Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-03-19
WakefuIness from OVerWOrk.

A symptom of mental exhaustion, in
dicative of very great degree of mental
strain, is persistent wakefulness. The
physiological cause of this condition is
well understood. During excessive labor
Of the brain there is an increased flow of
blood to the working organ; the vessels
of the head and neck become distended
with blood, as is shown by the flushing
of the face If this condition of disten-
ton is long continued, the vessels are apt
to lose the power of contracting when
mental activity is diminished. Hence
arises the impossibility of fulfilling the
physical conditions of sleep, the most
important of which is the diminutiOn of
the flow OF the vital fluid to the brain
Some extraordinary instances have been
recorded of prolonged wakefulness as a
result of mental overstrain. Boerhave
mentions th at when, on one occasion, in
tently engaged on particular study, he
did not close his eyes in sleep for six weeks.
Sir Gilbert Blame was informed by Gen.
Pichegrue that for whole year, when
engaged in active campaign, he
slept but one hour out of twenty
four. These and other similar cases
have, probably, been unconsciously ex-
aggerated, for people often sleep with
out having an after-consciousness of the
fact. 1t is certain that the continued
deprivation Of any considerable part of
the normal amount of sleep will be seri-
ously detrimental to health. DR.. Ham
mond, in his work on sleep, mentions the
case of literary man in America who,
for nearly year, while intently engaged
in favorite study, restricted his period
of rest to four hours day, and frequently
less, At the end of that time the over
tasking of his mental powers was mani
tested in curious way. He told the
physician that, though still able to MAIN
tain connected line of reasoning, he
found that as soon as he attempted to
record his ideas on paper the composition
turned out to be simply tissue of arrant
nonsense. When in the act of writing his
thoughts flowed so rapidly that he was
not conscious of the disconnected ma
ture of what he was writing; but as
soon as he stopped to read it over he
was aware how completely he had mis-
represented his conceptions. If the
language happened to be at all ineligible
it was sure to have no relation to the idea
he wished to express. Thus, wishing to
obtain book from friend, he found
that instead of the request he had writ
ten the prayer of Socrates as given by
Plato.
Sir Isaac Newton, in the later years of
his life, suffered greatly from wakeful-
ness. The fact, well known to every
medical man, that persistent sleeplessness
is frequently the precursor Of initiatory
stages of several most intractable mala-
dies, physical and mental, always invests
the presence Of this indication of mental
overstrain with grave interest. But con-
tlnued course of excessive mental LABOR
generally manifests itself in various ways,
all more or less premonitory OF approach
ing collapse. The brain worker Deglns
10 perceive an unwonted want OF GEAR
ness IN his ideas; work comes gradually
less on him; he is alarmed at suuaeh
awkward failures of memory; a Ieeilng
OF surfeit or disgust will steal over MN
In the midst of work; he becomes unaDie
to fix his attention, and latterly Ieels do II
all mental energy was crusheo Out VI
him.
If these warnings of an oyer"Iought
brain, now speaking distinctly WIN tne
tongue of disease, are dlsregardeu' the
wonder frequently is, not that the lneVita,
BILE retribution follows, but that IL should
have been so long delayed. What par
ticuIar form the Nemesis shall assume,
whether of physical or mental disease,
will he determined by accidents partly of
personal habit and temperament and part
Iy of inherited predlspositlon- IL is note
worthy, however, that the common opin-