Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-07
A CHARTER On Sleer,

Is From an English review of J. Mort
n mer Granville's new work on ''Slcep III
Y Sleeplessness, we extract the following
st The most perfect and refreshing IN
IS word, natural-sleep is that which con
ST bines the whole series III such health
s proportions rs an orderly and active Iii
If will establish, by constitutionally equ;
r distribution of work, looking to the con
- parative powers of the several parts Of I'll
o system, the opportunities for rest, the foo
II supply, and the measure of strength eac
s department of the mental and physics
g organism of the individual enjoys. Thi
q wise adaptation of work to the diflereI
n energies, SO that each shall Tighten tn
Y task and contribute to the efficiency of til
n others. is a duty to self which every ste
n forward i'll the march of intellect and pre-
= gress Of civilization seems to make it III
Y creasingly difficult to discharge
g To sum up. sleep is rhythmical func
n ton of life 1t is performed by the nery
e Gus system either through a single centr
= or by the several centres connected Wit
= various parts or organs of the body, fron
t the supreme cerebral centres which con
: troll the immediate apparatus of intention
al thought to the ganglia that regulat
r sympathetic system plays n conspicuou
part in the production of the phenomenon
and this is why the due performance o
the function is so readily prevented, as i
is by disorderly action in almost any par
of the body, even when there is no sensa
: ton of pain or of uneasiness Mt the sea
OF the disturbance. People who do no
sleep well and regularly are peculiarly
. ho 10 4
: versely. those who are subject to the an
omalous maladies and symptoms toe
often set down to fancy, but actually ex
istin% and traceablc with care to somt
special gGnGGon of the sympathetic sys-
tcm for example, uncasiness in the pit
of the stomach" or aching pain in the
lower lumbar region OF the spinel are
disturbed or disorlcrlv sleepers. SLEEP
is n nerve state, whether the part sleeping
be the brain or certain parts of the organ,
the muscular system or the yisccra. The
notifications which take place in the YES
sells supplying the organ or system that
sleeps are the effects or consequences, III
stead of the causes. of its condition
The author devotes n chapter to the
subject Of going to sleep. and considers
here the use of narcotics for the purpose
they produce is not sleep, but a condi-
ton of narcotism that counterfeits sleep, -
adding, when man says, 4 want Il
quiet night; l will take sleeping
draught, he speaks in parallels. To ex-
press the facts plainly he should say, 4
want quiet night | cannot obtain it by
going to sleep, or | am afraid to trust to
the chances of natural rest. so l will poi
son myself n little. Just enough to make
me unconscious or slightly paralyze my
nerve-centres, not enough to kill. If
this fact should be kept clearly before the
mind, the reckless Use OF drugs which
/ produce n 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 by
| paralysis of any degree. The following
remarks are important
/ Habit greatly helps the performance
of the initial act and the cultivation of a
habit of going to sleep in II particular
way, at Il particular time, will do more TO
procure regular and healthy sleep than
any other artifce The formation of the
habits, in fact, the creation or develop
ment of n special centre or combination.
III the nervous system, which will hence
forward produce sleep as Il natural rhyth-
lnical process. If this were more gen
orally recognized, persons who suffer
from sleeplessncss of the sort which con-
sists iii being simply unable to go to
sleep wouid set themselves resolutely to
form such habit II is necessary that
the training should be specific, and in
clude attention to details. 1t is not very
important what person does with the
intention of going to sleep; but he should
do precisely the same thing, in the same
way, at the same time, and under as
nearly as possible the same conditions,
night after night for n considerable
period, say three or four weeks at least.
The result will amply reward the effort
The doctor remarks, very wisely, that
''sleep ought TO be induced by instinct
acting in response to the sense of fatigue
or in obedience to the impulse Of habit
but when the orderly performance of
natural process has been interrupted, it is
difficult to restore the rhythmical sequence
of cause and effect" As he truly re-
marks, the ''suilerings and discomfort Of
those who find the act of going to sleep
difficult, are many and various. We
can hardly, from our point of view, agree
with the opinion which Dr. Mortimer
Granville expresses. that lit is n
mistake, and tends to the mischievous
habit OF partial sleep. to seek
sleep as relief from trouble,
worry or pain He holds that
We should seek relief both for the mind
and the body before sleep is sought, be
cause IF this precaution be not taken,
the sleep induced will he only loss of
consciousness, or, perhaps, automatic,
muscular or yisceral; but not natural and
general sleep, which alone gives general
repose. We content ourselves with ask
ing whether cases are not frequently aris-
ingin which the only harceapparently of
gaining relief from pain of body and
mind is by obtaining, first of all, a little
sleep of some kind? But We will quote
from this really interesting little book Il
valuable passage
a constrained or uncomfortable pos
ture will often prevent repose. Lying
flat on the back, with the limbs relaxed,
would seem to secure the greatest amount
of rest for the muscular system. This is
the position assumed i'll the most ex-
haustinT diseases, and 1t is generally
hailed as a token of revival when pa
tient voluntarily turns ON the side but
there are several disadvantages in the
supinc posture which impair or embnr-
rass sleep. Thus, i'll weakly states of the
heart and blood vessels, and i'll certain
morbid conditions of the brain, the blood
seems to grayitate to the back of the
head and to produce troublesome dreams.
In persons who habitually, in their gait
or work, stoop. there is probably some
distress consequent on Strengthening the
spine. Those who have contracted chests.
especially persons who have had pleurisy
and retain adhesions of the lungs. do not
sleep well on the back Nearly all who
are inclined to snore do 50 when in that
position, because the soft palate and
uvula hang ON the tongue, and that or
gan falls back So as t" partially close the
top of the windpipe. 1t is better there
fore tulie on the side, and in the absence
of special chest disease, rendering it de
slrablc tu lie on the weak side 40 as 10
leave the healthy lung free To cxprnd it
is well to choose the right side, hccnusr
when the body is thus placed the food
gravItatcs more easily ont of the stomach
into the intestincs, and the weight of the
liver does not compress the upper por-
ton of the intcstincs. \ glance at any
plate Of the yisccrnl anatomy will show
how tins must be. Many persons are
deaf III one ear, and prefer to lie on par
ticnlar side; but If possible, the right
SIDE should he chosen, and the body roll
ed n little forward, SO TINT any saliva
which may be sccrctcd shall run easily
out of the mouth, if not unconsciously
swallowed. Again, sleeping with the
arms thrown over the head is Ia he dcprc-
Gated hut this position il often assumed
during sleep. because circulation is then
free III the cXtrrmitics and the head and I
neck, and the muscles Of the chest are
drawn up and fixed 10y the shoulders, and /.
thus the expansion of the thurnX is easy.
The chief objections 10 this position are
that 1t creates II tendency to criump and
cold IN the arms, and sometimes .
seems +" cause headaches during sleep.
and dreams. These small matters often .
make on nar comfort in sleeping