The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-03-01
READING LYING DOWN.
Here Are Some Arguments to Show
1t Is Not an Injurious
Practice.
To be continued.

against using the eyes in proper
manner in recumbent position; such
use is the least tiresome, and can be
persisted in for longer periods with.
out damage than any other position
We all know, says Everybody's Mag.
azine, that grave damage is often done
by reading in a recumbent posture
but fear oculists are largely at
fault. Had it been the universal prac-
tice during the past 20 or 80 years tc
! give careful directions how to read
lying down instead of saying to one
and all: "You must not read lying
down." there would be less nearsight
and better eyes in the community
than now exist. Three easily avoided
errors cause all the damage possible
from reading lying down, the first
often leading to the other two. They
are insufficient or wrongly directed
light, short reading distance and tip.
ping the book out of plane at right
angles to the line of vision.
1t Is common for people to lie down
to read at distance from good
light, and often the light is not only
poor, but in such a direction that il
is impossible to'hold the book prop.
erly and illuminate it at all. Some.
times the light is in front, which al.
ways throws the print in shadow, ne.
cessitating close reading distance
which is likely to produce crampine
of the ciliary muscles, congestion o1
all the internal structures and perma
nent progressive nearsight. Or, in or.
der to secure even better light, it is
necessary to tip the book so that both
the ciliary and extrinsic muscles are
overworked and eye tire soon super.
venes.
If, however, everyone reading lying
down will so arrange his lounge or bed
that the light comes over the head
without striking the eyes, and falls
well upon the page; if he will hold his
book at long reading distance, and
take care that the line of letters shall
be at right angles to the line of vision
all of which may require a book rest,
he can be sure to do his eyes no more
harm than if he were sitting up
More than this, there is large credit
in favor of reading lying down. The
recumbent posture allows more rest
of all the bodily structures than the
sitting posture, and there is greater
possibility of resting and repair i.
that position. Those who have trieo
it know the benefits accruing, after d
hard days work, from the reading.
which the press of business makes al.
most an absolute necessity, and !
have met busy practitioners of medi.
cine who felt the need of this rest
but were afraid to take it because OF
a superstition that they might ruin
their eyes.
One more fact is to the credit side
of the score. Whenever possible we
bring gravity into play to relieve con.
gestion, especially that of passive
type. 1t has long been recognized
that throwing the head slightly bacl
beyond the perpendicular brought
gravity into play to empty the chor.
oidal veins and those of the uveal
tract, which are principally overfilled
by prolonged eye work, but why we
have failed to carry this to its logical
conclusion is mystery. 1t is so plain
that carrying the head back to a hor.
izontal position so absolutely meets
the whole problem of relief of a con.
gestion by gravity, and it is very i'm
portant problem, that it seems
strange that we have not been advis-
ing all our patients with weak eyes
and internal congestions to practice,
so far as possible, reading in a dorsal,
recumbent position, with the head
raised only so much as is necessary to
make the position perfectly comfor-
table. ! feel sure that such advice car
ried out with absolute care as to light
and the position of the book would ia
the case of a thousand busy people
add largely to the number of hours
which reading could be indulged in
without detriment to the eyes or gem
eral health.