Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-08-30

mOtlVeS Dullt Tor the Great Northern.
Let any reader when next they pass
q sleepless night notice carefully what
happens. 1t will probably be some
what as follows: Suppose, for instance,
that they are in the habit of being call.
ed at 7:3O; they will hear the clock
strike 4, 5, 6 and Z, and then, when the
knock at the door comes, they will
either be fast asleep or else they will
drop asleep Immediately afterward,
and in either case possibly they will to
their own disgust oversleep themselves.
What is the explanation of this? Sim
ply that by far the commonest cause of
prolonged sleeplessness is the worrying
about it, the anxious effort to obtain
sleep. And SO they lie awake hour
after hour wearily striving for it, until
at last, when strikes, the effort is Civ
en- up IS useless; at once the strain
being taken off, the worn out brain
takes its restthe sleep which has been
SO longed for comes at last. A great
physician has truly said: 1.-THE body
will always rest if the mind will let it. :"
Some years ago when house physician
at London hospital l used to expert
ment on this subject. On my mid
night rounds 1 would frequently re-
ceive complaints of sleeplessness from
weary patients, often when there was
no pain or other definite reason for it.
l would say to them; "Oh, it doesn't
really matter, you are resting all right;
it won't do you any harm; just lie
awake and think how comfortable you
are here" Or to the weaker natures l
would say, "Nurse shall bring you a
poultice," or 81 will bring you some
thing when have finished my rounds. y
Almost invariably on my return, in
twenty minutes time, they would be
sleeping peacefully; no further remedy
was needed. Every doctor will tell you
how often some simple sleeping draught
is sent and never taken-never needed
The mere fact of knowing 1t is there
is sufficient; the anxious dread of an
other sleepless night has been taker
away, the mind is at rest and SLEEP
comes in its natural way. And so il
would seem that bv far the commonest
cause of sleeplessness is the anxious
striving to obtain sleep. 1t therefore
follows, that all such devices for pro
curing it, such as counting an imagin
ary flock Of sheep, fixing the attention
on the circulation, making an effort t.
stop thought, are wrong theoretically al
we'll as usually being worse than worth
less in pratice. What, then, is the rea
remedy? Why, simply to give up tn,
attempt to sleep if ones sleep does no
come as usual. Give up trying. If {
sleepless night is to be ones lot, on,
must accept it as phil0sophically as on,
can, remembering that many maj
has had to lose nights rest before ant
has been little, If any, worse for 1t. Tt
the sleepless one wouldsa make VI
your mind to stay awake for the night.
Nine times out of ten the blessing
striven for in vain will come unsought
and that almost Immediately, SO tina
on looking back the next morning tn
last thing you will remember will b
your determination to lie awake. Direct
ly you cease to strive for sleep, to wish 81
IDENTIFY for it, the strain will be taken OF
the brain-the body will rest becau s
the mind is no longer preventing it, an
, sleep will be the happy result. And t
make the requisite determination o.
!. 1 should say, renunciation, this though
may be help to you. 1t is the anxiet
!. for sleep and the worrying about il
! absence, far more than the sleeplessnes
, itself, that cause the feeling of prostrs
tion which follows sleepless nigh
. The man whose duty or occupation hs
/. forced him to give up night's rest
t In far better condition than the ma
!, who has spent the night in the vain an
weary search for sleep.