The true northerner., 1878-02-22
SLEEP AND DREAMS.
A Paper Read Before the Alumni Club
Of the University of Chicago, by t. b
HOyne. A. M. NJ d.


Sleep is truly the greatest blessing that has
been bestowed upon poor human nature and
dreams have been to all of US the source OF
much pleasure as well as the cause of consid-
cradle pain and annoyance. In heather my
thology, Somnus the Son Of Night presided
over sleep. He inhabited dark cave, where
the sun never penetrated, and about the en-
trance were a number Of poppies and somnif-
erous herbs The Dreams stand by him, and
Morpheus, his attendant, watches to prevent
any one from disturbing his repose. Somnus
is supposed to give sleep to mortals by touch
ing them with his rod, or by standing by their
bedsides. Both Morpheus and Somnus are
represented as carrying horn filed with pop.
py juice. Dunglison defines sleep to be a
temporary interruption of our relations with
external objects-a repose Of the organs Of
sense, intellectual faculties, and voluntary
notion" Not strictly correct definition, for
we shall show presently that the organs Of
sense and intellectual faculties are to certain
extent active whenever anything unusual oc-
ours during sleep.
Every part and organ Of the body requires
rest. The heart-the great living pump-rests
one-quarter Of the day that is, between the
beats of the heart, there is a distinct interval
of rest, amounting to one-quarter Of the en-
tire time occupied in one pulsation. The lungs
rest one-third of the day. In other words,
after the air has been inhaled and thrown out
again, there is distinct period Of rest amount
ing to one-third OF the time consumed in one
respiratory act. The heart has thus six hours
of repose, and the lungs eight hous, daily.
We might mention other organs and parts of
the body to show the same thing, but these
examples are sufficient.
The brain, however, obtains no rest except
during sleep, and even then, in very many in
stances. it is only comparatively quiet. Hence
the great importance of good sound sleep with
out dreams for it is then that the brain recu-
perates its lost energies. For great many
years this subject of sleep has received consid-
erable attention from the most eminent physi-
ologists of this and other countries. Up TO
the year 1856 or thereabouts, 1t was considered
and believed that sleep was due to a congestion
Of blood TO the cerebral vessels and it was
cited as proof of this, by those most interest
ed, that pressure upon the brain produced un-
consciousness or stupor, condition similar TO
sleep. Marshall Hall, Haller and others still
hold this opinion. But about the time men
toned this theory was entirely overthrown, and
il was thought to establish, by direct expert
ment, that sleep is caused by anemia Of the
brain, or the circulation Of a less quantity of
blood through the cerebral tissues than passes
through them during our waking hours. Wemay
mention, as examples, that Deny states that
there was in 1921, at Montpelier a woman who
had lost part of her skull, and the brain and
its membranes lay bare. When she was in deem
sleep the brain remained motionless beneath
the crest Of the cranial bones when she was
dreaming it became somewhat elevated, and
when she was awake it was protruded through
the fissure in the skull.
Dr. Alex. Fleming tried the following expert
ment, which each OF you can try if You wish.
L. I'D, 10 tlnC orCtaI
arteries of his (Flemings) neck, thus cutting
off or diminishing very decidedly the cerebral
circulation. In a few moments complete un-
consciousness supervened, and continued az
long as the pressure was kept up. will not
take your time to go more fully into the expert
ments brought forward to prove this theory,
but will sum up the deductions OF Durham on
the subject 81. Pressure OF distended veins
upon the brain is not the cause of sleep, for
during sleep the veins are not distended and,
when they are, symptoms and appearances
arise which differ from those which character
ize sleep. g. During sleep the brain is in
comparatively bloodless condition, and the
blood in the encepholic vessels is not only di-
minished in quantity, but moves with dimili-
ishca .,Iidity. 3. The condition of the cere-
bral circulation during sleep is, from physical
causes, that which is most favorable TO the nu-
triton of the brain tissue and, on the other
hand, the condition that prevails during wax
it is that which is most favorable to oxidation
of the brain substance and to various changes
III the chemical constitution. 4. The blood
which il derived from the brain during sleep is
distributed TO the alimentary and excretory or
gans. 5. Whatever increases the activity OF
the cerebral circulation tends to preserve wake
fitness, and whatever decreases the activity OF
the cerebral circulation, and at the same time
is not inconsistent with the general health OF
the body, tends to induce and favor sleep. 6.
A probable explanation of the reason why
quiescence of the brain normally follows its
activity is suggested by the recognized and
logical fact that the products of chemical ac-
tion interfere with the continuance of the ac-
ton by which they are produced"
Until quite recently the views just stated
were considered and believed to be correct, but,
inasmuch as Durham narcotiZed the animals
upon which he experimental, the experiments
do not prove what they ought to have done.
The sleep was rot natural under the circum-
stances, but was merely intoxication. And this
brings us to the latest theory, which really
seems to be the correct one. hope you have
all followed me closely thus far. Prof. w.
Preyer, of Jena says
''In proposing any theory of sleep, start
with the fact that weariness of the Senses espe-
cially of the organs OF sight and hearing, of
the muscles and of the nerve centers, always
produces a natural sleep, and, as the organs of
sense may be considered as the peripheric end
organs of the sensory nerves, and the muscles
as the peripheric end-organs of the motory
nerves, il might be said that sleep appears
when the end-organs Of the nerves are tired
out. The reason of this is not solitary men-
tai process can take place without oxygen,
which the arterial blood carries to the brain.
AS soon as the ganglia-cels are deficient of
this blood oxygen the higher faculties Of con-
sciousness are extinguished, the faculty of
thinking is interrupted. Where the cell of the
ganglia has plenty of oxygen these faculties go
on in their normal state. This suppoStion is
not yet proven, but very probable.
"In fact, numerous experiments
prove that. of all tissues OF the organlsmus, the
tissue OF the brain, with the exception perhaps
of that of the liver, is most able TO extract the
oxygen from the blood. After ligating the
blood-vessel carrying the oxygen, the functions
of consciousness cease; after numerous hemor-
rhages, sleep sets in. The cause of this il
want Of oxygen, for experiments demonstrate
that states similar to sleep can only be brought
on by withdrawal of oxygen. Animals Kept in
a breathing-space artihcially closed were al
lowed, by the sole process OF their breathing,to
dislodge the oxygen by azote, and III the same
ratio gradually the manifestations Of conscious
ness decreased, whereas they again reappeared
as soon as oxygen was admitted. The question
is pertinent, whether also natural sleep may be
produced, that at certain times the grey sub
stance OF the brain has less oxygen at Its COM
mand and whether this arises, that less blood