Saint Mary's beacon., 1899-11-16
THE BRAIN In 81 81. .


THAT PRODUCE DaEt
The TnGuence On fsae Nerves <he
Stomach an1 fhe reed Th4< ron~
tnins-Evenfm Thmf oeeux IL <ae-
tien OF Second.
Dreams are generally reQe 41 OF
thoughts unguided By reason. bose
caused by internal action ~ zlSht
about BY action within zII3 4xe
due entirely q Tie arkieu e
the STOMACH. which II kaxE ze1.
~ The Qu&nflfv and 1Qzi p<E
The frst ends or feelers o< the nerves
are located In the walls OF the storn-
ach. and as the food Is digesfed they
draw up the nourishmcnt and distrib-
ute It throughout the nervous system
to replace the waste that has taken
place during the day. II the stomach
be sureharged with an abundance cf
heating food. too much nourishment is
forced upon the brain, causing an alb
normal filling OF the channels. thereby
expanding them, bringing them In
touch with others and causing the mat
ter from one TO overflow into or 20 mix
with the fluid Of neIghboring channels.
Whenever the fluid trayerses q chan
mel more or less forcibly the thought
which originated that passage h re-
produced more or less yividly: hence
insures the general mixing UP Of
thoughts which originally had no con-
nection with each other.
An overloaded stomach also causes
a flow OF blood to the brain. sent there
by nature 10 assist In assimilating the
extra nourishment. and the oyercharg
ed blood vessels. pressing upon the
nerve channels near the brain. cause
even more turbulent disturbances. This
accounts for the advice of so many
medical men that no considerable
quantity. especially of animal food.
should be taken Immediately before
bedtime. The crossing. recrossing and
touching OF these thought channels
brought about In this way produce the
absurd mixtures OF fancles that often
come to us when we sleep.
The stomach. too, Is a mill which
keeps on forever grinding. the walls
acting as the grindstones. When,
therefore. there Is nothing between
them, or, In other words. when the
stomach is empty. one wall grlnds up
on the other. causing an Irritation OF
the nerves which produces that pecul-
lar sensation of falling from some
great height.
: TO understand honz~external action
VIII AFFECT the afeyo - sI< ,eeztP Il
must be borne z5f those
dreams which seem to take hours, and
even days, In passing really occupy but
q minute fraction OF second IL.
therefore. we are awakened by some
loud, strident noise. say by the crack
ing Of a whip. then between the time
that the sound strikes the ear while
we are yet asleep and the time that
we are fully awake to realize what has
caused the sound few moments only
have elapsed. but those few moments
were sufficient to allow of n dream of
apparently several hours duration.
AS an example: A milkman, driving
up beneath an open bedroom window,
cracks his whip smartly. Immediate
ly the thought produced by the sound
causes dream. The sleeper imagines
himself soldier who has failen into
the hands Of the enemy. He Is led out
to be shot. He stands blindfolded. with
hands tied. before the platoon OF sol
diers. He hears the click, click, click
as the rifles are cooked. He hears the
word given, and the noise OF the volley
rings out on his ears. Then he awakes
with start, TO hear the rumble OF the
milkman's wagon as he cracked his
whip and drove or over some rough
cobblestones.
A blow. cut or sensation Of pain
win operate In the same way and
awaken certain channels OF thought
connected with pain just as the noise
awoke those connected with sound.
For instance, sleeper dreams that
he Is closed up in some close travelling
carriage and is being driven rapidly or
In IN unknown direction by a man who
has designs upon his purse ana life.
He tries to shout, In vain he struggles
to get free and In the tussle drives an
arm through the glass window or the
carriage. The hand Is cut and bleed
ing. II smarts fearfuliy. and he
awakes to find that In his sleep he had
earelessly thrown out an arm. and his
hand has smashed some fine nea;ciue
glass on q stand by the bedside. The
whole dream passed between the time
that the hand first struck the glass,
creating the sensation Of pain. and the
moment that the sleeper awoke to real
ize the fact.-Chicago Record.