American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-06-08
Sleep Enough.
NcoI
Journal.

in wasting as few hours as possible in
sleep, and that early rising is one of the
cardinal Understanding for the Pro
| testant moment that cardinals have YER
tues. We have all been educated to
believe that the time g wen to the bed is
lost, and that we gain all the hours we
steal from it. Children have been taught
that prompt rising in the morning is a
beautiful thing.
| l am not sorry, therefore, that one of
the medical faculty, DR.. Hall, has had the
good sense to tell the world that children
until the age of eighteen, and old and fee
BILE people land he might as well have
said everybody, need ten hours sleep :;
| and that bouncing suddenly out of bed in
the morning is as hurtful as it is disa-
greeable that fifteen or twenty minutes
spent in gradually waking up, stretching
| the limbs, and letting the blood slowly re-
| sumo its wonted circulation, is time well
| spent. For the sudden sending of the
| blood to the heart is a severe shock, and
the person who gets up in this hasty and
| reckless manner is certain to be drOwsy
by midday, unless he or she is a light edi
tor or belle, and does not get up till
afternoon. I concur in this-in fact, l al
ways knew that it was true; and think,
further, that pulling anybody out of bed
ought to be a States Prison offense, and
that conviction for it could be had before
an. any 49, ano;ah ,a ~ i4Eiesm ~;
dence.
Many people seem to think it unbecom-
ing to sleep much anywhere, except in
church and at evening lectures. They
speak of it as merit that they do
with SO few hours sleep at home. This
is one reason why there are SO many stupid
people in society-admitting for the argu-
ment that there are so many; they get up
too soon or too suddenly, and so are never
fairly awake all through. What seems to
be stupidity is really want of sleep. A
good many of the sermons, and now and
then an editorial, are written in this state
of mind; and even fashionable people go
gaping around, making yawning calls
upon acquaintance who ought to be in
bed, and who wish the callers were.
The instinct of children against early
and especially sudden rising, is we'll
founded, and it is pleasant to have the
learned faculty confirm long and grow
ing conviction that it is not sin to lie
in bed till the second bell rings. 1t is
the experience of the majority of the
people that the most delicious moments
of the whole day are those when they
ought to get up, and do not.
We have been now for several thousand
years going to the ant, and getting away
from the sluggard, to that degree that we
have developed very nervous condition.
To say nothing of being defrauded of our
rights, and Of the legitimate and healthy
luxury of sleeping long and waking up
slowly, as plants do, no doubt many of the
nervous diseases that are attributed to
stock gambling, tobacco, and unrequited
love, are due to want of sufficient sleep
from childhood up.
1t is perhaps right to shoot soldiers
who are hired for that purpose, for sleep
rr,fr hair Iy,1
it might be better to relieve guard oftener,
and send them to bed. Yet civilians
generally ought to be lectured for Sleep
ing too little. All the passages in school
books about early rising should be stricken |
out, and there should be verses promising |
a moderate competence as the reward of |
sleeping enough, and coming out of sleep !
by degrees. In old times, perhaps it did |
not.matter so much, when the world was
less busy, and there was less strain upon |
the faculties during the waking hours. |
But every one can see now that the world |
is red-hot with money-getting, and vast |
and politics, and ritualism,
and all sorts of rights, patent, and some
that are not SO patent, and feverish lit
erature; and in order to bear the wear
and carry the load of 1t, man needs to
only rose to eat and drink, and hunt the
wild boar, and Stay a few of his neigh
bors before an early dinner. We are
becoming more and more wakeful,
so that we cannot sleep soundly
in the season we give to rest. It
is nervous wakefulness, however
and not the full vigor of all the powers
which should result from proper rest of
the system. No one can be at his best in
any hour unless he has given as many
hours to solid sleep as his system requires
The demands of business and the exac-
tons of society keep most of us out of
bed numerically, and in time we get
Jadedly used to the unnatural life, and
take credit to ourselves that we can do
with the fewest hours of sleep. 1t is
great mistake. There have been great
men who were able to accomplish great
amount of work with little sleep but we
may be sure that if we want to be great
men, or, what is more important in this
lay, great women, we shall reach the goal
soonest by being good sleepers. That
was an honorable epitaph on the Dutch
er." 1t will not be said of many of this
nervous, excited generation.
1t is well, however, to plead for the
children. Let it be understood that it is
10 merit in child to pop out of bed
instantly upon the stroke ofthe bell, like II
and obiuscated jack-in the box.
IND give everybody time to wake up
lecentiy and in order. And let all the
people say, blessed is the medical man ;
Who breaches the gospel of morning
cat maps. "-Chayfes ID. Warner