Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-16
DON'T STRIVE FOR SLEEP.
II You Do, You're Very Apt to Spend
walxeful Night.

Let any readers Wnen next tney pass
sleepless night notice carefully what
happens. 1t will probably be somewhat
as follows: Suppose, for instance, that
they are in the habit of being called at
7:30; they will hear the clock strike 4,
5, 6 and Z, and then, when the knock
at the door comes, they will either be
fas. asleep or else they will drop asleep
Immediately afterward, and in either
case possibly they will, to their intense
disgust, oversleep themselves. What
is the explanation of this? Simply that
by far the commonest cause of pro-
longed sleeplessness is the worrying
about it, the anxious effort to obtain
sleep. And so they lie awake hour aft
er hoiir wearily striving for it, until at
last, when strikes, the effort is given
up as useless; at once, the strain being
taken off, the wornout brain takes its
rest-the sleep which has been so long
ed for comes at last. A great physician
has truly said, The body will always
rest if the mind will let it,
Some years ago when house physician
at London hospital | used to expert
ment on this subject. On my midnight
rounds would frequently receive COM
plants of sleeplessness from weary pa
tience, often when there was no pain
or other definite reason for il. | would
say to them, ''Oh, it doesn't really mat
ter, 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 would say
Nurse shall bring you p0ultice," or
Il will send you something when
have finished my rounds" Almost in
variably ou my return, IN ~ minutes
time. they would he sleeping peaceful
ly; no further remedy was needed
Every doctor win tell you how often
some simple sleeping draft is sent
and never ta..en-never needed. The
mere fact of knowing il is there is suf
ficient: the anxious dread of another
sleepless night has been taken away,
the mind is at rest and sleep comes in
the natural way. .knd 50 it would seem
that by far the commonest cause of
sleeplessness is the anxious striving TO
obtain sleep. 1t follows, therefore, that
all such devices for procuring it. as
counting an imaginary flock of sheep,
fixing the attention on the circulation,
making an effort to stop thought, are
wrong theoretically. as well as being
usually worse than useless i'll practice.
What. then. is the real remedy! Why,
simply to give up the attempt TO sleep
if ones sleep does not come as usual
Give up trying. If Il sleepless night is
to he ones lot one must accept it as
philosophically as one can, remember
ing that many and many man has
had to lose Il nights rest before and
has been little. if any. worse for it. To
the sleeplcSs one | would say, Make
up your mind to stay awake for the
night" Nine times out of ten the bless
ing. striven for i'll vain, will come I'M
sought. and that almost Immediately,
so that on looking back the next morn
ing the last thing you remember will
be your determination to lie awake.
Directly you cease to strive for sleep,
TO wish ardently for it, the strain will
be taken off the brain, the body will
rest because the mind is no longer pre-
venting 1t, and sleep will be the happy
result. And to make the requisite de-
termination-or. should say, renunci
ation-this thought may be help to
you. 1t is the anxiety for sleep and the
worrying about its absence, far more
than the sieeplessness itself, that cause
the feeling of prostration which fol
lows a sleepless night. The man whose
duty or occupation has forced him to
give up nights rest is in a far better
condition the next day than the man
who has spent a restless night in the
vain and weary search for sleep.-Lon-
don Spectator.