The Indianapolis journal., 1903-01-18
SLEEP AND ITS ABSENCE
INSOMNIA AN AFFLICTION FROM
WHICH MANY PEOPLE SUFFER.
Scientific Theories Concerning Sleep
iessness, Its Cause and Methods
of Cure.


Few human Ills, moreover, are of more
ancient standing. Ahasuerus. when he
could not sleep. commanded to bring the
book of records of the Chronicles, and they
were read before him." In other words, he
had at his bedside a reader with a volume
of old newspapers. Mr.. William O'Brien.
NJ p. having. l suppose. no newspapers
at his command when he was in prison,
was in the habit Of trying to induce sleep
by recalling. one after another the counties
of Ireland. and their connection with his
own varied history. Jean Paul prescribed
a sopOrifc the picturing to the mind of
an endless garland Of flowers stretching
away into space. Boerhaave suggested the
listening to the regular falling drops of
water into a resonant vessel.
Prof. w. T. Preyer, of Jena, has recon-
mended the sufferer to stand with one arm
outstretched until the limb Is invaded by
an excess Of blood and aches violently. A
favorite old wife's remedy Is to count
mentally from one to a hundred alternately
forwards and backwards, or to imagine
lmitless succession of sheep passing
through a gap in a hedge. Each Of these
methods is doubtless good in some cases,
but there are certainly other cases in which
they are all quite valueless, and then too
often the would-be sleeper makes the fatal
mistake Of using drugs.
MUST AVOID DRUGS.
Drugs are bad for two reasons. FRS, the
species of sleep which they induce is not
natural, and not refreshing to the full ex-
tent. Secondly, the more drugs a man
takes for sleepIessness the more he needs.
SO much is this the case that many in
stances are known of people who, having
taken morphia or chloral for few nights,
have never again been able to sleep at
night without artificial assistance. 1t is
true that in certain diseases of the brain
drugs absolutely necessary, but even
then they should never be employed with
out specific medical authority for each
seperate dose. Where actual brain disease
Is not present, natural sleep may nearly
always be induced without the slightest
risk OF injury TO the system. Since so
stead of realizing this and acting acord-
ingly, rush TO drugs and do themselves in
calculable damage, think it may be useful
TO give the results Of some experiments
which L have tried.
Fatigue is, of course, the ordinary cause
of sleepiness; but how fatigue causes sleepi-
ness Is not exactly known, seeing that IL is
notorius that fatigue sometimes exists
without sleepineSS, and that seepiness
sometimes exists when there are no other
symptoms OF what is usually called fatigue.
The theory of Alexander Won Humboldt.
which Is, perhaps. the most accepted one,
deavored TO combat it, is that sleepiness
results from the comparative exhaustion
or the oxygen in the brain, and that the
store OF oxygen there can only be replen-
ished properly when. as in sleep, the rest
OF the organism is consuming less of that
element than usual
This relative exhaustion of oxygen may
be one of the principal causes of mental
fatigue, but il is probably not the only
one. nor does it seem to be the sole reason
for sleepiness. What that reason is has
not vet been demonstrate SatiSfactoriIv.
but there are two phenomena which are
characteristic Of sleep, both OF which ap-
which should be followed to induce sleep
when II fails to come at the expected time
and in the accustomed way.
SLEEP AND BLOOD
One OF these phenomena is the compara-
tive freedom OF the sleeping brain from
blood. The volume is much less; the circu-
lation Is feebler. The experiments of Dur
ham and of Mosso show this conclusively
They show also that whatever tends to
preserve or increase the activity OF the
cerebral circulation tends to wakefulness.
and that whatever decreases the activity
OF that circulation and is not inconsistent
with the general health favors sleep. These
observations afford sound Justification for
Preyer's recommendation to his sleepless
patients to stand with an extended arm
until the limb aches violently. In proper
tion as blood is drawn to the arm so is
blood drawn from other parts, including
the brain. The same observations Justify
the rubbing or massaging of the extremi-
ties. or the putting of the feet into hot
water before going to bed. For the last
process the use OF a hot-water bottle Is a
good substitute, for cold feet are most an
tagonistfc TO sleep.
The other phenomenon to which 1 allude
as Deing characteristic OF sleep is the less
known fact that the eyebalIs of a sleeping
person are rotated upwards. This may be
noted by any one who takes the trouble
by pressing 1t lightly with a finger end
III, being awake, one endeavors to keep the
eyes rotated as far as possible upwards
even Tor Few seconds, the effort is ex-
traordinarily fatiguing, and the fatigue is
accentuated II, at the same time. one keeps
the eyellds closed.
Now, of course sleep does not follow
merely because the brain for some reason
happens to become relatively free from
blood. or because the eyebals happen to
sumes comfortable reclining attitude and
shuts ones eyes. Nevertheless If one
would WOO sleep 1T is notoriously a good
thing 10 lie down in an easy position, WHILE
as has been pointed out, the predisposing
conditions may be rendered still more fa-
vorabie by artificially attracting a certain
amount of blood from the brain by means
of holding out an arm before lying down.
or by applying heat to the extremities.
1t occurred to me many years ago that
yet another favoring condition might be
provided il the would-be sleeper could be
induced TO make an effort TO keep his eve
balls rotated upwards. Happily 1 have
never suffered much from sleeplessness,
and In consequence such experiments as I
have tried upon myself are OF very doubt
full value. i may say, however, that on the
rare occasions when / do not go to sleep
readily 1 always close my eyelids and try
to keep my eyeballs rotated upwards. So
far as / can Judge sleep invariably follows
within minute or so except, naturally,
upon occasions when acute pain or some
other definite antagonistic factor inter-
feres. The pain. however, must be severe
TO prevent the result.
A HYPNOTIC SLEEP.
Further, to test the effect of this device
have repeatedly induced friends to put
1t I'm practice. Some have found that with
out assistance from outside they cannot
keep the eyeballs in the required position
even for the relatively brief period which
seems usually to suffice. I have recon-
mended such people. after having ascer-
tanned what is likely to be the most COM
Portable position for sleep. to affx a small
bright light two or three feet above the
head so that in order TO see II without
moving the head the eyes must be rotated
upward. For this purpose an ordinary
electric glow lamp. covered with OPAQUE
black paper, in which is cut a hole the
size OF a pins head. is very suitable pro-
vided, OF course, that the hole be arranged
so that IT is in or near the ina gfnarv line