Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-10-09
SLEEPING.
The Relations of '""d sleep to n Condi-
tiau of Hearth.

ton ~ Health.
Cu,d ,l'"p ard GOOD hrl'h very
-..-. no, .o '"..'I,r Will. h.i -lr"p-
,i. lr. hk'N t." &c. lutAl.d-. ard viii
,,tiuuh h'r"tnr in>a,id> II the Sleep
l,.-.n,.-- bee not cured The cd writers
eve long and rather distressing lists
If tb.. iulrut~ Which hay" insomnia.
of .l".p'''--n''-~. - q symptom. Cont.
mItI-m. l.i,,' "u~ Of the skin.
h'-f'ria. d,-l"l'-la. exhaustion. ami
ct,. ",'r. SUSTAINED ,N"rtl"u Of the
mint imp"udn, ap"rl"\N these arr.
-nulr 81 them. hN u" means all. Bad
-h-cpl. often = c.,,i>. - we'll - Il >Nmp-
',u II .li-r,-,. good -lc,p l. an I'M
port iiIt u,.,u- "t pr"."'liinn.
Aud What IT, ""ni ,l"'p' 1t : that
r,rnll,N >u-p,u>."n Il voluntary
MOTION ari "i -'n-a' on that recruits
ull thr physical and mental faculties
'brh ~ COM of" >l',p d"''~ the brain
ih"ruu.hh r., u,t it-cli. >al> DR.
blnudi"rl. and L., up energy to hc
,Nr'udrd IN th" waking hours. In
sleep There F, u" "Nr' ndiiure. but con
rt,ui renewal IT nerve power And
how much ,lrcp lo we need
Ih'r" j. No -nap answer 10 this
question. Ihr amount needed varies
with the age. the >c\. ia" t"mperamrnt
th" occupation ot the ind ivIdual: it
taric- too. with race and climate In
inni- sleep "a" greater part of the time:
children up To ri"ht Years rld should
~p"nd nearly hall their time in sleep.
Zen hours thcnccforw until the age
~ puberty. are "A good average nightly
ration or dos" slumhcr. During ma
/ turr lie there j. great diversity of
practice. The famous school of sal
rrno declared that Si\ hour, were
enough. whether in Youth or age. and
that seven hour were pure lazincss.
y" one. added these learned faculties,
should allow himself to sleep eight
hour.
d 81 thinl that the professors of the
eleventh century laid down too rigor-
ou- law. For people. Al least. who are
lahuIiousll busy. eight hours is not
usually too much The old require
less. because they do not need so much
repair If nerve and muscle Il those
VIA" are in the prime Of their activity.
The important thing j. that we decide
practically. not theoretically. what our
individual need j. II my own need be
/ eight hours. II makes no difference that
the school of Salcrno or any learned
person has laid down a theoretical
average Of six hours aS the correct
| thing. For Woodworking people.
whether the, work with brain or hand.
eight hours is probably seldom too
much.
There are people who never fully
satisfy their natural hunger for sleep.
/ For sleep. unlike our food and drink.
l. casil, measured Ia a nicetv, and
many people have II fear of wastin"
time In sleep. There is no correspond
ing cheek against eating too much.
| The result is that the same person
sometimes may practice I'M furious AS
crticism in sleep and gluttony in feed
ing. II we could measure our food rs
easily ~ our sleep. we should eat less
aud in consequence there would be
fewer indigrstionS and dySpcpsias. and
fewer trips to Saratoga. Vichy and
Carlsbad. Too much sleep also is in
/ furious; for one thing. it is fAitening,
| like too much food and drink. But
/ tfNff NV lew GiittouN vi SttD Ill our
restless community. The danger is the
other way with us. and whether we
deny ourselves on theory of so many
hours. or whether toll. or watching, or
travelling. or society, robs us of sufli-
Client sleep. we shall surely suffer sooner
or later.
The causes of slceplessness range
from the most whimsical to the most
| grave; acute or chronic diseases, like
those ] have named, are not more
effective prcvcntivcs than things
that seem the merest eccentrici-
ties. Some persons can not sleep
without hearing the ticking of
a clock; some require absolute
silence; Others require room carpeted
In a particular way. or an adjoining
closet door kept open. or a string tied
around finger or toe. or the repeti-
tition Of some benumbing formula, or,
on the contrary. the continuance of
loud noise To which they are accus-
toned. as in the case of some laborers
In machine shops. The stopping of the
engine In sea-gOing steamer will
wake not only all the officers. but the
more experienced travellers on board.
The worst Of it is that some of the
most trivial causes are among the
hardest to relieve. Insomnia, when it
has become a true mental disease, is
sometimes incurable.
The cause of sleeplesssness depends
upon the cause; how various the
causes are we have seen. | will not
cnumerate the devices for procuring
slumber in the ordinarily healthy: they
are numerous. but none of them have
any general application. One counsel
may be- given. for it is not hackneyed
II Is this: Learn to sleep in the day
time. This art is one which everybody
has not acquired. People there are.
! know such people. who are wise
enough to cat when they are hungry.
but they have never attained that
higher reach Of wisdom. to sleep when
they are sleepy. But occasions come
to all 81 us when we need to he able to
sleep In the day time ut will. Have
You failed to get your needed sleep,
whether because of work or watching,
or sorrow or pleasure? Then sleep in
the day time is the restorative needed.
There Is great virtue in maps. even in
| short ones. and the art of mapping in
the day time. if you have not learned it
already. is one To be learned without
further delay. II may require little
practice. but nature is on the side of
learner.
And lastly here Is a bit of philosophy,
written by wise man and physician,
DIR. Frank Hamilton. Let me hope
that Mt least one Of my readers may
profit by its wisdom: GLOOMY thoughts
prevents sleep. The poor and unfor-
tunate magnify and increase their
misfortuncs by too much thinking.
Blessed be he who invented sleep, but
thrice blessed be the man who shall
invent a cure for thinking. Titus
| Muu SON Eaau IN Lara4cr's u,ccEIl