Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-04-23
SLEEP AND slEEPI EssNEss.
VsIioas Metho Dis for Counting Morpheus
Stealing MaFehos on tbs Brain.

'1-iiSes 4nethoo as 1or Counting Morpheus
/ Stealing MaFehos on tbs Brain.
i The most ancient account that has
come eown to Us of systematic attempt
to yanginsh sleeplesjness is probably the
one which IS TO be found in the Book of
Esther. We there learn that Ahasuerus
on AFRO OCCASION when he could not sleep'
commanded to bring the bcoks Of
records OF the Chronicles, and they were
read before him." The book of reeords
OF the Chronicles stood in lieu Of the
newspaper, aud newspaper is still en-
| ploEed by many as an iaducer of steep.
But newspapers and the Ii sht by which to
reac'them are not always at the disposal
of wskeful pSesens.
Chaef among the conditions which se-
company naturab sleep is the comparative
freedom of the brain from blood. The
difference is, indsed, sufficient to cause a
sensible falling off in the Temperature Of
the head OF sleening person. A second
| conditica IS, the comparative freedom Of
the bralp from oxygen. Alexander yon
humboldt seems to have been the first to
| suggest this, and his theory is now very
generally accepted; although several writ
ers-and ne+ably DIR. Friedrich Seholz. of
Bremen-tssEe recently attacked it with
conslderable energy. But this condition
exists only Gt~ the commencement Of sleep.
IL IS apparently the principal cause of
mental tatigaej and as the proportion of
oxygen increases, the fHigue and conse-
quent need of sleep decrease. The actiV-
lty and usefulness of every organ of the
body are carried on at she expense of \
consumption oesanimal fuel; and this pro-
cess eXhausts- rCBsch of the oxygen of me
GU a %.l-
breathe, but we do not take in ouite
enough for our waking needs. The def
cheney is supplied from the oxygen that
We store up within us while we sleep
During the day we gradually exhaust this
reserve; and as the supply OF oxygen fails.
so the fires of our vitality diminish.
Long deprivation of sleep is, therefore,
dangerous to the well being of the body:
for, in default of proper fuel the bodily
fires consume the body itself. Nor is this
all. Oxygen is necessary for strength
and it is to the lack of it in the tired BODY
that the phenomenon which is so often to
be observed in sleepy persons may be at =
! tributed. The muscles of the neck, for
the nonce improperly fortified, grow weak.
and the sufferer involuntarily mods. Alta
later stage all the muscles are similarly
| affected. The third condition, which tends.
to produce natural sleep, may be called
periodicity. Man is essentially a creature
of habit, and the advent of bedtime is.
even In the case of people who suffer from
wakefulness, the most favorable opportu-
nifty for seeking rest. If, then, the time
be propitious, the position appropriate and
the degree of fatigue sufficient, the ordin-
ary person goes to sleep.
| But one or more of the the conditions
may be lacking, or there may be mental
conditions which seem to forbid sleep even
when time, position and fatigue are all
| favorable. The commonest of these ad-
verse conditions is more, or less intense
mental preoccupation. This tends to
drive blood to the head, and the evil NAV
| be remedied either by intellectual exer-
| ton in less absorbing direction or bv
mechanical means. Beerhaye recon-
mended his sleepless patients to lie where
| they could not avoid listening to the regu-
| lar falling of drops of water into a resonant
vessel. Jean Paul Richter suggested the
| picturing in the mind of an endless gar
land of flowers which stretched away into
measureless space. Other people advise
| the sufferer 60 count to himself, or to con
jure up visions from the pattern of the
paper on the wall or from the shadows in
the room.
Among the mechanical means for with
drawing the excess of blood from the brain.
the use Of hot bath may be recommended
but the prescription of Prof. Preyer. of
Jopa, is perhaps the best. He makes his
patient stand with one arm outstretehed
until the limb aches violently. This con-
ducts an excess of blood to the arm and
seldom fails to relieve the brain The
worst thing that sleepless man can do is
to make use of chloral or morphia. The
more he takes it, the more he needs it
and scores of instances are on record Of
men who, having taken one or the other
for few nights in succession, have never
again been able to sleep without the assist
ance of the drug. Sleep is so good a
thing for the body that it may always be
enjoyed with advantage whenever it can
be obtained but the amount of sleep that
Is absolutely necessary for the recuperation
of the faculties varies greatly with differ
ent people.
Eight hours sleep, eight hours work
and eight hours recreation is perhaps the
best division of the day and night for most
| persons; but stout people generally require
more sleep than lean ones, and old people
less than young ones. Alexander Won
Humboldt slept for only four hours out of
twenty-four; so did Frederick the Great.
Napoleon, on the other hand, slept much,
and would, at least at one time. of his life,
fall asleep whenever he had an opportu-
nifty. 1t is reported of him that when he
was before Toalon he fell asleep during
the heaviest Of the firing, but that he
| usually awoks as soon as It ceased. A
similar phenomenon occasionally occurs
with most of us. The stopping Of clock
or the cessation of a joltings and whirling
of an express train will wake many a man
who sleeps soundly enough while the noise
continues. The miller is roused when his
mill-whe sloomes to staedstill; and the
| sleeping coachman wakes with start of
alarm when his weary horse pulls slowly
up and begins to nibbla the grass at the
side of he read.-S. james Gazette.