Evening star., 1915-01-24

increase in intensity, and the causes of grief
and worry usually decrease in power as time
elapses.
To have an occasional wakeful night is an
evidence of intelligence. Hardly normal
man or woman but will sometimes have ex-
periences that cause period of wakefulness.
Only human clods sleep undisturbed through
every sort of storm and stress. Until the
fear of sleeplessness becomes full grown
phobia no anxiety need be felt Insomni-
phobia Ito coin term)-the fear of 1nsom-
MIA, or mere overanxiety to get to sleep
is more to be dreaded than insomnia.
The great majority of mankind suffer
rarely from sleeplessness. They have too
many other things to worry about. In tact,
this aristocratic disease is usually posses
sion of those who can best afford it. The
man or woman who puts in the larger part OF
his or her waking hours in healthtul activity
is too tired, when sleeptime rolls round, to
lie awake very long. The Drowsy God
usually arrives on schedule for them.
Many insonniacs of vegetative turn of
mind and body lie awake at night because
they haven't been sufficiently awake by day.
This is also true of those of sedentary habits
of life, whose brains only are awake, while
their bodies hibernate in an Office chair.
Something that will keep these awake when
they should be awake would be more likely
to make them sleep when they should be
asleep than almost any other form of treat
ment.
ACTIVE exercise-any exercise in the al
phabet, from Alp climbing to the tango
will give excellent results in most cases of
insomnia. None sleep quite so soundly as
those who have earned it by the sweat of
their brows.
brisk but not too fatiguing walk before
retiring will sometimes work wonders for
either human sloth or brain abuser. A
good measure of what is appropriate in the
way of exercise would be to walk in one di-
rection until one begins to feel tired. Then
turn, and walk back the same distance-on
the principle that little too much walking
produces just sufficient fatigue for sleeping.
In connection with the subject of exercise
it is curious to note that one may have too
much of good thing. Paradoxical as it
may seem, many become sufficiently tired
to stay awake, developing insomnia for this
reason. The fatigue poisons resulting from
the breaking down of cell tissue accumulate
in the blood stream faster than they can be
oxidized or eliminated, thereby poisoning
nerves and brain, and causing irritability
and wakefulness.
A warm bath before retiring, wet pack,
a cold cloth at the head or the back, or other
measures tending to promote elimination
and equalize the circulation, will usually
give satisfactory results. For those of Sc
dentary habits who are troubled with cold
feet, hot footbath, or better still cold
footbath, with vigorous friction following it,
and the wearing of warm pair Of bed stock
ings, will often induce sleep.
Fresh air is also valuable in these cases;
for, lacking sufficient oxygen, the fatigue
poisons are not oxidized in the lungs and ex-
hailed as carbon dioxid. This maintains
nerve irritation and restlessness, which are
reflected in insomnia.
Or the sleep may be light, the victim of
bad air and fatigue poison rising in the morn
ing more tired than when he went to bed.
To avoid this open the bedroom windows
early in the morning, then forget to close
them at night. Strict observance of this
omission will cure many of these can't
sleepers.
DERHAPS the most common of all causes
of insomnia is nervous exhaustion from
nerve starvation (neurasthenia), which es-
pecially afflicts those who burn the candle of
health at both ends. That neurasthenia is
an actual disease, insomnia being merely
one of its many distressing symptoms, thou
sands will testify. However, it is encour-
aging to know that neurasthenia has an
actual physical (or rather pathologicaD