Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-04-02
Rest.

The origin of much of the nervousness
and impaired health Of individuals who
are not decidedly sick is owing to a want
of sufficient and quiet rest. To procure
this should be the study of every one.
Laboring people should retire as early as
9 o'clock in the evening, and all Others
by 10 or II o'clock Those who are La
BILE to have disturbed sleep should take
especial care that their evenings pass
TRANQUILITY
Many are injured by attending thea
tres, parties, balls or other meetings i'll
the evening, by which they are SO much
agitated that their sleep is broken and
unquiet.
In our opinion, the most frequent and
immediate cause os insanity, and one of
the most important to guard against, is
want of sleep. So rarely do We see II re-
cent case of insanity that is not preceded
by want of sleep that we regard it as al
most the sure precursor of mental de
rangement
Notwithstanding strong hereditary
predisposition, i'll health, loss OF kindred
or property, insanity rarely results TN
less the exciting causes are such as to
occasion loss of sleep. mother loses
her only child, the merchant his fortune :;
the politician, the scholar, the enthusiast,
may have their minds powerfully excited
and disturbed, yet if they sleep well they
will not become insane.
There is no advice SO useful to those
who are predisposed to insanity, or to
those who have recovered from an attack,
AS to avoid carefully everything likely to
cause loss of sleep, to pass their evenings
TRANQUILITY at home, and to retire early to
rest. Long-continued wakefulness dis
orders the whole system. The appetite
becomes impaired, the secretions dimin-
ished or changed, the mind detected, and
soon waking dreams occur, and strange
phantoms appear, which at first may be
transient, but ultimately take possession
of the mind, and madness or death en-
sues
We wish we could impress upon all the
vast importance of securing sound and
abundant sleep. If so We should feel
that We had done an immense good to our
fellow-beings, not merely in preventing
insanity, but other diseases also. To
procure sleep it is important that the
mind should not be disturbed for sever
al hours before retiring to rest. Retire
early, and when neither very warm nor
cold sleep on hair mattress or on bed
not very soft The bedroom should be
large and well ventilated, and the bed
should not be placed near the wall or
near the window, as such an arrangement
often exposes the person to currents OF
cold air. There should be nothing tight
about the neck, and the rule of cleaning
the teeth before retiring is n good one.
Tea or coffee taken late at night is apt to
disturb sleep. Strive to Danish thoughts
as much as possible, or take up the dull
est subject Study during the evening is
improper
Nervous persons who are troubled with
wakcfulness and excitability usually have
. strong tendency of blood to the brain,
with cold extremities. The pressure of
the blood on the brain keeps it in stlm-
ulated or wakeful state, and the pulsa-
tions of tie head are often painful. Let
such rise and chafe the body and extrem-
tiles with brush or towel, or rub smart
ly with the hands, to promote circulation
and Withdraw the excessive quantity
blood from the brain, and they will fall
asleep in few moments.
A sponge bath and rubbing, or good
run or rapid walk in the open air, Just be-
lolt TtilIiuS, Will dlu III tIutllLlllS ClICu-
lation and promoting sleep. Some peo-
pie are able to perform much mental Ia
Dor, and to study late at night, and yet
sleep well. Some require but little sleep.
But such individuals are very rare.
Sleep seemed to be at the command Of
Napoleon, as he could sleep and wake ap-
parently at his will.
A writer observes of NJ. Guizot, former
minister Of France His facility for 60
ing to sleep after extreme excitement and
mental exertion is prodigious. After the
most boisterous and tumultuous sittings
at the chamber, after being baited by the
opposition in the most savage manner
there is no mider expression for their
excessive violence-he arrives at home,
throws himself upon couch, and sinks
Immediately into a profound sleep, from
which he is undisturbed till midnight,
when proofs of the Moniteur are brought
to him for inspection
at is an interesting fact, says another
writer, ''that for many of the latter years
of his life Sir Robert Peel was in the
invariable habit, at whatever hour he re-
turned form his cabinet or the house of
commons, of reading for half an hour in
some religious book before retiring to
rest. 1t was by this habit, he said, that
he could keep his mind calm and clear
after the distractions and irritations of the
dow I"