The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-10-27
DON'T STRIVE FOR SLEEP.

DON'T STRIVE FOR SLEEP.
Let any readers when next they
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, S, 6, I, and then,
when the knock comes, they will eth
er be fast 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 prolonging sleeplessness is
the worrying about it, the anxious eff
fort to obtain sleep. And 50 they lie
awake hour after hour wearily striv-
ing for it, until at last, when 7 strikes,
the effort it given up as useless; at
once, the strain being taken off, the
wornout brain takes its rest-the
sleep which has been so longed 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 physi-
clan at London hospital / used to
experiment on this subject. On my
midnight rounds / would frequently
receive complaints of sleeplessness
from weary patients, often when
there was no pain or other definite
reason for it. would say to them,
"Oh, it doesn't really matter 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 poultice," or
II will send you something when |
have finished my rounds" Almost in
variably on my return, in twenty min
utes' time, they would be sleeping
peacefully; no further remedy was
needed
Every doctor will tell you how
often some simple sleeping draft is
sent and never taken--never needed.
The mere fact of knowing it is there
is sufficient; the anxious dread of an
other sleepless night has been taken
away, the mind is at rest and sleep
comes in the natural way. And so it
would seem that by far the common
est cause of fsleeplessness is the anxious
striving to obtain sleep. It 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 being usually worse than use
less practice. What, then, is the real
remedy? Why, simply to give up the
attempt to sleep if ones sleep doesn't
come as usual. Give up trying. II
a sleepless night is to be ones lot, one
must accept it as philosophically as
one can, remembering that many and
many a man has had to lose nights
rest before and has been little, if any,
worse for it. To the slet p.ess one I
would say, Make up your mind to
to stay awake all night" Nine times
out of ten the blessing, striven for in
vain, will come unsought, and that al
most Immediately, so that on looking
back next morning the last thing you
remember will be your determination
to lie awake.
Directly you cease to strive to 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 it, and sleep will be the hap
py result. And to make the requisite
determination-or, should say re-
nunciation-this thought may be a
help to you. 1t is the anxiety for
sleep and the worrying about its abb
sence, far uore than the sleeplessness
itself, that cause the feeling ofprostra.
tion which follows sleepless night.
The man whose duty or occupation
has forced him to give up nights rest
is in better condition the next day
than the man Who has spent restless
right in the VAIN and weary search for
sleep.