, 1884-02-23
NIGHT-WORKERS.
Juliet Corson on Brain Worry. Brain
Stimulation and Night Work
The System Necessary for n Main
nan OF Perfect Health
Drugs, Alcohol. Tea.
and Coffee.


Harper's Bazr.l
Those who follow any avocaton which In
wolves labor during the night do not habitu-
ally eat as much or as regularly as day work.
ers, and few pursue the system necessary for
the maintenance of perfect health For night
workers the best regimen includes a hearty
breakfast when they rise, which is generally
from IL to 8 o'clock; after this some moderate
outdoor exercise, which should be followed
by q short interval of rest and relaxation; then
a good dinner, partaken of between 5 and 8
o'clock. at least an hour before beginning
work. II labor IL to continue until 4 or 8
O'Clock in the morning u light nu-
tritious repast should be eaten shortly
after midnight, in order TO fortify the
system for work during the hours immedi-
ately following, when, as was stated in a
former article, the vital powers are most en-
feebled. When work is finished, and before
retiring, a simple lunch should be taken, in
the form of a cup OF good hot broth or beef
tea, or a glass of light wine and a couple OF
crackers; this will generally insure sleep by
withdrawing the blood from the brain, where
IL has been concentrated by mental effort.
In ordinary cases of wakefulness after night
work, not confirmed by habit. a light meal of
this kind will usually prove to be a remedy.
BY attention to these details, and by taking
sufficient sleep, night workers can preserve
their health under ordinary circumstances
A MISTAKE.
Any writer who allots a certain amount Of
work to be done in the course Of the day Is
liable to lose time by interruptions during his
Working hours; il the unfinished work haunts
MIN he can not sleep and the probability is that
by IL or l2 o'clock at night, when he is free
from interruption, he will experience a calm
-ba.h gat-hE 10
considered favorable to work; especially
in cities the cessation Of street noises
about midnight seems conducive to thought
Hygienically speaking, such an impulse
should be ~disregarded; the quiet which
follows the withdrawal Of external
causes of excitation, and the lowering of
vital action, are indications of rest rather
than work; natural darkness, and the conse-
quent decline Of physical temperature,
soothe the nerves of the eyes and brain, and
calm the entire nervous system; the physical
tranquility which follows is natures prepa-
ration for repose. Work can be lone under
such conditions, and may seem well done,
but doing 1t is imprudent, to speak mildly;
to put the case with proper emphasis, it is
like drawing a due-bil bearing 100 per cent
interest, and the bill has to be met-no pro-
test possible.
WORK AND WORRY.
Too little attention is paid in this country
to the possibility of mental or physical col
lapse from overwork. When such a condi-
ton is impending as the result Of any, save
mental, taxation there is usually some pre-
monition experienced which fixes the atten-
ton and compels preventive measures; but
the intellectual laborer is apt to disregard
that condition which makes his work an
effort, and to think the pain at the
base of his brain IN unimpt rtaHt dis
comfort. A fruitful cause of mental
exhaustion is anxiety. II all cares
could be put aside at night, and uninter
rupted sleep be secured, the jaded nervous
system might recuperate; but when anxious
thought is prolonged into the hours which
should be given to repose, they yield no rest.
The brain is so finely organized that it cannot
endure the discordant simultaneous action OF
work and worry; the divided energies fail to
accomplish any result equal to the force
which they expend, and their waste is more
disastrous than any which can be caused by
harmonious mental action in the attainment
Of any one legitimate end of work.
DRUGS M SPIRITS.
In regard to the stimulation of thought by
the use of drugs and spirits, evidence as to
results Is very contradictory. Despite tho re-
corded experience of writers upon the fas-
~cinating effects of opium eating and smok-
ing, it affects individuals in totally different
ways; and very few ever experience the
mental exaltation and kindling of imagina-
ton from it which have been described in
such glowing terms. As a means of relief
from pain it is efficacious, but medical experts
condemn its indiscriminate use. Especially
is the habitual use OF the hypodermic syringe
reprobated by physicians. As a temporary
measure of relief in extreme suffering it is ad-
Missile, but there is absolute danger in its
habitual employment.
So far as the substance Of the brain is con-
cerned, the physiological effect of alcohol is
increased activity OF circulation, and conse-
quently more rapid succession OF thoughts
Beyond this primary effect arises the possibil-
ity Of so far exciting the organ as to produce
extravagant and visionary ideas which will
not bear critical judgment. or course, any
excessive indulgence quite clouds the facul-
ties, and beyond that point the stages of i'm
becility are progressive.
ALCOHOL, TEA, coFFEE.
There is such a diverse opinion on this rub
feet that an absolute conclusion seems unat-
tainable A recent writer has collected the
testimony of the leading thinkers of the time,
and the conclusion reached seems to be that
while no stimulants materially promote intel
lectual activity, several can be used to meet
temporary conditions of exhaustion or nerv-
Gus depression. Some personal experience
may be admissible, for the reason that
none of the articles cited as brain stimu-
lants are used h%abitually, and therefore the
temporary effects produced by them may
be suggestive to others Tea, used at night,
with sugar and lemon, causes wakefulness,
save at an interval, between l and 9 o'clock,
when some such definite motion as walking
about IL nacaaearv 10 1nvarcop,a dro,vs;p,,,
that once passed, work can be lone till about
4 or 3 o'clock; further than that the effect
has not been pushed, because some rest was
imperative in view OF the work of the COM
ing day. Coffee taken with milk and sugar
had nj especial effect beyond a gem
eral sense of refreshment; without
milk, the stimulation was slight.
without either milk or sugar, it
proved so unpalatable that a speedy return
was made to tea and lemon. Alcohol in an,
form stimulated exertion for a short time,
and then induced drowsiness and disinclina-
ton to work; it, therefore, seems best adapted
for use in the interval between work and the
recuperation of vital energy by the assimila-
ton OF nutriment, when, by deadening that
acute sense Of wsariness which leads to nerv-
Gus irritability and painful sensitiveness to
annoying conditions, it is often conducive to
the derivation Of benefit from food; a glass or
two OF good wine-Burgundy seems the best
taken Just before a meal, or early in the con-
sumption of 1t, does not Interfere with diges-
ton, and teads to increase appetite, when
without IT the system might from utter weari-
ness refuse to receive nutriment- Coca Is
Dissolution of Copartnership.
The copartnership heretofore existing