-
terual cause probably belongs to man alone.
The lower animals are soon affected By loss
of sleep. In Ceylon, wild elephants are
kept constantly awake until they become
tame by this means the spirit of the most
refractory is soon subdued.
In order to promote sleep in cases where
it is wanting, it is of course, in the first
place, necessary to remove every exciting
cause Of wakefulness. II is generally essen
tial to give up the use of tea and coffee, and,
as has been said, it is sometimes necessary
to leave off stimulants. The person should
take care that he does not go to bed either
with cold feet or with stomach that has
been long empty.
Many devices for inducing somnolence
have been practieed with more or less sue
cess one Of these is combing the hair, which
has very soothing effect on some persons.
Another is to have the feet gently sham
pooed Walking about the bedroom in
ones nightdress, 50 as to get what DR..
Franklin called an air bath, is a good plan,
and the cold water bath just before retiring
to rest, by virtue Of its stimulating action,
IS often successful In more refractory
cases, the warm bath may be tried-it acts
by Withdrawing the blood from the brain.
On the same principle, the upright position,
/ by favoring the return Of blood from the
head, is sometimes useful Its, indeed, no
uncommon thing to meet people who sleep
with great facility when sitting in chair,
or in carriage, but who sleep with Difficult
| ty when lying down in bed
The best bed to sleep upon Is hair mat
;ress, and the worst Of all Is that made Of
feathers Many people are so susceptible
that they are unable to sleep in a strange
bed. 4 pillow 6lled with hops, the emana-
tons from which are narcotic, has been
sometimes used with success to induce sleep.
People, as a rule, go to sleep most easily
when lying on the right side. Proper ven
tilation of the bedroom is indispensable for
sound sleep and for health
To a state of health, when the balance be
tween mind and body is properly main
tained, sleep will naturally follow either
mental or bodily fatigue. This balance is
often sadly disturbed because an over
stimulation ofall our powers is the besetting
evil Of our generation. Nothing is more
important in order to secure sleep than 10
diminish the intensity Of thought Under
fgorably circumstances, this can generally
b. effected by the viii In other instances,
hswever, the more the viii Is exercised
against them, the more attention is given to
the truaut thoughts At length the viii,
b,ne down by the torrent of ideas, gives
way altogether, and protracted sleepless-
mss results. Itis hardly necessary to re-
Teat here that sncb an active state Of brain
implies that the circulation through It is ac
i've, aud that ii is the opposite Of this con-
dtion which prevails in sleep - Good
! Yea}h.