The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1885-01-03
THE ART Of SLEEP.

There are people who never fully
satisfy their natural hunger for
sleep. For sleep, unlike our food
and drink, is easily measured to
nicely; and many people have a fear
OF wasting time in sleep. There is
no corresponding check against eat
ing too much. The result is that
the same person sometimes may
practice injurious asceticism in sleep
and gluttony in feeding. If we
could measure our food as easily as
our sleep we should eat less, and in
consequence there would be fewer
indigestions and dyspepsias, and
fewer trips to Saratoga, Vichy and
Carlsbad. Too much sleep, also, is
injurious; for one thing, it is fatten-
ing, like too much food and drink.
But there are few gluttons of sleep
in our restless community. The
danger is the other way with us
and whether we deny ourselves on
a theory of so many hours, or whe-
ther toll, or watching, or travelling,
or society, robs us of sufficient sleep,
we shall surely suffer sooner or later.
The amount needed varies with
the age, the sex, the temperament,
Al
the occupation of the individual it
varies, too, with race and climate.
Infants sleep the greater part of the
time; chilren up to s years old
should spend nearly half their time
in sleep. Ten hours thenceforward,
until the age of puberty, are a good
average nightly ration or dose of
slumber. During mature life there
is great diversity of practice. The
famous school of Salerno declared
that six hours were enough, whether
in youth or age, and that seven hours
were pure laziness. No one, added
these learned faculties, should allow
himself to sleep eight hours.
l think that the professors of the
eleventh century laid down too
rigorous law. For people at least
who are laboriously busy, eight
hours is not usually too much. The
old require less, because they do not
need so much repair of nerve and
muscle as those who are in the prime
of their activity. The important
thing that we decided practically,
not theoretically, what our individ-
ual need is. If my own need be
eight hours, it makes no difference
that the school of Salerno or any
other learned persons have laid
. down a theoretical average of six
hours as the correct thing. Fol
hard working people, whether they
work with brain or hand, eight hours
is probably seldom too much.
The cure of sleeplessness depends
upon the cause: how various the
). causes are we have seen. I will moi
enumerate the devices for procuring
slumber in the ordinary healthy
they are very numerous, but none
of them have any general applica
ton. One counsel may be given
for it is not hackneyed; it is this
= Learn to sleep in the daytime. Thi.
art is one which everybody has mo-
acquired. People there are-I know
t, such people-who are wise enough
to eat when they are hungry, but
who have never attained that higher
reach of wisdom to sleep when they
are sleepy. But occasions come tC
all of us when we need to be able tC
sleep in the daytime at will. Have
you failed to get your needed sleep
whether because of work or watch
a ing, or sorrow or pleasure? There
4 repose in the daytime is the restora.
tive needed. There is great virtue
in naps--even in short ones-and
the art of mapping in the daytime
. if you have not learned italready, is
y one to be learned without further
!, delay. 1t may require a little prac-
a tice, but nature is on the side of the
10 learner.
And lastly, here is bit of philo.
sophy, written by a wise man and
! physician, DR.. Frank Hamilton
!. Let me hope that at least one OF
!, my readers, if only one, will be wise
+ enough to profit by its wisdom =
Gloomy thoughts prevent sleep
The poor and unfortunate magnify
n aud increase their misfortunes by
{ too much thinking. Blessed be he
= who invented sleep, but thrice bless
Q Q ed be the man who shall invent a
y y cure for thinking"