The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-09-17
CURES FOR INSOMNIA,
Suggestions to Those who suHer BsCauSe
lhsy Cannot sleep,

Suggestions to Those who suffer because
they csunotslsoP'
live may judge by the appeals for
help that come to US this trouble Is
rapidly increasing in this country. NJ
cannot sleep,p says one, "the doctors
give me opistes, but these are becoming
Ineffective; / shall die ere long II l cam
not obtain relief" The causes are
widely varied, We suppose, but the effect
is in every case the same, A merchant
OF good character and irreproachable
habits writes To US; "What will cure
sleeplessness? / use no stimulants, aln q
very moderate eater, and never eat any
thing after Q O'Clock In the evening. /
have consulted tho doctors, but they all
give me opiates which do not wish to
use" Our table is covered with letters
OF this character, although some Of them
are more intense in their tone and show
a marked excitement OF the whole
nervous system,
The difficulty does not always come,
as most Of the writers seem to believe,
from bodily ailment or inGrmity. In
fact the trouble at the outset Is far more
frequently in the mind. Mental restless,
ness keeps the eyes from closing and
denies TO the body that repose 1t would
otherwise enjoy. 1t may not have Its
origin in any serious trouble or great
anxiety, but undue mental excitement
grows by indulgence until 1t becomes a
fixed habit difficult to overcome, The
idea that sleep is not coming at once to
the pillow will keep a man Of a fine
nervous temperament tossing on his bed
for hours, when il he only thought ha
was 10 find rest as he lay down he would
dropinto dreamland without any delay.
This mental activity is the first and
most difficult thing to cure. When the
nerves no longer brace themselves
against the coming drowsiness the re.
covery Is not far to seek.
Whatever tends TO quicken thought,
to excite the emotions, to stir up the
quiverlDg brain to fresh activity, should
therefore carefully be avoided. Novel
reading at night, games Of skill reQuir.
ing study, or games like whist taxing
ing the attention and memory, ought
not to be INDUCED in during the even.
ing by those who find II difficult TO
sleep, Above all, the conscience should
be at rest. We are not preaching ser.
mon, but prescribing an antidote, when
We say that no thoughtful man who has
In his heart a controversy with his
Maker can lie down TO calm repose. TO
have quiet in the brain, there must be
peace In the soul. We know ota man Of
great intellectual power who has often
declared to us that he cannot rest until
he has been on his knees, and in his
own language "made 1t all right" be-
tween himself and the One who "giveth
His beloved Sleep"
But tho body Is often an ally To the
mind in its restlessness, and sometimes
Is the provoking cause Of the whole dis.
turbanCe. Some years ago we wrote for
this column an essay on Eating and
Sleeping" which went the rounds otthe
whole world. Two at least oil our read
ers had large editions Of II printed in
pamphlet form, at their own expense,
and one who had been greatly prolted
by II sent out 10000 copies for graf
uitous distribution. Iu that article we
showed, as wO think concluslvely, that
going to bed with well.Glled stomach
Is the essential prerequisite OF refreshing
slumber. The cautions so often reiter-
ated In old medical journals against
"late auppers" were directed chiefly to
the bibulous habits OF those early times.
When at every late feast the guests not
unseldom drank themselves under the
table, or needed strong assistance to
reach their couch, the canon against
such indulgence was not untinely.
Nature and common sense teach US
that a full stomach Is essential TO quiet
repose. Every man who has fonnd 1t
difficult to keep awake after q hearty
dinner has answered the problem for
himself, There are few animals that can
be trained TO rest until after they are
fed. Nun, as he comes into the world,
presents a condition 1t would be well for
him to follow in all his after life. The
sweetest minstrel ever sent out Of para
disc cannot sing a newborn child to
sleep on an empty stomach. We have
known reckless nurses TO give the little
one dose OF paragoric or soothing.syrup
in place Of q cup Of milk, when Il was
too much trouble TO get the latter, but
this is the alternative. Tho little stom.
ach Is the pleading child, as 1t becomes
gradually empty, folds onitseliin plaits;
two Of these make 1t restless; three will
open It's eyes, but by careful soothing
these may be closed again. four plaits,
aud tho charm is broken; there is no
more sleep in that household until that
child has been fed
1t seems to us so strange, that with
this example before their eyes, full.
grown men are go slow TO learn the
lesson. The farmer does 1t for his pigs,
who would spueal all night II they were
not fed at the last moment, and the
groom knows that his horse will paw In
his stall until he has had his meal. But
when no wishes to sleep himself, lie
never seems 10 think OF II. To sleep,
the iullness Of the blood must leave the
head; to digest the eaten food the blood
must come to the stomach. Thus, sleep
aud digestion are natural allies; one as.
sists the other. Man, by long practice,
will train himself to sleep on an empty
stomach, but II is more the sleep Of ex.
haustion than the sleep Of refreshment.
He wakes up after such q troubled sleep,