St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-11-01
a Chapter on sleep.
NATURAL SLEEP THE MOST PKEFECT-
THAT PRODUCED RY NARCOTICS
MERELY TEMPORARY PA
RALYsIa-HADIT AID 70.
SITlON IN sLEEr.
tEnuljsn Eeyicw OF GrenriliA's New York;

Tie most perfect and rcfreshlns-in :
word, natural--slcep is that which COM ;
blues the whole series III such healthy |
PROPORTIONS "a an orderly and active ,
life will establish. by 2 conetitutioDaliy .
equal distribution of work, looking to
the comparative powers OF the several /
parts Of the system. aud tho measure ,
of strength each department OF tho |
mental and physical organism Of the :
Individual enjoys. This wise adspta. !
ton of work to tho different eHorG!eF,
80 that each shall tighten the task and !
contribute to the efficiency OF the others. |;
il a duty to self which every step for !
ward in the march Of intellect and |
progress Of civilization seemS to make |
il increasingly difficult to discharge.
To sum up. sleep is rhytllmicas func- ;
ton of life. 1t il performed by the
nervous system either through single
center or by the several centers con
uyctcd with the various parts or organs
of the body, from the supreme cerebral
ceutcre which control tho Immediate
apparatus Of ntontional thought to the
sanSlia that regulate the WORT OF the
viscera. I believe the sympathetic
system plays {: conspicuous part IN the
production Of the phenomenon. snd
This is why tho due performance OF
! The. function is su readily prevented as
i i by disoidcrls action IN almost aDy
part Of the body, even when there II 30
seusatiou OF pain OF nf uneaslneEa at
the seat Of the Disturbance. People
! who dc not sleep vel! md regularly are
pecu!ariy liable 10 tunctluna! d1sor-
dvrs; and, conversely, thos" who aree
| euhircts to The auOmalous lnhladies ana
sry1ptom. too often SIT down IT, fancy,
! but actually existing and traceab'r with
care e. some special gansllon OF the
sympathetic system (foI example, an.
e.siness i'll the pit nt tie slonAcfl''
or aching pain i'll tho lower lumbar
region Of the spine,l nyc disturbed or
iii orIcrv >IctppTs. Sleep is e porve
. state. whether The part sleeping be the
! brain or certain parts OF the organ, tn"
/ muscular syetem Or the vjsCers. The
; mnaiHcatian which takes plare III the
! vessels supplying the organ or system
that sleep. are the effects OF consequen-
ces, instead OF the causes Of its coEdl-
ton. ;.
r1bject OF going 70 sleep. and coneldfrs
here th., i,s., OF naIcutirs for the pur-
pose Of iu,,lcinx it, observing that the
state they produce is not slee& but u
condition of rafrotie,n that counter
i.iis sleep" adding, "Nhen a man
ss,s, i want quiet night; will take
. sleeping draueht,' he speaks ine,para-
hlc.. To express the facts plainly he
should say. | want II quiet night; | can
not obtain it by going to sleep, or am
afraid to trust to the chances Of natural
rest, so will poison myself lit tie, inst
enough to make Mo unconscious or
slightly para|yZc my nerve centers' not
enough to kill II his fact should be
kp1it clearly before the mind the rock
less use of drugs which produce: state
! that mocks sleep would be limited
. The state of inaction which is brought
about by natural sleep is very different
from that which is produced 10y paralysis
. of any degree. The following remarks
, are important:
Habit greatly helps tho performance
Of the initial act, and the cultivation OF
= habit of going to sleep in a particular
, way, at particular time, will do more
5 to procure regular and healthy sleep
than any other artiGce. Tho formation
, of the habit is, in fact, the creation OF
development Of a specla! center. or com
Y binati0E, in the nervous system, which
. will honcetorvarG produce sleep 40 a
r natural rhythmicat process, X thla
were more generally recognized, per
J sons who suffer from seeplessness OF
. the sort which consists in being simply
r "uuable to 90 10 sleep" would set them
selves geso!utely to form such a habit
] il is necessary tlaL the training ebould
! he specific. and Include attention "a
= details. It ia not very important yhat
6 person does witi the intention of
= gong to sleep; but he should do pre-
cisely the same thing, in tho same way.
, st the same time, and under as nearly
: aG possible the same conditions, night
a after night for Il considerable period
Z gay thrce'or four weeks ut least. The
result will amply reward the effort.
:. The Doctor remarks, very wiaely, that
"sloep ought to be induced by instinct
acting in response TO the scnse Of fatigue
or in obedience to the impulse OF habit
=, but when tie orderly performance Of 4
z natural process has been interrupted. II
! is difficult to restore tho rhythmlcal se.
qIcnce Of cause and effect" As he
truly remarks, the suf1erinzs and dis.
comfort OF those who find the act OF
going 70 sleep difficult are many and
various. We can hardly from our point
: of view, agree with the opinion which
DR.. Montimer- Granville expresses, that
at ia a mistake; and tends to tho mis-
!; ehievsRg habit Of partial sleep, to seek
sleep 40 d relief from trouble, worry O,
pain He holds that We should seek
relief both for the mind and the body
before sleep is sought, because "if thia
precaution be not taken, the sleep in
,luced will be only loss Of consciousness
or perhaps automatic, muscular or Wis
cerai, b1t not natural and general sleep,
which alone gives general repose.1 We
> content ourselves with asking whether
cases are not frequently arising In which
!. the only chance apparently OF gaining
relief from pain Of body and mind il
by obtaining, first Of all, a little sleep Of
:, some kind 7 Bus we wiltquote from this
really interesting little book valuable
passage:
A constrained or ncoo,Sortabie pos
turc will often prevent .repose. kylne
fat on the back, with the limbs relaxed,
would sacnl to secure the greatest
amount of rest for tke muscnlarsystea,
This is the position assumed iG the most
exhausting diseases, and it is generally
hailed as token Of revival when q
patient voluntarily turns on his side;
but there are several disadvantages in
|; the supine posture which impair or en1
barrass sRep. Thus, ia weakly states