St. Paul daily globe., 1885-02-03
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HOW To GET To SLEEP.

| LQem.'
HOW TO GET To SLEEP.
Hair Pilioirs to Be Preferred TdriOus
MethOds of Cooling the Brain.
From the New York sun.
When was a student I suffered much
from sleeplessnsss, and, after trying many
remedies hit upon this one: l discarded
my feather pillow for one Of hair. The effect
was wonderful. / slept soundly the whole OF
the first night, and have never since, except
when feverish, been so wakeful as l usually
was before. Although feathers are excellent
for preventing the dispersion of the heat OF
the body, so much fault has been found with
feather beds that they have quite generally
gone out of use, and it is strange that feather
pillows have not been sent after them
Feathers in pillows are open to the same OBJ
jections as feathers in beds, and even their
chief virtue, that of keeping up high tenn
perature. is defect in pillow; certainly
when one-half of the head is kept
at blood heat by being buried
in feathers, and the other half is exposed to
the air, both halves cannot be at the most
favorable TEN peralure.
HAIR PILLOW
does not get warmed up to an uncomfortable
degree. because it rapidly con nducts away the
heat impaired to it by the head. Since hair
pillows are not yet in common use, it might
be supposed that person accustomed to the
use of them would either have to take it
with him eve ~ time he was to be away from
home nights or suffer considerable incon-
venience. But fortunately hair holsters
are more common, and if the pillow is
thrown aside the bolster will raise the head
probably as high as is good for the sleeper.
If hair bolster is lacking, the. end of the
mattress may be raised high enough to make
a comfortable head rest by putting the pillow
under it.
According to most, but not all, medical
writers, wakefulness and mental activity de-
pend on the circulation of a large quantity
of blood through the brain, and the flow Of
blood must be lessened before sleep can
come on. have obtained especial benefit
from drawing the blood to the muscles by
means of brisk walk or quarter to half an
hours vigorous performance of
LIGHT GYMNASTICS
just before going to bed, the majority of
GdSES VI pltSoHC6S OCNuA PClSOHo
who use their muscles but little, and for very
many taking more exercise is the best
remedy. Sleep can sometimes be brought
on by simply warming the body. especially
the feet; the drowsiness caused by sitting in
a warm room is a familiar instance. The
blood may be drawn to the skin by cold
shower or sponge bath, followed by rubbing
with coarse towel. Getting out of bed for
a few minutes when the air is cool will
often bring relief. 1 have lain
awake half the night, and then,
after being up long enough to
mix and drink a lemonade, have fallen
asleep at once on going back to bed. Per
haps the lemonade should have part of the
credit. On hot summer nights cold bath
will reduce the bodily temperature so as 10
admit Of sleep. If the skin is not wiped quite
dry, the evaporating moisture will increase
the cooling effect. A lignt lunch Just before
going to bed relieves the brain By drawing
the blood TO the stomach, aud the inclina-
tion TO doZe after a meal is explainable in
this way. Diminishing the cerebral circu-
lation by com Impression of the carotid arteries
as advised by some physicians.
LYING On THE BACK
with a doubled pillow placed against the back
of the neck so as to tip the bead forward will
effect this, and DR.. J. L. Corning has in
vented an instrument in the form of collar
for the same purpose.
In view Of what has been said about the
circulation of the blood, coldness Of the feet
is a natural accompaniment ofsleeplessness,
and one means Of cure may be made to
serve both ends. Bathing the feet
in hot water Is such a means, but
after few hours a reaction is liable TO set
in, which will send the blood from the
feet to the head, aud cause the sleeper TO
awake. II is better To take advantage OF the
reaction which follows cold foot bath with
vigorous rubbing Of the feet, both in the
water and with the towel. The stimuious
thus given to the circulation in the feet will
be more permanent. | have found walking
just before bedtime beneficial, and when | do
not wish to 90 out doors raise myself sharply
on my toes 10 the full stretch fifty or more
times. a paragraph has recently been in
circulation TO the effect that a continuous
Low NOISE FAvoRs SLEEP
The sound Of water dropping on brass
pan has been prescribed by a physician
with good effect. The explanation seems to
oe that n simple monotonOuS impression
quiets the brain 10y occupying it TO the exclu-
sion OF more varied aud, interesting, and
therefore stimulating impressions. On
the same principle are the de
vices of counting forward or backward,
imagining sheep jumping one by one through
gap, etc. but they are open to the objec-
ton of causing one portion of the brain To
be exerted 10 order to control the rest of il.
If the hygienic measures which have been
described fail to induce sleep, probably some
form of disease stands in the way, and a
physician should be employed 10 discover
and remove it Sopordc drugs should be
regarded as last resort, for, unless skilfully
used, they produce stupor rather than
refreshing sleep. Do not take q narcotic or
nostrum at random because somebody saws
1t is good TO make you sleep; one narcotic is
injurious where another is beneficial, aud the
chances are that YOU will choose the one