Newport daily independent., 1904-01-07
BRAIN ASLEEP KEEPS TIME.
wrapt in sIumber Man Has Better Idea of Hour Than when
 Awake.

Awake.
 I That man may have better idea of l the time of night when he awakens from a 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 I of daylight. so he may sleep with a soundness that prevents the little time keeper of the brain from making sub- conscious note of the hour hand of the clock in the night. As between the two conditions, however, it is the opinion of Dr. 0. A. King, professor of nervous dis l eases in the College of Physicians and \ Surgeons, that the awakened sleeper usually has better idea of the fiightof \ 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 I 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 whether it be nearer two o'clock in the morning than 1t is to four o'clock. Many persons have the faculty so cultivated that they know within the quarter hours of the exact time.
 sOn the other hand it is a common ex- pression with persons in all line of work suddenly to look at the clock and ex- press the keenest surprise that it is So late in the afternoon or the evening; and occasionally one who has been work d ing to poor advantage and under diff faculties will be surprised on looking at his watch that 1t is so early.
 That the brain in sleep keeps this ! tally upon the time is proved by the in- 4 fuences of anaesthetics. 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 ! of the passing of an hour. He may be 1 forgetful of all conditions leading up to the state of anaesthesia and for the time being he may have forgotten the day of the week.
 "As to the time measurement in sleep, 1 it is best represented in the person used to travel and to the catching of trains in the night Many of these persons will be 1 able to awaken at an hour giving them just the margin needed for preparation for the train.
 1 "One of the peculiarities of a person s 1 waking for train, or for any such emer- gency, is that the awakening always is sudden. There is none of the prelimi nary yawning. and stretc ing, and slow ly returning sense of luxurious rest and comfort felt by the man who has slept full sleep. Tn this awakening to a certain time the person frequently feels that impression of sudden sound which he knows cannot have been made or uttered Not infrequently he has the sense that some one has called his name. He may be almost certain that he has heard his first name George called l with the characteristic rising infection. In almost any case his awakening is without any premonitory symptoms. It is with a sort of jolt that he comes into full fedged consciousness. Tn such cases as those where the sleep is profound be- yond any consciousness of the time, the | 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, but the fatigue that prompts the person 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 day and night, and awakened into another day It Is the opinion of Dr. King that in such 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 it. the babe which has rested to the full and begins to arouse itself from sIumber is an interest ing study.