Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-08-01
Too Little SIeen.

FarmorS and their families ere generally
early risors. But to all general propositions
there are, of course, some exceptions. There
is occasionally farm house where members
of the family lie in bed till long after sun
rise, risking the bad ropute in an agricultural
neighborhood of sleeping in that part of tho
twonty-four hours A certain amount of
sleep is necessary, and, though there is moth
ing criminal in taking part of it in tho day
time, the night is the better time for obvi-
GUS reasons. The length of timo which We
sleep Is largely matter of habit. Many per
sons who do not sleep moro than six or seven
hours would sloep eight or ten, or evon more,
if the natural inclination to sleep had not
been resisted until the force OF habit com.
PEELED the system to acquiesce, md apparently
to gay that Nature demanded two or three
hours moro sleep than was necessary. 1--WE
shall have sloep enough in the grave" says
one. But are VIC sure that wo shall not have
moro thore for having less here? Is Nature
wrong, and docs she demand too much sleep
Undoubtedly the habit of sleeping too much,
as well as the habit of sleeping too little,
may be acquired, but acquired habits are not
natural habits We believe that working
farmers generally allow themselves too little
sleep. The days arc the longest at the bust
est season on tho farm. In the beginning of
the haying season the time in this latitude
from shutdown to sunrise is less than nine
hours, and daylight continues nearly an hour
after shutdown, and begins nearly an hour be-
fore sunrise, so that there are only about SOW
on hours for sleep without infringing on tho
daylight. In most farm houses lamps ore
lighted in the evening, and the family arc
not ready to retire before nine or ten O'Clock,
or lator yet in the longest days, they are
generally astir at sunrise or earlier.
Napoleon claimed to need but five hours in
twenty-four for Sleep yet he made up for
its loss when opportunity offered, and he is
reported to have taken eighteen successive
hours of solid sleep at the close Of one OF
his exhaustive campaigns. Some of our far
mers improve Sundays and rainy days in q
somewhat similar manner. At other times
they are as little In love with sleep ns Napo.
leon himself. A house carpenter at work for
neighboring farmer said, 81 don't begin
work myself very early-not before five
oclock-but hear Mr.. X. tearing around
for about two hours before got up" Mr..
X ia now badly worn, but he has accom-
plished something. He has a good farm
with substantial buildings and everything
about them nice and convenient, several out.
lots, and money in the bank. Though, after
late hours at night we have sometimes been
guilty of taking refreshing slumber after sun
FiQa with iba halr,v atv = ~.
morning admitted through wide open win.
dows, We appreciate Mr.. K, the early riser
and believe the reply of the boy,
'Who, when his father thought
TO clip his morning nap by hackneyed praise
OF Yagrant worm by carly songster caught,
Cried Served him rghti It's not at all Surprising;
The worm was punished, sir, for early rising"
was better than his practice.
But those who rise early should be early in
bed. state of mental or bodily excitement
that will not permit sufficient sleep must tend
to final exhaustion. Horace Greeley is re-
ported to have said, in his last sickness, that
he had not had more than two hours of IN.
interrupted sleep for ten years. If he had
been able to sleep well perhaps he might have
been living at this day. Good sleepers should
be thankful that they arc able to sleep.
Dudes and people that are living on money
that they never earned, and thousands of in
valids whose only serious difficulty is in the
mind and in the want of sufficient exercise,
bring such disgrace upon sleep by their late
morning hours, that better class hardly
dare to take enough of 1t. We have known
more than one hard working farmer who
would drop asleep whenever he sat down to
rest for five minutes. Such one would be
likely to enjoy better health, to live longer,
and in the end to perform more labor, if he
would sleep enough so as not to feel con-
stanty the want of it in his waking hours.