The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-07-17

disquict, chances to pass slecpless
night, ne will probably. during the
long hours, begin to speculate little
about this mysterious condition, this
counterfeit Of death, which we call
sleep. Upon it our very existence de-
pcnds and it claims incxorably about
one-third Of the three score and ten
years allotted to our life on earth.
The questions that suggest themselves
CT this subject are innumcrablc. and
even learned psychologists can answer
but few Of them satisfactorily. One
Of the first Of these is, what is the Sc
cret Of the wonderful recuperative
power Of sleep? We see the results
each morning when we rise with re-
newcd vigor Of mind and body, but we
comprehend very little Of the way in
which the marvellous change was
brought about. But, notwithstand
ing the important part sleep plays in
our lives, how little We think about it
and how unqucstioning'y we yield the
heavy tribute Of time which it de-
mands. We often hear man say he
has no time to do this or that; no time
to visit his friends; to read, to amuse
himself; in short, no time for anything
beyond his daily work; and yet he sell
dom thinks Of curtailing eight hours
Of sleep, and he even INDUCES occa-
sionally in an extra half hour or SO,
though possibly he does not need so
much to repair the wear and tear of
the previous day. Some of the great
men of the world have done with less
than eight hours Of sleep, and yet
lived to ripe old age with their men
tai and physical vigor but little i'm
paired. Why then should very COM
monplace person, following common
place occupation, think it absolutely
necessary he should have eight hours
Of unbroken sleep?
The question as to just how much
sleep each constitution needs to keep
it in perfect health, is about as diff
cult to determine as it is to discover
how much one requires to eat and
drink in order to obtain the best re-
suits; but the chances are that we
over-indulge in all three. In these
inquiries the various sorts of occupa
tions must be considered, as those
which are entirely mental are more ex-
hausting to the brain; and, that being
the most delicate part Of the system,
it needs close attention to balance the
waste and repair. It is useless TO ask
why human beings could not have
been made like certain machines,
strong enough to last for so many
years without this daily renovation.
Such queries present themselves to
the mind every now aud then, but the
only answer we can give is that it was
not the good pleasure Of an all-wise
Creator that such should be the case,
and we must believe that what lie
does is always the best Even when
His Son came to earth He was not cx-
empt from our human weaknesses, and
needed rest and sleep to refresh Him
after the tolls of the day; though
there is but one mention in the Cos
pels of Christ's sleeping; that is, when
he fell asleep in the ship as they were
crossing the Sea OF Galilee.
How very dependent we are upon
sleep is seen by the effect produced by
sleepless night or two, while pro-
traoted attack Of insomnia is almost
certain to have serious effect upon
the health. Suggestions for overoom-
ing an attack Of wakefulness are very
plentiful, but unfortunately what is
helpful to one person may have no ef
feet upon another. Even great bodily
fatigue, that usually makes one fall
asleep even in the most unfavorable
circumstances, as that of "the ship
boy on the nigh and giddy mast" or
the soldier who fell asleep beside the
cannon that is being constantly fired,
does not always prove efioacious in
producing state Of blissful uncon-
soiousness under ordinary circum-
stances. Almost every one has his
conditions. Almost every one has his
pet theory as to the best way to induce
sleep, such as saying tho muitipiica-
tion table backwards, reciting poetry
or verses Of the Scriptures, counting
the houses along familiar street,
driving imaginary sheep through an
imaginary gate, or simply by refusing
to think Of anyone at all, and thus
producing vacuum in the mind-about
the most difficult feat of all. But
xuhaA 10 xanra dol;nhAHr,l Ahan Aha o.