Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-08-19
A TALK ABOUT SLEEP.

/
! procuring sleep by natural means, the
| Oid-fashioned method of counting, in
| the minds eve, succession of sheep,
| jumping over fence being barred.
For simple insomnia from over-men-
| tai work" said the Doctor, 1.-the first
| thing Is to stop mental and do phv vsicl
| work, and rest the mind bv firing the
body. Drugs should only be used
when the condition of the patient Is
I 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 half, until they
go to sleep. That treatment is good
for insomnia produced by over mental
activity and anxiety. The business
mans insomnia can, as a rule, only
be relieved by leSsening the amount of
work he may be doing. There is no
way by which man may violate
natural laws and obtain natural sleep.
Life is much more rapid than it was
twenty years ago, and it would be bet
ter if more of us took Saturday half
holiday and observed the Sabbath as q
day of rest. l believe if the commu-
nifty would take that prescription in
somnia would be practically banished. :"
Il think the best way to get to sleep
is to go to bed, that is, make ii habit
to go to bed whether 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 it, i'll the way
| have indicated, finally acquire the
sleep habit. Sometimes it will take
you two or three weeks, but sleep will
come. Its arrival may be assisted and
hastened by judicious eating before
retiring, or by drinking milk. l do
not say drink it warm, but AT mod
crate temperature. This draws the
blood TO the digestive organs and away
from the brain. A warm bath lust
before retiring is very good thing,
as it impels the circulation toward the
skin"
''lt is not necessarily work thai
kills nor work that keeps men awake.
We are built for work, physical and
mental. Our forefathers worked and
thought, and We are endowed with
the like ability. There are good reas-
ons why the race is tending toward
neurasthemia, the disposition to ner-
vousness, which has given rise to what
has been characterized as the Amer
fcan disease The increased and in
creasiDg use of narcotics has more to
do with this disturbance of the nervous
equilibrium than all the work people
do. 1t is lamentable fact that the
use of what are known as stimulants
and narcotics is increasing in this
country. This is especially true as
regards tobacco, beer and various al
coholic preparations. With this use
comes per capita increase of wrecked
nervous systems"
What" inquired the reporter, care
the natural remedies for sleeplessness
brought about by these violations of
natures laws?"
The natural remedies" said tht
Doctor, "are To cease to do evil and
learn to do well. Give up these things
altogether. We have only to 90 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 England
within a score of years. Since that
time their use has been marvelously
increased, and corresponding with the
increase have come these pronounced
disturbances in the nervous system of
tha H. tH.,,ar 4, In
the system to return to normal condi-
tons 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 rein7
force the system with nerve power"
"The majority of those who come
under my care who are troubled with
sIeeplessness are those who have been
iHdulging in the aromatized spirit of
corn"
whats that?' inquired the re-
porter obviously.
Whisky. Sleeplessness proper is
not disease of poor patients; it is an
aristocratic disease, largely caused by
mental perturbation. Our sleepless
patients are filed up with beef tea and
milk as hot as 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. 1t Is mental
workers and debilitated women who
are troubled with sleeplessness. There
are some persons who sit up all night
and never get anything better than
two small pairs. They are troubled
with sleeplessness, and if they do
get sleep, do not get restful kind, as
they are apt to see flushes and four of
a kind, and all that sort of thing in
their uneasy slumber. There are many
persons who do not sleep sound enough
or long enough TO rest the mental fac
ulties, 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 a few hours have been men
of the greatest mental activity. Re
lieve the strain on the mind, and the
condition of sleeplessness will disap-
pear"
''What produces sleeplessness?
"Worry, overwork and haste in eat
ing" replied the Doctor, care about
the chief factors in producing it. Want
of exercise and sedentary habits may
be added. The remedies? Well, the
chief remedies are nutritious food and
good exercise, not drugs; and there
must be motive behind the exercise.
A perfunctory walk of so many squares
at certain arranged time affords a
very limited benefit. 1t Is a good
thing for business or professional
man to have hobby outside the grind
of his daily pursuit"
He Didn't Translate It.
Mistress-Nora, what was that glib