The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1896-06-18
WOES OF INSOMNIA.
Trying to Sleep. as u Rule, Makes You
Wide Awake.

Trying to Sleep, as u Rule, Makes Xor
Wide Awake.
It has just been discovered that
many persons have been kept awake
by trying to go to sleep. This ode
statement is susceptible of proof, &C
cording to Jane Ellis Joy, an author
ity on insomnia.
BY q series of experiments on PEG.
pie whose health had been seriously
impaired by sleepless nights the re-
markable fact was established that
the harder a person, lending him.
self to the experiment, endeavored
to lose consciousness the more thor.
oughly awake did he become. Then
it became evident that. no matter
how strong the will, the mind could
not be emptied like vessel. Sue
cessive attempts to make it a blank
only aggravated the experimenter.
Those who have experienced the
fruitless attempts to induce sleep by
auto-suggestion will readily appre.
ciate this fact. AS quickly as one
thought was banished another sue.
ceeded it. Then it was determined
to WOO Morpheus in an entirely new
way.
AS the mind when awake refuses
to be satisfied with nothingness, the
theory was advanced that it could
be SO occupied as to actually produce
sleep. This was accomplished by q
breaking up of the thoughts into
words. The thinking faculty which
will not rest was exercised with
disconnected words, and herein lay
the secret of bringing about sleep
that was not superinduced by phys.
ical or mental fatigue. AS is well
known, we think and remember in
sentences. The mind is continually
making assertions and suggestions
saying something about something
or asking questions.
The questions are sometimes Sc
rious, but more often idle and their
answers correspondingly valueless,
but they keep crowding in until lie
mental process seems interminable.
By breaking up the thoughts into
words and trying to have the words
as disconnected as possible the
thoughts gradually give way, and
the one lending himself to the exper.
iment sinks into a slumber, al
though a chronic sufferer from in.
somnia. In this case the first word
that came into the mind was
house" Presently another word
followed, but as instructions had
been given to let any word bearing
any grammatical or associative rela.
ton to the first word slip out of the
mind without notice that was done,
it being found quite possible to dc
SO, although not to Danish words en-.
tirely.
Then the mind, according to the
prearranged plan, sought out a word
of different class enthusiasm. .
Now one disconnected word after
another came up until the series ran
like this: House, enthusiasm, Great
Britain, walk, twenty, tangible, be-
yond, superior, Washington" ETC.
In following out this formula for 60
ing to sleep artifcially the reader
must endeavor to avoid a succession
of names and numbers and all clas-
sifications of words, for the obvious
reason that such course appeals to
the memory and the imagination,
and the would be sleeper gets to
thinking in the regular way, which
he is trying to escape doing.
1t will be found as the disconnect-
ed ideas flow on in your mind that
you will gradually observe yourself
taking mild interest in the dis
jointed procession. Then will fol-
low loss Of the agitating self con-
seriousness, succeeded by q passive
state, which does not attempt to
combat the grotesque parade of
words. York Journal.