The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-01-05
HOW TO PROMOTE SLEEP.
SIMPLE ExPEDiENTs WHICH ARE
BETTER THAN MEDICINE.

IS the PrOouct OF DruQS-A EtQnt
Meal Just Before Retiring One Of
the Best Sleep Promoters.
One of the most common ailments
specially among the people who do not
take suitable amount of exercise,
Is inability to secure sufficient sleep
The results are impaired efficiency,
nervous irritability and lot of other
ills which follow in the train of these
two. To some extent, insomnia may
be regarded as disease; but relief
from it may often be secured by sim
pie means, intelligently and patiently
employed. The sleep which is obtain
ed in consequence is more beneficial
than that which is product of medi-
cine.
A great variety of the maladies
which humanity suffers from are caus-
ed by an excessive amount of blood
in one locality. Congestion of the
lungs (pleumonia) is only one of the
many illustrations of the principle.
Wakefulness is associated with, if not
directly due to the presence of an
abnormal quantity of blood in the
brain During the hours of labor and
thought, the blood belongs there. To
encourage natural drowsiness one
should coax it away
One of the best means of doing so
is to eat. Almost every one has no
ticed how dull he feels after hearty
meal, particularly If he refrains from
drinking coffee or strong tea. Well,
here is a useful clew. During the
work of digestion the blood vessels in
full. Ordinarily the stomach is
empty at bedtime. Give it something
more to do, and there will be another
healthy diversion of the blood away
from the brain. A light meal, taken
just before retiring, is one of the best
promoters of sleep. A person should
be careful to eat and drink what will
agree with him, and not overdoe the
matter. Fruit, crackers, two glasses
of milk, boiled eggs and sandwiches
are among the best and most readily
obtainable articles. Pie, too, is gen
it is well to keep plate of crackers,
some fruit or pitcher of milk in
convenient place, so that if a person
awakes in the middle of the night
these resources will be at hand. The
stomach may finish its work in three
or four hours; and If wakefulness fol
lows it is wise to take another install
ment of food or milk. There are per-
sons who have retired on the double
dose plan for twenty or thirty years,
and who would no more think of go
ing to- bed without light lunch and
sometimes to take later in the night
than they would retire without I'M
dressing. Every one who tries the
plan needs to experiment while, to
find out what is handiest to eat and
what agrees best with him. It Is
foolish to give up after short trial.
A trifiing change of fare will often
work wonders.
One should also, learn that certain
things which may be taken in the
day time with impunity should be
avoided at supper time, in the even
ing. and on retiring. Coffee is among
them. So Isl strong tea. Iced drinks
and ice cream also act hurtfully.
Coffee and tea are brain stimulants,
and ought not to be taken when one
wants his brain to lessen it's activity.
Cold beverages and dishes drive the
blood away from the stomach, and
that fluid tends to go back where 1t
was before-into the brain. On the
other hand, warm milk helps on the
process of persuading the blood, to
visit and stay in the vicinity of the
stomach
A second line of procedure which
is often helpful is also designed to
get the blood out of the brain.
Warmth alone, in any part of the
body, operates in that manner. Hence
it is desirable on retiring to have
plenty of bed clothing-more, in fact,
than mere comfort demands. One
blanket in addition to those usually
required, spread over the whole hg-
ure, and another doubled and laid
across ones feet, will operate very
gently but beneficially in drawing, the
blood to. the skin and to the lower.
extremities. Often when the scales
hang evenly balanced between wake
ftnlness and sleep, the addition OF
extra covering will turn them in the
right direction.
Before the full influence Of these
agents is felt there is often period
of consciousness lasting half an hour,
more or less. During that interval
mental control is important. With
the most positive determination one
should shut out thoughts of business
or family troubles, personal griey-
ances and annoyances. All of those
matters can be more wisely attend~
ed to at other times, they really
need attention at all; and at -ighu
they excite the brain, when that OF
gan should be soothed. The latter
effect can be secured in various ways,
,,rip oi,elcs &c aof thGs