The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-06-17

that assail humanity, is far more com
mon today than ever before in the MS
tory of the world. People think hardel
and study more than ever before; the1
pursue both pleasure and business VIII
more intense eagerness; their nerve:
are overstrained. and their brains driv-
en- as by whips; and last, but not least
the race has developed an appetite fol
drugs. which grows by what it feeds on
and which, while acquired largely IL
the seeking of sleep, has, when lnduig-
ed beyond a certain point, the edec'
of banishing heaIthful slumber forever
from the pillow. Most of the ills that
make mankind miserable are Affections
of the ignorant and, chiefly, of the
moor. SleepIessness, however, is the
cIlrse, of the intellectual man, ana a
haunter of the bedsides of the rich ana
the otherwise fortunate.
But it has come at last to be realized
that the drug-cure for insomnia is
worse than failure, and people are
beginning to look to Nature for RENE
dy-not, I may happily add, in VAN.
OF this new idea it is that l would
speak: of Nature as a sleep-brlnSer,
Z and OF how her means may be used in
stead of choral opium, alcohol and
other poisons. which all over this broad
land have filled asylums and SAM
tariums with their victims.
WHY do we hear so much about
Lakewood. New Jersey. as a resort for
rich people? Because (for one reason
at least) it is place of sleep. 1t is IN
a region of pines, the emanations OF
which are sedative and somniferous
Thus it. is that millionaire folks have
built among the trees palaces Whlch
are designed as homes for the sleep
less. Worn out by social dissipation,
or by the nervous strain inseparabie
from the business of rapid money-get-
ting. thew go to Lakewood to seek
among it's piney woods that soft repose
which elsewhere is denied them.
Certain volatile oils and others con-
tanned in pine-needles are accountable
for the perfume which is so agreeable
to our nostrils. Their sedative effect,
when one breathes air charged with
such emanations. is marked and I'M
mistake ble-so that in hospitals nova
days pillows of pine-needles are com
monty used to put patients to sleep. 1t
is on the same principle that, in the
hop-growing regions of this country
eDliIOWS are HlISu Will UoDS, pIlFi-
mixed with salt or with bran. They
contain an alkaloid, called 'lupeline,
which is strongly soporific.
On one occasion, not very long ago,
was called upon to prescribe for what
was supposed to be hopeless case of
Insomnia 1t was that of man in
public life. He expected me to try
some new drug upon him, but I said to
him:
..Senator, it is within my knowledge
that you own a piece of rural real
estate on which there are thick pine
woods. I want you to go there, with |
an axe and a sawhorse, and spend as
much of your time as possible cutting I
down pine trees and saving them for !
firewood."
He followed these instructions literal
Iy, and within less than a fortnight |
he was entirely cured. He told me that !
he slept like a dead man.
Brain-workers are particularly liable
to seeplessness. Their occupation
brings overstrain of the nervous sys-
TEN, and, when they go to bed, they
toss upon restless pillows. This drives
them to physician, who suggests
little whiskey before retiring-the result
being. in many instances. that the vic
tins become slaves to alcohol
The best thing in such a case is to
keep away from whiskey and other
drugs and take an ocean voyage. If
that be impracticable, the next best
expedient to adopt is a visit to the sea-
shore. Sea air is a wonderful nerve
tonic, it's sedative and soothing effect
being SO marked that invalids, wheel
ed along the beach boardwalks, often
'all asleep.
Tt is probably ozone that does the
good work. In crowded cities there is
little or no ozone which may be called ,,
/ concentrated form of oxygen, but at
The Seashore' there is much of it in the
atmosphere. and still more in mid
ocean, far away from the land. Not a
very great deal is known about this
,olorless gas Though it has been re- /.
iuced in the laboratory to a liquid.
tut of its healthfulness and quieting
influence upon the nerves there is no I
question.
Exercise of all kinds is admirable as
cure for sleeplessness. People now i
days do not take enough exercise. /
Mechanical locomotion has made walk J
ng to a great extent unnecessary, and
machinery has done away with most J
Ulysses. kept twelve women busy
.rinding grain day and night to supply
With food a household of not more than
hirty people. Today, with the help of
aodern contrivances. the same amount
f work viii produce flour for five
thousand persons
Incidentally To active exercise, the a
ystem imbibes oxygen. the circula ton 4
f the blood is stimulated, and mod a
rate fatigue supervenes-al of which :
onduce to sleepiness. But of all forms :
{ exercise the best for this purpose is
Pursued for two or
lree hours daily, it promotes all the
,nctions of the body and quiets the
erves. For sleeplessness there is no 9
stter remedy, and for weak children 9
nd weak women it is particularly to q
: recommended. 70
Distractions of the mind are excellent 4
,medies for insomnia. 1t is often a 4
bod idea to send nervous patient to 4
le play, the opera or the minstrels. 4