The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-05-06
HOW TO SLEEP.
Advice 10 Those who Suffer From In
, somnis-Chicf Factors in the Prob
lem.

An interesting study of the phenome-
ma of sleep is con tanned In one Of the lat
est volumes Of the Contemporary Sol
ence ceries," and In view OF this work
the London Spectator gives the following
advice to the sleepless, based on modern
notions of the physiology Of sleep:
"It was at one time supposed that In
sleep the brain was richly charged with
blood. How that supposition can ever
have arisen we confess We do not under
stand, but We assume that the theory WAS
that kind of paralysis overlook those
who were wrapped in sleep. This is now
confessed to be an error. Sleep ensues
when the brain is largely denuded OF
blood, where cerebral anaemia Is estab-
lishod. To partly empty the brain Of Its
blood supply, to keep the head cool, the
body sufficiently warm, and to send the
blood rather to the lower extreinities-
this Is the physical problem Of the sleep
less. 1t is interesting to note that dur
ing sleep great number of the bodily
functions continue quite normally with
out interfering with sleep itself, and
therefore sleep is not so like death as
s1ma Of the poets have imagined. Man
sep Is o. SO profoundly different from
man awake the two chief points of differ
ence, however, being these-a greater in
drawing OF oxygen and exhalation Of car .
bonic acid and complete vasomotoi rest.
The bedroom and the state of the oocu-
PANT assuming the absence Of external
noise9 are the chief factors in the prob
lem. The sleeping room should be airy
and cool, never for adult persons, reach
ing a higher temperature than 60 degrees.
though young children need greater
warmth. Ths head should never be I'M
der the sheets, but exposed and cool. The
feet should be kept warm by little extra
clothing at the foot. With heavy sleep
or there should lie no thick curtains but
with light sleeper curtains are essential,
as sunlight plays upon the optic nerve
and refuses this attention which it is the
one object Ct the sleeper to keep in suf.
psndee animation. The bed should nov
er lie between fireplace and door, for IL
catches the drafts. and it is moro danger
Gus and more easy to contract chill in
led than in the daytime. the specially
chilli period being about ) a. M"
Bat while thus striving to give sleep
10 him who needs 1t, the reviewer has no
sympathy with persons who sleep too
much. He says of these: ION the whole,
immense letharay is connected with
rather low intellectual development,
often aided by foolish parents, who allow
their children to sleep longer than is
good for them. AS town life extends
and intellect is aroused the problem will
be more and more that of too little, rot
of too much sleep" The writer has lit
tie patience, too, with the old saw "earlY
to bed and early to rise " His opinion
of it is given in his clio in. paragra Oh,
which runs as follows:
"Not little harm has been done to
mankind by forcing, children to bed in
BROAD daylight, and in routing people out
of their warm beds TO face the dauk chill
of an early winter morning. There is u
mean between these applications of cid
saws and the case of celebrated
French matthew atician, who in the latter
years of his life spent twenty hours Ia
bed. The object Of sleep is to restore ner-
vous tissue--as much sleep as is need sd
for that purpose is both good ard neces-
sary, but more is purely nischievous
The problem, the difficult problem of
modern life is to secure enough"