The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-31

Early to Bed and EARLY to Rise Does
Not Fit All Cases.

Sleep is defined by Liebig in the follow
ing words: Since, IN different individ-
uals, according TO the amount Of force
consumed I'm producing voluntary effects.
unequal quantities of living tissues are
wasted. there must occur in every individ
ual, unless the phenomena of motion are
to cease entirely. a condition in which all
voluntary motions are completely checked,
in which, therefore, these occasion no
waste" Carpenter says: The OCCASION
al suspension of sensorial activity is req
uisite for the reparation of the destruc-
tive effects of hat activity; so that, how
ever unfavorable may be the external cir
cumstances. sleep will supervene as a
necessary result Of exhaustion, when this
has been carried very far"
Practically, therefore, sleep is a period
ical natural condition, in which the volun-
tary or exhausting powers, both of body
and mind, being at rest, the involuntary
or DEMONSTRATING and reparative powers
have. or ought TO have. time for restoring
the material Of the living body, which has
been used up during the hours of wakeful
activity. Such being the case, ii is mani
testify necessary that the supply of sleep
should be proportionately adequate to the
reparative requirements of the body and
mind, and this cannot be absolutely regu-
lated by any Interchangeable and limited
laws.
Early to bed and early to rise is a very
good general rule. but it has its lin.ita-
tions making its universal application
1t Is, in fact, a matter Of neces-
sity, due to circumstance and environment.
me farmer, exhausted by a hard days
labor in the fields, goes to bed with the
COWS because he has to be up with them
In the morning. Moreover, he can work in
the fields to better advantage and with
more comfort before the sun is high in
the heavens, and this allows him a longer
resting spell at midday. Hence the farm
er is the extreme type of the early to bed
and to Use man. The working man can
spend d few hours more in bed than his
brother who tills the soil, but he, too, must
be up b>times to be on hand at the shop
when the whistle blows, and late night
hours interfere with his early rising, so
he p%erforce retires early in the evening.
The man of business goes TO his Office
1t a later hour, and he can, therefore, af-
ford, With the student who is also a late
riser. to burn midnight oil, but all these
hich hluoI nave llclI proper pIOpOIllOu VI
sleep.
The amount of sleep is a varying factor
as the individual varies in health and tenn
permanent, and some even say that women
require more sleep than men and that tall
and stout persons require more sleep than
short and thin people. The infant spends
at least twenty out of the twenty-four
hours in sleep. The adult, as a rule, re-
quires from seven to eight, but as the indi-
vidual ages he becomes more wakeful and
requires less sleep. The average, therefore,
is eight hours of sleep, and at first sight it
would seem that the time of sleeping would
make no difference in the restful and
reparative effects if the average amount of
sleep was obtained. Practically it does
make a great difference.
There is some truth in the proverb that
an hours sleep before midnight is worth
two after, but this does not mean that a
man can get along by sleeping four hours
before midnight instead of eight after. This
before midnight, so-called beauty sleep, is
due to factors not easily explainable, but
they are in part due to changes in atmos-
pheric conditions and possibly to solar in
fluences. We know that fever is always
higher at night; that it abates toward
morning; that some diseases have nocturnal
exacerbations. as in rheumatic fever. the
pain being most agonizing during the night;
that c~onsumptive patients suffer from night
sweats; that the nervous power and the
power of resistance to disease is less at
night, so that such diseases as malaria are
more readily contracted during sleep. and
that those seriously sick often pass away
- - II - ~ -G-lx
and just before the sur rises.
Reasoning from these conditions we as
sumo that the body and mind are also sub
ject to those conditions of lowered activity
and ability during the night hours, and
that sleep is most needful and beneficial
during those hours, and that, on the other
hand, if night is turned into day the body
and mind are more exhausted proportion
ately than by work done at the proper, or
rather natural, time during the period of
daylight. 1t therefore appears thai there is
sound common sense in the maxim early to
bed.
Early risers are always held up as shin
ing xample of the benefits of the practice.
but their rugged constitution is often the
reason why they rise so early rather than
the result of the habit. They rise re-
freshed and do their stint of work before
breakfast with a will just as an appetizer
for breakfast. On the ether hand, there
are man. people of nervous temperament
who rise til I'd, sometimes, as they say, more
tired than when they went TO bed, and as
the days lengthen they begin to wake up,
tC feel better, and when early bedtime
comes they are at their best. Even if they
retire early they often toss about in rest
lessncss and at last are fain, albeit way
worn, to rise and light the lamp again. To
such a person early rising is not beneficial
unless the person is one of those who can
be satisfied with a smaller amount of sleep
than the average. The fact is, early rising
* not good for all persons, but is positively
injurious IL all who are not in rugged
health
As a reasonable example of early rising.
the individual should go to bed at IL O'clock
and rise at ., o. as early as possible with
out a feeling OF sleerlness or anguor. The
feeling Of perfect refreshment and restora-
ton is the proof of the efficacy of sleep. but
q lingering, tired feeling upon waking
pi owes thas sleep has not been normal in
character. Such a person, if he attempts
the habits of an early riser. may think he
il benefited by it for a while. but soon the