Graham guardian., 1899-01-27
EVERY SLEEPER NEAR DEATH.
Strange Nearness to Dissolution that
Comes at 3 a. m.

Strange Nearness to Dissolution that
Comes at 8 a. m.
Very courteous and interesting is
the temporary uneasiness of all
night sleeping humans and animals
at about 3 o'clock every morning.
At that hour they give little means
awaken partially or wholly, and
then either drop back INTO slumber
or into death. Physical giants
among men and lions among ami
mails, have this experience just as
do the frailest babes or weakest
kittens. Viewed in any and every
light, the occurrence is remarkable
why it is not at midnight, at l a.
m. 2 a, m. or in the case of late
sleepers, why does ii not come at
6 or 7 o'clock? An Enquirer man
asked some OF the leading physic-
ans regarding this occurrence and
CLEANED some interesting intorma-
tion.
AT about the hour of three every
morning every night-sleeping man,
woman, child and animal is nearer
death than at any other moment
in all the twenty-four hours. 1t is
then that the more active of the
vitals come the nearest to stop
ping or running down. They
come 80 near it. that if they came
n breath--an atom nearer, they
would stop. The machinery Of
life comes just within a hairs
breadth of stopping at some mo-
ment near 3 a. m. The way of
this is explained as follows: The
composure of the body when lying
still, produces not only rest, but
that same element of danger 50
omnipresent to all machinery left
unattended-the absence of a
watchful BRAIN.
In welcoming the hours of sleep,
you nnconsciously welcome deaths
most advantageous time for con-
quering you. Every moment you
sleep your physical self is running
unmatched by the engineer. The
supply of coal (food) for the fur
naces is withheld. The steam
(blood) in the pipes runs low.
This neglect of the engine room of
the body continues until about 3
a. m. the machinery all but stops.
In the healthy or family healthy
body the coming Of this moment
produces a mild shock to the sys-
tenn, and this shock causes you un-
consciously to throw cut arms Or
legs, rub your nose violently,
moan, take deep breath and turn
ever. Your doing this-or nest
of lt-has literally and of sober
truth, saved Your life. 1t gave
fresh impetus to the almost stopped
mechanism of the heart, which in
turn restored the we'll nigh stopped
circulation all through your body,
The moan and deep breath quick
ened the action Of the lungs, and
reused them to their usual rate of
of speed. The rest that these
organs had received by being al
lowed to run slow-to run almost
down enabled them, with the re-
starting administered by the 3
O'Clock commotlon, successfully to
begin another run, carrying you
over the death point and allowing
you to lesume completion of the
full period of rest necessary to the
brain and to the nerves and mns.
cles of the limbs and other por-
tions of the body.
AS to what causes this little
shock that carries US over the
bridge of death, the wisest Of the
wise know nothing. The theories
about it are legion. But they are
only theories. The percentage of
death at this marvellous moment
exceed that of any other in the
twenty-four hours, while the num.
ber of old people who die at about
8 o'clock in the morning is appal-
lirgly In excess Of their death rate
for any other time. In all cases
at all critical it is said that the
physician secretly breads the hour
of a. m. q hundred fold more
than scracely any other incident
in practice, while to all that live
and breathe, it brings the most
momentous time Of all existence.