The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-01-25
POSITIONS IN SLEEP.
HOW VICTIMS OF INSOMNIA MAY
WOO SWEET SLUM5ER.

! Various Ailments and the Pastures
Best Adapted to Them.
Positions that WOO sleep In victims
Of insomnia is an interesting study
made by well known metropolitan
| physician. Whitman V. White of
Brooklyn. Dr. White is n specialist
on nervous diseases and in mild
but emphatic manner scores his pro-
fessonal brethren for their free admin
istratlon of narcotics. He denounces
the practice as unnecessarily taxing
on the disorganlzed systems of lnsom-
MIA patients in many cases. In his
own experience he has found n simple
method adequate without weakening
after effects likely to produce lncreas-
ed symptoms.
Through study based on the laws
Of physiology in human anatomy ex-
tending over a period of dozen or
more years | have learned that under
certain physical malcondtlons." said
the physician. "the subject may be
given relief by assuming positions at
rest that will from the ease afforded
the affected parts serve as natural
somnolent agency. 1t will be readily
understood that n constrained position
will tend to prevent natural repose,
while n comfortable one viii WOO it.
But what may in most cases seem to
be a position of ease may In reality be
| the reverse.
''For instance. Il dyspeptic will rest
more easily lying on the right side for
the simple reason that in that position
the food naturally gravItates out of the
stomach and into the intestlnes. while
If lying on the opposite side that or
gan. In its weakened state has to per-
form an uphill process of digestion.
This is amply sufficient to produce in
somnia.
Lying fiat on the back. with the
limbs relaxed would seem to secure
the greatest amount of rest for the
muscular system, whether in good
health or Illness. Such is the position
advocated by physicians generally in
the most eXhaustlng diseases, and 1t
is hailed as Il sign of rapid recovery
when patient exhibits an inclination
to turn on either side. But at the same
!
in the supine posture which impair or
embarrass sleep, whether in case of
severe Illness or ordinary health. Thus
in weakly states of the heart or blood
vessels and certain morbid conditions
of the brain the blood seems TO gravi-
tate to the back of the head and to ac-
cordingly produce troublesome dreams.
! | believe that much of that weaken
! ing delirium which the physician has
| to contend with In treating serious
maladies is often occasioned In this
way.
'In persons who habitually stoop in
their gait or work. either as n result
of the requirements of their occupa-
ton or from the course of their physi-
cal development. there must necessar-
! ly be some distress consequent in
Strengthening the spine 1t may not
be sufficient to cause pain and yet be
such strain as to prevent perfect
ease The result is unconscious rest
lessness, which Is the producer of in
somna.
"People who have contracted chests
cannot sleep well lying upon their
backs. This rule applies especially to
those who have suffered with pleursy
and retain adheslons of the lungs. They
/ will find it easier to get to sleep upon
the right side and that their somnolent
rest will do them more good If they
observe this advice. Furthermore, the
habit of lying on the back is the Gre
ator of snoring, which much belabors
sleep and prevents the subject from
receiving the full benefit of its recuper-
| ating effects.
.'It is desirable, therefore, in all cases
to lie on the side, and In the absence of
special diseases rendering 1t more de-
sirable to lie on the weak side, which |
leaves the strong lung free to expand, |
the right side should be chosen. A
glance at any plate of the visceral
anatomy will show that when the body |
Is thus placed the food in the process
of digestion Is greatly aided In its
passage from the stomach into the in
testines Here the principle Of gravi- |
tation directly applies, Then the fact |
that the stomach doesn't compress the |
upper portion of the intestlnes Is still |
another advantage to be gained from /
lying on the right side when sleep
wooing ease to the entire human mech |
anism Is under serious consideration.
"In conclusion, | wish to refer to
some Injurious eccentricities, or fads, /
in sleeping which | have observed. a |
wealthy woman once came TO me for |
treatment for bad dreams of the or
der commonly called nightmare. Up |
on making inquiry | discovered that |
she was In the habit of lying Mt rest |
with her arms thrown up over her |
head, n position greatly to be deprecat- |
ed. although 1t will induce sleep in per-
sons who have weak lungs. The cir
culation Is thereby made stronger in
the eXtremitles, and the head and neck |
and muscles of the chest are drawn
up and relaxed by the shoulders."--
Philadelphia Times.