The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-13

But doubt not that the average civ ilized man of 40 has lost two years or sleep that he ought to have had; and he cannot better employ himself between 40 and 50 or 60 than in getting 1t oack again. Probably the American man or sleep than that owing to him. They may be in bed every night six or seven or eight hours. but they are sleeping only a part of that time. And when they do sleep their sleep is not com plete. Soldiers sleep on the march or in the saddle-I have done 1t myself but it is a sleep of a part only Of the brain and its nerves: certainly the mo- tor centres must be awake. It Is bet ter than nothing. but 1t Is not nearly enough. The nerves of overworking men get famished beyond the limit of natural restoration, and then their pos sessor cannot sleep. and both his body and his mind are in danger. one sees many men going about and doing ousi- ness who are not really awake. any more than fully asleep. They are in an
 intern ediate region, which Is ~ot far from the graveyard. Their figures are
 familiar on our streets until their names appear ultimely in the obituary columns Brain flag Is ticklish thing to handle and a hard thing to cure
 Sleep is the cure, but true sleep cannot
 be had by a man whose nerves nave ceased to function properly. A drunk en man lies down to "seleep 1t on. Al.
 ter awhile he awakes. but he does not feel restored: generally he wants an- other drink to bring him up to par. The fact Is he has not been really asleep-he has but lain in sort Of stupor. If we could always get real sleep-not mock sleep or partial sleep at will, we should be much better off than we are. It Is not so much the loss of a certain amount of sleep as 1t is the killing of the power to take the sleep that has been lost that Is the serious feature in the matter. If you wish to see real sleep. in contrast with what we have come to consider such, look at an infant sleeping in its cradle. It lies tranquil and motionless. but for It's tender-taken breath. but all the while it Is gaining in strength sta ture and health. It Is having rest, pure and complete, such as all of us ought might have If we lived reasonable lives. Do Not Sacrifice Your Rest.
 We cannot guard our faculty of sleep too jealously. We would so guard it If we realized what the loss of 1t portend- ed. When we are young our recupera- tive power conceals the fatal drain.
 When we are of middle age we cannot tdS We tIhhhJ ho lhouASc ooA selves with the sleep that we feel we need. When we get a little older yet
 we cannot sleep, however we try to do so. Our proper amount of sleep may be l four hours, or 1t may be eight or ten |. That we must each determine by expe. rience, but whatever 1t Is we must have | 1t or pay the price. And the price is too high to be paid by mortal man in this | world. He dies with 1t unpaid. and be. cause it Is unpaid.
 Sleep your full quota every night. at any reasonable sacrifice of anything | else. and If possible, or when possible, sleep in the open air. or at least with your nose at an open window. It Is
 not true that time spent in needed sleep | is lost time, for the strength which if | gives makes the work of the working hours so much the more effective and valuable. We never lose anything
 worth having by living right. and our
 sleep, which Is third part of our life
 deserves as much consideration as the rest of it.