The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1904-01-01
BRAIN ASLEEP KEEPS TIME.
WrnDt in siumber Man Has Better
Idea OF Hour Than when
Awake.


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, ii a 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 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.. o. A. King. professor OF nervous dis
eases in the College Of Physicians and
Surgeons, that the awakened sleeper
usually has 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
whether 1t be nearer two O'Clock in the
morning than it Is to four o'clock. Many
persons have the faculty SO cultivated
that they know within the quarter hours
Of the exact time.
ION the other hand It is a common ex-
precision 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. !
ing to poor advantage and under diff
fioulties 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
Auences Of anaesthetics. A person who
has been profoundly under the influence
Of any drug used for the purpose will be
as utterly uncons cious Of the passing OF
ten minutes as he will be unconscious
Of the passing Of an hour He may be
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,
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
o1.1 70 ~ rfxrfr borr
just the margin needed for preparation
for the train.
zone of the peculiarities of a 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
certain time the person frequently feels
that impression of a sudden sound which /
he knows cannot have been made or I
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?' e?'-called
with the characteristic rising infection.
In almost any case his awakening is
without any premonitory symptoms. 1t
is with a sort Of jolt that he comes into
full fiedged consciousness. In 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
One ofthe oddities ofsleep was referred
to In which person may lie down for
rest without intending to sleep. 1t may
be morning or afternoon, but the fatigue
that prompts the person to lie down
overcomes him, and. after a sound sleep.
he ava rs without any knowledge OF
time in any sense. He does not realize
whether it is morning or afternoon;
whether he has had luncheon. OF wheth-
er he may not have slept through day
and night. and awakened into another ,
day. 1t is the opinion Or. King that in (
such a case the person experiencing the
sensations probably anot in a normal
state Of health
AS an example OF slesp that should be .
natural and Gloss to the desikn OF nature,
and Of an awakening that should be
normal without the effect OF an artificial
crowdirg it, the babe which
has rested TO the full and begins to
arouse itself from slumber is an interest
Ing study