The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-28

Are you afraid that you will pass Z
| sleepiess night?
If so. let us see how We can dispel the
| fear don't ask if you are suffering
from insomnia-that is a simpler matter
TO handle 1t is usually due to physical
/ disturbance. II is the fear of insomnia
| that is sometimes SO stubborn.
The sufferer from this fear generally
| feels the attack coming on during the
evening. He is tired. overwrought. He
has a hard days work to do next day
! To undertake IT he must be in fit condi-
| tion-he must sleep. If he doesn': sleep
! things may go very badly with MIN
Sometimes he takes sleeping powders. oil
! hot baths. or light lunch. but these
| things do not always dispel the fear. He
may finish up by sleeping eight hours
| through bat he has already gone
through all the suffering of insomnipho-
bia before this relief comes.
Or. one may get to sleep at the proper
| hour and wake up about o'clock in the
J morning. Instead of turning over and
! thanking Providence for a nice bed and
| Il clean conscience. he begins to think OF
| that hard days work before him and
| then comes up his fear that he Is not
! going to sleep any more. He counts the
hours that h" has slept and subtract
! Them from the hours he should sleep.
ard as the clock ticks on. the hours
he is missing seem fraught with awful
| cor sequences
Now what can we do for this unfor-
! tunatc case?
First OF all learn that passing from
| conscious existence to sleep is controlled
| by the Subconscious brain Centers or ma
| t;;re. Just like the functions OF digestion
| and br, athing. and. like all these natural
functions. they are best performed when
thought least Of
II We are eating an appetizing meal In
| Peasant surroundings. with ,heery COM
pany. We are not troubling ourselves
| much with the process of digestion, and
We may quit" safely draw the conclu-
sion that the process of digestion will not
| trouble us.
| II our thoughts are buoyant. uplifted.
! courageous. if We are walking with head
erect chest expanded, our breathing is
natural deep. regular-suffic.ent for all
| physical needs. We need give it no
| more thought.
The same is true of sleep. The baby
has no fear of insomnia. neither has the
! healthy youth, unless he has heen taught
il by perverted grown-ups.
SeCondly-What is there to be afraid
| of What harm will result from a sleep
less night?
II YOU have any improper physical
ndDlIS. Try 10 lHtHi iHeI So W
/ bed like a little child and you will sleep.
II for any reason sleep does not come
promptly or. il you wake later in the
night there is no cause for alarm. There
are lot of pleasant improving thoughts
not business or worrying Ones-with
which the mind may we'll be occupied in
the still watches OF the night. II rests
with you to direct the thoughts. 1t
takes practice and persistence to keep
the mind on pleasant themes. but il is
, one accomplishment which yields you
greater returns in life than any I know.
Do not attempt silly mental GYM
nastics like counting flocks of imaginary
sheep jumping over imaginary fences.
Don't get worried for fear YOU will be
used up and unable to do efficient work
the next day Such fears have as little
substance as the sheep.
Keep a storehouse of pleasant memo
From this storehouse may come the
recollection of poem you learned In
childhood. a beautiful picture you have
seen some pleasant friend you have met
and loved-the memory of beautiful
music or some kind. sweet thoughts of
others We should he able to displace
the fear thought with another thought
strong enough to drive away the first
and interesting enough to hold our pleas
ant attention.
We are too prone to live in the per-
sonal and material. That is why fear
and worry thoughts get In.