The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-17

is all right and your powers are unimpaired
so long as you stay awake; it's only when
you feel constant need OF sleep that the
decay of the mental faculties has set in"
'"Then may be m growing young" said
the patient. Il used to take a nap after
dinner, and now ! don't even do that"
"A good thing for YOU" said the doctor.
''You oughten't to sleep after meals.
How about the famous siesta of Latin
cOuntrieS?"
IT'S all wrong. III doctors wait long
enough a case is pretty sure to come along
that will tell them what they want to know.
1t would, Of course, be easier TO cut people
up and find out the things we want TO know
as the questions arise, but there are objec-
lions to doing that, and so we have TO
wait until good fortune INJURIES somebody
in the right way. So 1T happened that once
a man had his stomach cut open by an ac
cident and his doctor made use of him. The
doctor learned among other things that the
process of digestion became weaker while
the man was asleep. The moral is that ii
isn't well to sleep after meals. Some people
feel the need of nap after eating. That
is because their digestive apparatus isn't in
good working order, or because they are
gluttons. In either case blood needed else
where is drawn to the stomach, ana the
brain is impoverished. That's why serpents
and certain other animals go to sleep after
gorging themselves.
man." persisted the patient, but in my case
it is different don't sleep now because
I've had a lot of care on my mind"
MAY be that's the reason and may be, it
isn't" replied the doctor. Care works
both WAYS. Toward the end of his career
Napoleon sometimes could scarcely keep
awake at critical moments in the midst OF
a battle They said it was his liver, but 1t
wasn't The same phenomenon was OBJ
served among the ancients. A passage was
called to my attention only the other day
from Montaigne's essay on sleep. He de-
scribes. the suicide OF the Emperor Quo no:
After having made all arrangements FOR
killing himself, he was so overcome by
droWsiness that he fell asleep, and soon was
snoring. In the same way Cation when
ohO 10 himself,
overcome by sleep; and once the Emperor
Augustus when engaged in a naval battle,
could hardly keep himself awake long
enough to give orders
"Afl that is very interesting" said the pa
tient: "buS what has all that to do with my
case?'
'.Everythng in the world" answered the
dc or. IF we only knew what sleep was;
l might do something for you that would
remedy the evil in direct manner; but UNI
fortunately we don't. We're not even sure
that we're anywhere near knowing; put we
think we are. DO you know what the latest
theory of sleep Is? or course you uon |.
It's only about two years old, and II lsIl
vet in condition for popular consumption.
1t is too complicated for me TO eXpiali 70
YOU: there are too many technicahtles ana
provisional hypothesis and other lnVolveu
things about it. But the general luea Oh II
is simple enough. You know there a, are e, sucl zen
things as nerve cells, don't you! We'll we
used to suppose that they were continuous
and formed a permanent line OF commu11ca-
ton for ideas TO pass over, nov ~ Me n ore
u.
only contiguous: that they connect one with
another by means of prolongations Some
times they contract and draw in their pro-
longations, and then they are as much shu1
off and isolated as a medieval baron used
to be in his castle when no raised the Draw
bridge. or as two cities are nowadays when
blizzard comes along and blows down the
telegraph wires. That is sleep sometimes
a few of the nerve cells remain connected
and exchange ideas; that is what dreams
are When you're awake they they re tb aY com
tract and shut off the current. Pretty the
orv. isn't it? Well. in your case; say some
things wrong that prevents the cells, OF
Them excited. So the thing to do is to try
to soothe them. and that's what I've bee en-
irving to do Don't worry about going 10
sleep and may be in time the balky cells
amed d9w tPe and niae will yo SGrere eGted
80 Try soothing them And suppose you
expect me to give you prescription be-
sides all this good advice and WISDOM -,
II believe it's customary said the pa
tipnt.