Rocky Ford enterprise. (Rocky Ford, Colo.) 1887-1950, 1911-09-29
of Night Air With Colds.

There is prevalent notion that
night air is one OF the chief causes OF
colds. People do catch cold at
night more than in the daytime, per
haps; especially is this true in humid
climates. But there are probably
other causes than the fact OF ones
breathing the night air or being sur
rounded by it that makes one take
cold at night more readily than in the
daytime.
What association has night air to
colds?
In the first place, what is "cold!'
A cold may be defined as that con
dition in which an individual finds
himself experiencing sensations oil
chilliness, feverishness, with suffusion
of the eyes and congestion OF the
mucous membranes. There Is usual
" sneezing, slight headache and a
general feeling OF lassitude. Later in
fhe progress OF the affection, there
often appears about the nose margins
and on the lips the so-called lever
bIistersn or cold sores" Whatever
other factors bacteria, etc.) consti-
tute the, cause of catching cold, COM
mon experience teaches us that 'eN-
posure" is the chief contributing
cause.
1t is well known fact that sudden
and prolonged rapid change III tenn
perature of the human body, such as
is experienced by sitting i'll draft
OF air, by an open window or by get
ting all or a portion of the body
chilled by wetting, will usually cause
one to catch cold"
AS has been said, there is belief
that night air is bad and produces
colds. This has been repeatedly dis
proven by both experiment and COM
mon experience.
One with his body well protected
may sleep in the open at night and
never catch cold. Indeed, one OF the
best ways that an habituH cold
catcher" can find to break himself OF
the habit is to practice open sleep
ing.
Those who have been most easy to
catch cold will find that after few
weeks of open air sleeping they are
never bothered any more. If, as often
happens, one finds it quite impossible
to sleep out OF doors, fairly good re-
suit may be obtained by some OF the
to sleep out of doors, fairly God
result may be obtained by some OF
the window tent devices, or, II IN WIN
ter, the room can be made warm by
steam or other constant heat, the
beds head may be drawn up to the
window sill and the window thrown
open, all the other doors and win
dows in the room being kept closed
% avoid draft, and the pillow placed
alongside the window sill and good
warm head protection should be
worn in very cold weather.
Catching cold happens frequently
| at night, for two reasons. The body
temperature is suddenly lowered by
going from a warm room into the
cold outer air. especially when per
spring. The result is a surface chill,
i and extra work thrown on the nit
cous membranes. But quite as import
ant cause for night colds is the
lowering of the body resistance and
the clogging OF the system through
sitting in badly ventilated rooms,
churches, or theaters. Might air. as
Florence Nightingale well said, SIS
the only air there is at night; and 50
long as it is pure air. and its. temper
aturc is not too suddenly changed, 1t
is just as safe as day air
In countries OF luxurious vegeta-
ton might air" in the vicinity OF the
abundant plant life is usually impure
on account of being laden with the
carbon dioxide gas which these plants
exhale at night, and the air. under
such conditions, is further rendered
more impure by having its oxygen
used up by the plants, for in dark
ness. plants use up oxygen and ex-
hale carbon dioxidc. while under the
influence of light they reverse the
process.
That night air has any relation to
taking cold" can only be due to the
fact that by being colder than day
air it affords people the opportunity
OF exposing their bodies to more
, sudden and extreme variations in tenn
peratures.
The heat regulating mechanism OF
the body is most accurate and capn-
BILE of compensating great extremes,
but we must learn to appreciate its
inability for instantaneous compensa-
ton for great reduction in tempera-
ture by rapid radiation.
In Colorado open night air is quite
as pure as day air.
Let us afford ourselves the pleas
ure of breathing it and being sur
rounded by it by night as by dav and
Catching cold" will be an experience
OF memory and hearsay only.