Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1906-01-25

wise not to attempt 1t. 1t Is never
prudent to thwart the beneficent inten-
lions Of nature Many persons strug-
gle against the mental and physical
lethargy that accompany the earlier
stages Of the digestive act. apparent
ly under the delusion that all time
given to the important business Of
building up and repairing their tissues
IL time wasted. So far from this be-
ing the case, well spent postprandial
interval tends to the preservation and
prolongation of life.
If tendency to drowsinc $ Is felt
sleep should be allowed to prevail, for
the proverbial "forty winks" Is justi
fed by science. A ten or fifteen min
utes' nap after meal, curiously
enough, will enable many a brain
worker to arise refreshed who might
have spent an hour or two in vain
and mentally confused struggle against
the "drowsy god" A cup Of tea or
coffee about an hour after a light
luncheon will facilitate and expedite
the last stages Of gastric digestion and
so assist in the rapid establishment
Of mental vigor and clearness Of mind.
There are some persons who instead
Of resting after luncheon or early din
ner take some form of exercise, such
as walking or cycling. If the meal has
been at all substantial muscular exer-
else must tend to retard and weaken
digestion by Withdrawing certain
modicum Of nerve energy to the lower
limbs and the centers which govern
their movements and diminishing the
circulation in the alimentary canal BY
increasing It in the legs and arms. I'm
less their digestive powers are very
keen people who take active exercise
after food find that the process Of d.
gestion Is thereby only prolonged.
On many grounds rest after food Il
more In accordance with physiological
requirements than exercise, and the
| afternoon nap, SO scoffed at by the
needless, Is a measure to be not only
defended but recommended. 1t Is 6
practice beneficial not only to diges
ton, but to many Of the other func
lions of the body. Rest Is the ont
thing needful In this restless age, ant
1t is never SO necessary as In the small
hours of the afternoon.
Among the many generally unsus
pected benefits conferred on the pos
meridian sleeper rest Of the heart ant
systemic circulation must be placed II
the front rank. Now, the more rest
within the limits of health, the heart 4
able to obtain the more efficiently ant
the longer will 1t continue to carry Of
its work, for the heart is, with mos
people. a much overworked organ. an
any indulgence given 1t will be repai
several times over.
Another very important organ whic
obtains a much needed rest during tn
afternoon nap is the eye. There Is n
reason why people should be constant
ly laying waste the powers Of the Of
gan Of vision, the optic nerve and th
visual centers of the brain itself b
continual gazing at whatever trivii
objects chance to present themselve
within the field Of vision. Even II
most casual Of ''things seen" entails q
expenditure of nerve energy, and a
adjustment of accommodation, WEI
and tear Of the exceedingly fine an
complex ocular mechanism and a co
responding exhaustion of the ner,
cells constituting the visual centers I
the brain, all Of which must tend ult
mately to curtail the period durir
.. which the visual sense should be at I
best.-London Chronicle.