The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-03
A NAP AFTER A MEAL
ONE OF THE BEST ITEMS IN THE
LIST OF LIFE PRESERvERS.
The Postprandial Restful Done Il
an Aid to Good Health and More In
Accord With Physiological Re
quirements Than Exercise.

The ma jority of people take meal of
some kind between the hours OF l. and
daily, says physician With num-
Der of persons this meal assumes the
form of a substantial dinner, while
with others it amounts to nothing more
than a light luncheon. In either case,
however, the repast requires TO be di-
geSted. and this necessitateS some mod
idcation of the activities of the brain,
since neither that organ nor those con-
cerned in the processes of digestion are
capable Of good work when an attempt
is made to put forth their energies ST.
simultaneously.
The exceedingly complex processes Of
digestion and assimilation whereby
dead animal and vegetable matters
are transformed into living human It's
sues demand for their rapid and
healthy performance an increased cir
culation of blood in the stomach and
ancilIary organs as well as a concen-
tration Of nervous energy in the same
region. Now. increase Of circulation in
one organ or set of organs entails a
diminution in the others. Consequently
the supply of blood to the brain is cur
tailed Immediately after meal has
been eaten, and since the blood is the
life the higher functions of that great
organ are performed only with diff
Guilty if at all.
A tendency to drowsiness, confusion
of thought and inability to make any
great mental effort are among the re-
suits of a diminished cerebral circula-
ton. These feelings are, therefore, ex-
perienced by most persons after a
meal. and they are the more pro-
nourced in proportion to the greater
amount of digestive energy expended.
Since brain work of good quality can
not be produced while the processes OF
digestion are in active operation it is
wise not to attempt It, 1t is never
prudent to thwart the benef1cent inten-
tons 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
is time wasted. So far from this be-
ing the case, a well spent postprandial
interval tends to the preservation and
prolongation of life.
If a tendency to drowsiness 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 VIII facilitate and expedite
the last stages Of gastric digestion and
so assist in the rapid re-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 a 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 di-
/ gestion is thereby only prolonged.
On many grounds rest after food Is
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 a
practice beneficial not only to diges-
ton, but to many Of the other func-
tons of the body. Rest is the one
thing needful in this restless age, and
it is never so necessary as in the small
hours of the afternoon.
Among the many generally unsus-
pected benefits conferred on the post
meridian sleeper rest of the heart and
systemic circulation must be placed in
the front rank Now, the more rest,
within the limits of health, the heart is
able to obtain the more efficiently and
the longer will it continue to carry on
its work, for the heart is, with most
people, a much overworked organ, and
any indulgence given it will be repaid
several times over.
AdoLhSl NSAy lupoi tohS vi Sod. "hiIh
obtains a much needed rest during the
afternoon nap is the eye. There is no
reason why people should be constant.
ly laying waste the powers of the or
gan of vision, the optic nerve and the
visual centers of the brain itself by
continual gazing at whatever trivial
objects chance to present themselves
within the field of vision. Even the
most casual of things seen" entails ar
expenditure of nerve energy, and ar
adjustment of accommodation, wear
and tear of the exceedingly fine and
complex ocular mechanism and a cor
responding exhaustion Of the nerve
cells constituting the visual centers oil
the brain, all Of which must tend ulti
mately to curtail the period during
which the visual sense should be at 1t: