The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-12

One of the most important nerve
specialists in the United States is DR..
George w. Jacoby of New York. His
knowledge and views of the future
American nervous constitution are not
only interesting, but valuable. His
prophecy of splendid things to come
is not only pleasant, but important be
cause il comes from a man Of the
highest standing.
do you, as a nerve specialist, find it
possible, as specialists in other lines
have, 10 say that the human race is
growing stronger" 1 asked.
Il do, emphatically,'' he replied.
"Since we have learned more Of the
causes of mental and nervous troubles
we have learned better how to prevent
them. While this may be called the
century of nerves, a great improve
ment in the nervous condition Of the
race has been accomplished. Life in
the large American cities-where peo-
pie might almost be said to work thir-
ty-siX out of twenty-four hours, where
every one lives in continual push,
rush, hurry and jump, where time
saving appliances such as the tele-
phone and other electrical devices are
eagerly caught up and as eagerly APP
plied-cannot help but be straining
and destructive to nervous equilibrium.
Our lives are totally different from
those of Europeans. Begin at the uni
versity, for instance. An English stu
dent takes six years for his medical
course. An American does the same
work in four years, and until recently
allowed himself only three years for
the task. He does not slight his work,
either. He covers at least as much
ana very likely more ground than his
English brother does, and he covers it
at least as thoroughly. But he crowds
himself while the Englishman takes
\ his time. This continues after the uni
versity years have passed and lasts
through life. The wonder is not that
We are a nervous nation, but that we
are not the most nervous nation on
the face Of the earth. We eat less,
sleep and play less than any nation
but the French. But we seem 10 be
able not only to endure it, but to
thrive under it, The French probably
more nearly approach us in this per-
petual activity, but they are likely to
cut their sleep for dissipation, while
we cut it for hard work. Hard work
rarely kills if it is not accomplished
by means of artificial strength gained
by stimulants, and even then it is the
sumulants and not the work that do
the damage.
1.-The matter of sleep is, of course, a
most important one. l do not know
that any one has entirely solved its
problems. No hard and fast rule can
be laid down to be followed by every
body. The average amount of sleep
required by the average American is
probably about eight hours. 1 think,
however, that the amount of sleep
which a man or woman requires is
largely matter of habit. 1t is safe,
however, to lay down this rule: Never
go without sleep when the abstinence
really makes you suffer. 1 believe
that many men take nine hours sleep
who would feel better if they only took
seven, but the whole thing is so en-
tirely matter of individual necessity
that very little of value can be said
ABOUT 1t by a physician. 1t is possible
that our entire system of Sleeping is
wrong. Perhaps short snatches of
sleep would be better than our present
practice Of taking at one time all the
sleep which we get during the twenty
. four hours. The dog is a pretty
healthy animal, yet you rarely find
one which sleeps continuously for any
long period. Towser takes mis- sleep in
maps of anywhere from fifteen minutes
p to an hours duration. 1 myself have
had experiences which seem to prove
that maps are as beneficial as long
sleeps. | have come home exhausted
dozens of times and slept three or four
minutes in my chair with my head on
my chest, awakening at the end of the
brief period feeling as refreshed as a
man might expect to after having slept
for hours 1t is quite possible that a
dozen such Snatches during the TWEEN
ty-four hours would be quite as effec-
live in renewing our exhausted vitality
Pas long period in bed. 1t certainly
would be az far as our nervous systems
are concerned. An exhausted nervous
system will recuperate with short, fire.
quent rests as well as il will with a
long continued period of inaction.''
LIQUOR AND THE NERVES.
What is the effect of our increasing
consumption of 5oirituous liquors on the
national nerves?" l asked.
I'VE see hundreds of cases of nerves
and mental trouble due to alcohol DR..
Jacoby replied. Disastrous results
come not only from hard drinking. but
from the conf inuous use of small GUAM
titles of spirituous liquor. Whisky is
particularly injurious. As it is our
national drink, we are in this respect
less sensible than Germany and France.
The German will drink his beer, the
Frenchman will drink his light Bor-
deauX and red wine, getting as much
satisfaction from them as the American
does from his whisky, but taking very
much less alcohol into mis- system. In
many of these foreign drinks the pro-
portion Of alcohol is only or 4 per cent.
In American whisky it frequently rises
as high as 80 or 40 per cent. The re-
suit is Inflammation of the nerves-in
Extreme cases alcoholic neuvitis-and
Fnilder forms of disease, such as contin-
Flous tremor, pains in the body and
fnumbness, dimness of sight, and, most
serious of all whole train of alco-
I hoiic mental troubles. There is not a
doubt in my mind that if we could
remove the influence Of alcohol from
our civilization we would eradicate 25
per cent of our nervous diseases. | do
not wish to be known, however. as an
extreme advocate CT total abstinence. /
believe in the moderate uga of alcohol.
a man can use it as he can coffee But
people who are not able to control their
appetites for liquor should not drink ii
at ALL"
~ ''How about tobacco?"
2 Tobacco is to some extent on the
same footing, but absolutelye organic
diseases, like diseases of the general
nervous system and Of the brain, are
not caused by tobacco. General narv-
BUSINESS, palpftaton and tremor often
come from the excessive use of the
leaf and nervous heart troubles are
likely to result from too much smoking:
but 1 do not think that tobacco is
likely to have decided effect on the
length of a mans life. Individuals who
are consciously injured by the use of
tobacco should, of course. abstain from
ii, and if they do not it is likely to have
its effect on their longevity. But to-
bacco is a very slow poison, and a
poison that takes 100 years to kill us is
scarcely a thing to be afraid off,
ELECTRICITY IN MEDICINE.
In one corner of the doctors room I