The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-22
Or. BURNHAM ON FATIGUE.
a Difficult and Complex Subject and
Some Remedies.


DR.. Durham spoke on NERVOUS IA
tigue in school children" and said in
part
The subject is most difficult and COM
plex as numerous observations have
shown. I shall try to give an introduce
ton ana few words about the reme-
dies which might be used
The literature on the subject is to be
found in the photography, and some of
y y very good. Two articles by DR..
Lucke in the American Physical Edu-
cation Review are good. Our knowledge
OF the physiology of mental change was
but little until the studies by Mosso.
It was found that mental activity
caused flow Of blood to the head, and
certain Investigations seemed to show
that certain toxic principles were
formed under the influence of mental
work, which enters into the circulation
and poisons the tissue.
Benoit observed that in circulation
ana respiration short mental work ac-
CELEBRATES and prolonged mental work
retards.
In the nerves, DR.. Hodge found that
Fatigue caused the nuclei in the gan
glia OF lower animals to become small
er and that they would recover after
vous system can do depends on the con-
dition Of the body, first, in its ability to
repair waste, and second, to carry off
the toxic principle which is formed.
TO normal person the sensation of
fatigue Is sign of lack of balance.
Fatigue is the r-expenditure of en-
ergy and is normal. The most charae-
teristic signs of fatigue are restless
ness, twitching of the body, irritability.
n n 1rbo - -Ia
Such are the symptoms that anyone
may observe. To find a standard Of
the condition of the nervous system and
to find the best remedies has been the
problem Of psychologists and the fol-
lowing are some of the means arrived
at: First, there are those which test
the physiological results of mental ia
tigue, and, second, in making a qualita-
tive and cumulative test of the mem
tai work done at different periods.
In the first case two methods were
used. the first being tests Of fatigue by
the decrease of muscular power, and
the second was by testing the dermal
sensibility
In the second case there are many
methods used, writing from dictation,
arithmetic problems, etc. Krepelin has
made the most extensive and scientific
studies. His results seem to be good.
but are modified by the factors of prac-
tice, excitement, voluntary effort and
fatigue. Perhaps a fifth factor the
feeling of boredom, should be added.
The methods at present are far from
satisfactory. Only the general results
can be relied upon. In the main the
results agree with every day expert
ence. Fatigue is a general condition of
the physical organs The most striking
result is the range Of individual differ
enees observed. The susceptibility to
fatigue depends upon individual condi-
tons. Perhaps of the most Importance
from the results is the necessity of
proper periods of rest between periods
Of work.
Work done when a muscle is fatigued
is much harder than when the muscle is
fresh. Where tasks must be finished at
a certain time the problem is, how to
do the maximum of work with the least
loss of energy. Most men are prodigal
| or nervous energy. To do the maxi
mum amount of work is to alternate
work and rest, but 1t is an extremely
| difficult problem for an individual ia
select for himself how long he shall
work and how long rest, 1t is a ques-
ton that is asked every day In the
school and must be met no matter how
difficult.
1t may be tested by the mental ability
and the amount of fatigue resultant
from muscular work