The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-08-18
DOCTORS TALK ABOUT SLEEP
No Way for a Man to Violate Natural
Laws and0btain Refreshing Rep0se.
One Physician Says the Only Cure for lnsom-
mia Is to Quit Using Tea. Coffee and Tobac-
co-Fishing an Excellent Remedy.

ity. necessary for the reparatIon of the
vital powers. No man in the last three
hundred years has written or spoken upon
the subject without interpolating the re-
mark of William Shakespeare: sleep that
knits up the raveled sleave of care.r Hav-
ing disposed of this quotation, the reporter
entered upon his task of interviewing
number of physicians upon the combined
subjects of sleep and sleeplessness. DIR. w.
N. Wishard, ex-superintendent of the City
Hospital, was asked the best method OF
procuring sleep by natural means, the old
fashioned method of counting. IN the
minds eye. a succession of sheep. jumping
over a fence being barred. FOL simple in
somnia from over mental work. said the
Doctor, the first thing is to stop mental
and do physical work. and rest the mind
by firing the body. Drugs should only be
used when the condition of the patient is
such as TO demand sleep Immediately. A
full meal will frequently produce sleep
In the wakefuL At the hospital,
where men are sleepless from long con-
tinued stimulation by alcohol, they are put
on draughts of hot milk or beef tea every
hour and a half, until they go TO sleep.
That treatment is good for insomnia pro-
duced by over mental activity and anxiety.
III DuSluto ludu y lloOlluld Idns 10 a III
only be relieved by .lessening the amount
of work he may be doing. There is no way
by which a man may violate natural laws
and obtain natural sleep. Life is much
more rapid than it was twenty years ago,
and it would be better if more of us took a
Saturday half-holiday and observed. the
Sabbath as a day of rest. | believe II the
community would take that prescription
insomnia would be practically banished"
II think the best way TO get to sleep"
said Dr.. Theodore Potter, lis to go to bed,
that is. make it a habit to go to bed wheth-
er you are sleepy or not. Sleep Will come
If a persistent and continued invitation Is
given. | have never failed to see any
one who did not have an organic
disease who could not, by sticking to 1t. in
the way / have indicated. finally acquire
the sleep habit. Sometimes 1T will Jake
two or three weeks. but sleep will come.
Its arrival may be assisted and fastened
by judiciOus eating before retiring, or by
drinking milk. i do not say drink it warm.
but at a moderate temperature. n draws
the blood to the digestive organs and away
from the brain. A warm bath Just before
retiring is q good thing, as 1T lmpels the cir
culation toward the skin"
1T is not necessarily work that kills nor
work that keeps men awake" said Dr.. o.. s.
Runnels. I'VE are built for work, physical
and mental. Our fOrefathers worked and
thought, and we are endowed with the like
ability. There are good reasons why
the race is tending toward neurasthemia.
IhO W 1910 WAACA At9
given rise to what has been charac-
terized as the American disease The
increased and increasing use of narcotics
has more to do with this disturbance OF the
nervous equilibrium than all the work peO-
pie do. 1t is a ~lamentable fact that the use
of what are known as stimulants and mar
COtlcs Is increasing IN this country. inns
is especially true as regards tobacco, beer
and various alcoholic preparations. With
this use comes a per capita increase OF
wrecked nervous SyStemS."
What" inquired the reporter, "are the
natural remedies for sleeplessness brought
about by these violations of natures lawS?'
The natural remedies" said the Doctor,
"are to cease to do evil and learn to do well.
Give up these things altogether. We have
only to go back TO the time of Sir Walter
Raleigh to note the advent Of tea, coffee
and tobacco among civilized people, and
all three were introduced into Eng
LAND within q score of years. Since that
time their use has been marvelously in
creased, and corresponding with the in
crease have come these pronounced dis
turbances in the nervous system. of the
people. The best thing to induce the sys-
tenn to return to normal conditions IS to
avoid the things that work mischief and
pay better attention to feeding the body;
live on those things that will make good
blood and reinforce the system with nerve
power"
"Sleeplessnesssn said DIR. John H. Oliver,
superintendent of the City Hospital. ."The
lllblOllll VI lnVNO NAO tOAiO ilAt IL kAAO
who are troubled with sleeplessness are
those who have been indulging in tho
aromatized spirit of cOrn.o
What's thats" inquired the reporter du-
biously.
whisky. Sleeplessness proper is not a
disease of poor. PATIENTS; it is an aristo-
cratic disease, largely caused by mental
perturbation. Our sleepless patients are
they can drink it. and this treatment is
good for any one. rich or poor. Aside from
the use OF alcoholic drinks, people who
work with their hands sleep well. Ii is
who are troubled with sleeDlessness. There
are some persons who SIT up all night and
never get anything better than two small
pairs. They are troubled with sleepless-
ness. and if they do get sleep, do not get a
and four of a kind. and all that feverIsh
sort OF thing III their uneasy slumber.
There are many persons who do not sleep
sound enough or long enough I'd rest the nlen-
tai faculties. and awake unrefreshed. The
amount of sleep required depends on the
habits and the constitution OF the sleeper.
Some light sleepers and those who slept
few hours have been men of the greatest
mental activity. Relieve the strain OH the
mind and the condition of sleepleSsness will
disappear"
What produces sleeplessnessln was the
query propounded to DIR. John NJ. Kitchen.
Worry, OverwOrk and haste in eating"
ltpAiNu III OOCtOl. ~ uoOub thC CntC4
factors in producing it. Want of exercise
and sedentary habits may be added. The
remediess Well, the chief remedies are nu-
trItious food and good exercise. not drugs;
and there must be a motive behind the eX-
ercise. A ~perfunctory walk of so many
squares at % certain arranged time Affords
a very limited benefit. lie is q good thing
for n business or professional man TO have
a hobby outside the grind of his daily
pursuit. DR.. p. q. G. Hunt, George Ander-
son and myself went mp White river, the
other day, to the vicinity of Strawtown.
Neither of us had slept we'll for q week or
more. After whipping the water for several
miles we returned TO this metropolis with
thirty bass
Hold ON, Doctor implored the alarmed
reporter. who saw his interview diverted
from the subject that had been assigned
him.
Thirty bass" continued the Doctor, with
an expression that showed he was not TO be
trified with. Yes. sir, and one of them,
caught by DIR. Hunt. weighed three pounds
or the scales. actual weight. He was IN the
middle of the river. with his wading trous-
ers on, when the bass struck the fly. We
all saw it was a whopDer. He played that
bass half an hour before he captured it.
We came in tired and very hungry, had
fish for supper and retired. all of US sleep
ing from 9 o'clock in the evening until after
6next morning"
State stenographers' Association.
The stenographers OF the State have arranged
TO hold a convention on Aug. ~. % and 20, at