Newport daily independent., 1904-03-19
BRAIN ASLEEP KEEPS TIME.
Wrapt in slumber Man Has Better Idea of Hour Than When
 Awake.

Awake.
 That man may have better idea of the time of night when he awakens from good sleep than he would have
 of the time of day. provided he were
 working unusually hard. with unusual intentness of purpose, Is one of the odd facts connected with the operation of the human brain, says the Chicago Tribune.
 But on the other hand, if man may work with such intensity of purpose as to forget the lapse of two or three hours of daylight, so he may sleep with soundness that prevents the little time keeper of the brain from making suD- conscious note of the hour hand of the
 clock in the night. As between the two conditions, however, it Is the opinion of Dr. o. A. King, professor of nervous dis eases in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, that the awakened sleeper
 usually has a better idea of the flight of
 the night than the other may have of the
 flight of the day.
 Under ordinary circumstances the
 person who Is in normal sleep Is not
 asleep" said the doctor. That one nook in the brain which takes cognizance of time is alert to an extent not appreciated by the layman. Awakening at any time in the night the person in good health
 and condition knows pretty closely whether it is midnight or after, or whet her 1t be nearer two o'clock in the morning than 1t is to four clock. Many persons have the faculty so cultivated that they know within the quarter hours of the exact time.
 Ion the other hand 1t is common ex- pression with persons in all line of work suddenly to look at the clock and ex- press the keenest surprise that 1t Is so late in the afternoon or the evening; ing to poor advantage and under diff ficulties will be surprised on looking at his watch that it is so early. "That the brain In sleep keeps this tally upon the time is proved by the in- fluences of anaesthetics. A person who has been profoundly under the influence of any drug used for the purpose will be as utterly unconscious of the passing of ten minutes as he will be unconscious
 
 forgetfuI of all conditions leading up to the state of anaesthesia and for the time
 being he may have forgotten the day of the week.
 s.As to the time measurement in sleep, 1t is best represented in the person used to travel and to the catching of trains in the night. Many of these persons will be, able to awaken at an hour giving them just the margin needed for preparation for the train
 "One of the peculiarities of persons waking for a train, or for any such emer- gency, is that the awakening always is sudden. There Is none of the prelimi- nary yawning, and stretching, and slow ly returning sense of luxurious rest and comfort felt by the man who has slept full sleep. In this awakening to g certain time the person frequently feels that impression of a sudden sound which ] he knows cannot have been made or uttered Not infrequently he has the sense that some one has called his name. I He may be almost certain that he has heard his first name-8George?'- ?'-called \ with the characteristic rising infection. Tn almost any case his awakening ia without any premonitory symptoms. It is with a sort of jolt that he comes into full fledged consciousness. In such cases
 as those where the sleep is profound be-. yond any consciousness of the'time, tie dream period of sleep is left far behind; the sleep has approached the depth of anaeSthesia."
 One of the oddities of sleep was referred to in which person may lie down for
 rest without intending to sleep. It may be morning or afternoon, bpt the fatigue that prompts the psIson to lie down overcomes him, and, after sound sleep.
 he awakens without any knowledge of
 time in any sense. He does not realize
 whether 1t Is morning or afternoon;
 whether he has had luncheon, or wheth-
 CT he may not have slept through dry
 and . night, and awakened into another
 day. It is the opinion of Dr. King that in
 such a case the person experiencing the
 sensations probably Is not in normal state of health
 As an example of sleep that should be
 natural and close to the design of nature,
 and of an awakening that should be
 normal without the effect of an artificial
 civilization crowding 1t, the babe which
 has rested to the full and begins to 5 arouse itself from slumber Is an interest ing study.
 ChIoroform for Plants. Albert Maumene, in the Review Sci-
 entifque, Paris, referring to experi-
 ments of M Johannsen, of the Agricul-