The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-06-30
THE MATTER OF SLEEP.

How long should {. person sleep in
order to obtain the best results as re-
CARDS health and energy and the pro
iongation of life? This question is
now under discussion in certain quar-.
tiers and there appears to be consid-
cradle difference of opinion. Probably
most Gate City readers are acquaint.
led with the rule laid down once upon
a time by certain confirmed mysog-
nyist. to-wit: Eight hours for men,
nine hours for women and ten hours
for idiots. But being a mysogynist
his opinion Is not generally consider
ed worth taking into account.
Just now the idea Is being agitated
TOR less sleep than has formerly been
advised. Look at Napoleon" say
the anti-sleep promoters. and they in
dictate other conspicuous incidents OF
great attainment with small periods of
rest. The Des Moines Tribune says
| of this proposition:
Such arguments, however, are mis-.
leading Most of us couldn't have
done what the little emperor did if we
sat up all night Napoleon might have
lived longer and schemed still more
strenuously II he had followed a ten;
hour sleep schedule instead of restrict
ing himself to five or less.
1T will probably all result in each
OF us being his own judge. 1t is real
! ly easier for one to tell whether he has
had sleep enough than for anybody
else to settle the matter for him"
There is no doubt that individual
experience should be the determining
factor. Sleep is one Of the most i'm
portant functions Of the body. and it
Is important that it be neither excess
sive nor deficient in quantity. 1t Is the
consensus of opinion of the best au-
thorities that sleep Is produced by an
accumulation of the products Of ia
tigue in the brain, and these SUBJ
stances are carried off during sleep
Thus sleep is similar to condition of
INSTRUMENTATION caused by the accum-
ulation of the products OF work, be it
muscular or mental, during the time
that we are awake.
The same authorities are agreed
that on an average, for the adult male,
six to seven hours sleep is necessary
to feel rested thereafter and to fully
appreciate the saying that sleep is
Natures sweet restorer Young girls
and women require much more sleep
than do men; but children, and espec-
ially infants, require the most. A
sample utterance on the subject is that
of Arnold Lorand, NJ. D., physician to
the baths, Carlsbad, Austria. in highly
scientific work from his pen just pub
Ilished entitled "Old Age Deferred"
ut Is unwise to say you must sleep
SIX seven or eight hours to have
enough. Each individual requires a
different time according to his bodily
requirements, which he must study by
i careful observations. The deeper
the sleep the shorter will be the time
that will be required for It, The es-
sential thing Is to feel rested in the
morning, and 1t does not matter If we
have slept only five and one-half hours
liz we only feel that we have slept
enough. There are many people,
usually over fifty years of age. who
4 feel rested and perfectly well after but
five hours sleep. But il after seven
hours sleep we still have feeling of
WEAKNESS and depression, so to speak
we have not freed the body of toxic
products during sleep, SO the time was
insufficient and must be made up the
following night
1 Too much sleep may be nearly as
bad as too little. After sleep too long
continued one feels heavy and de.
pressed We should. therefore, OBJ.
serve the right medium in this as in
everything else The greatest maxim
for health and longevity is modera-
} ton in all things.