Smyrna times., 1870-12-14
mise e I/U II e Gus.
Sleeplessness.

1here Is no Surer sign or a diseased state of !
the nervous system than sIeepess nights,
though it is hard to tell whish is the cause and
which the effect. Do the seepless nights cause
the diseased state of the nervous system, or do
the dlSordrred nerves cause the slespless
nights?
A bensfactOr to the human race or at least
to the sleepless portion Of it, is he who can
give an intaIlIble remedy tor this i'll to which |
flesh Is heir to. Very few victims Of this |
scourge are willing to try Opates, or other
medical remedies, bat they eagerly catch at
any simple thing which is told them as sure |
cure for sleeplessuess. Fer instance, how
many persons have spent untold moments in |
counting imaginary hock> of sheep, going over
imaginary walls Our grandmother, one of
the very best women that ever lived used to
tell us, when sleep failed to come at our bid
ding, to imagine ourselves standing opposite
pasture full of sheep, and see them come
slowly up, one by one, to the wall which sepa-
rated this pasture from the road. over which
were stepping stones, and to count them as,
one after an )ther, they leaped from stone to
stone, till they had disappeared down the
road. y Ii you do this very slowly and delb-
erately,' she would say, you can never get
beyond ten for before that number is counted
you will fall asleep" am sorry to be obliged
to say that this prescription Of my wise grand
, mother produced no effect whatever upon my
excited nerves. Perhaps did not let suffi-
ciently long interval separate the sheep as they
came over the wall. | only know that the i'm
aglnary sheep seemed to consume hours in
coming acress the pasture, mounting the wall
and disappearing down the road. This reme
dy, however, has been tried by ethers, time
and again, with astonishing results
Another remedy for SleeplcSsness has found
=, enthusiastic admirers and advocates. Station
: Yourself in imagination, on point that com
i mandS good view of the sea. | always took
Y nay imaginary standpoint jH>t above the csle
d brated forty steps at Newport Look oHt
10 as far as you can, and trace a wave from its
= first formation, as it comes swelling on and on,
till it finally breaks upon the shore at your
P feet. The effort you make to follow the waves
u will soon cause sleep.
st Still another. Close your eyes, and then
roll them slowly from side to side. 1t is said
that while doing this it is impossible to occupy
the mind with anything else, and that the in
tenslty with which you enter into this opera
ton will soon bring on Sleep. Be this as it
may, it can certainly do no harm to try it.
am free to say have never tried it myself, 81
cannot speak from my own experience, as il
= the case OF the sheep, and OF the waves.
re- A friend tells me that he entirely cured him
self Of wakefulness at night by getting up an(
Ter reading, for about ten minutes, the dricst AM
rk most uninteresting book he could lay his hand
=, upon. The effort to understand what no wa
- reading, and to take interest in it, so complete
y tired him out that on going back to bed h
ass would tall to sleep directly. Surely, there ar
nd dry and unlnteresting books enough in tn
CO world to put 10 sleep an army OF waketul pei
,.. sons.
TO get up and thoroughly rub ones SCI
:. with dry towel, or a wet one, has Cftan bee
i,b very efficacious in driving away seeplessness
Others have practiSed counting slowly up t
= two or three hundred, and others, again, hav
ia tried to think out some hard and knOtty ques
tionS For my own part, | have found tina
,ao counting and thinking not provocaliveS o
p pSe sumber They Oftner serve to keep one awak
ms than to put one asleep. The best way, in IN
humble opinion, is to think as little aS pOsSibl
- on any subject. Try rather to Danish thought
IN Lie as quietly as possible and keep as calm a
W the Overexcited state of the brain will allow
mp and have the air in your sleeping room as pur
on and fresh as pOssbs. Some have great fait
in the way their beds stands, declaring tina
m they could not sleep unless they could lie wit
Iat their face to the north Ornorthwest. We can
,eb not say how FAR this may or may not be de
MS lusiOn. Undoubtedly atmospheric influence
are have great deal to do with some persens
'iSO particularly those of high or lew nervous ten
permanent The last theory have seen fo
~ the prevention OF sleeprssnrss is given by MI
,,S Binns, in his anatomy of sleep" He call
it the art OF procuring sound and refreshin
, sleep at will. 1t seems that he bought th
and secret of MIR. Gardner, though he himse
gives it to the world gratutously. His theor
is founded on the principle Of mOnotemy, G
or the influence that single idea has upon tn
,nls mind. To this Influence | have already refe
ST., rcd, as for example, in rolling the eyes and i
Isis watching the waves, thus compelling the min
to dwell upon q specific subject.
GE Mr.. Bnns' art Of procuring sound and r,
freshing sleep at will'' consists in this simpI
- process: The person desiring this luxury, c
Nc. rather. may call it, an absolute necessity {
de- nature, is to lie on his right side, with his hea
d ySiS comfortably placed upon pillow, keeping tn
re is mock atraiUht that rasriratiOn luaV he af
gith- e''sS P""''" - =
hout tlrely unlmpeued. lie Is to close the Ups an
9sP Sist take full respiration through the nosris,
Can much as possible, though this is not actual
san necessary, some people finding it almost in