The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1920-04-16
SLEEP.

Good sleep Is absolutely essential to
good health. Broken, irregular sleep,
If long continued, is bound to result
In nervous and physical breakdown.
Different people require different
amounts of sleep, but there are few
who can keep healthy and do their
best work on less than eight hours
sleep In the twenty-four. Continuous
curtailing of the sleep, even If it be
slight, is more serious than the occa-
sional loss of many hours. 1t renders
the mind heavy and sluggish 1t makes
one irritable and impatient, and great
ly diminishes the power of good work.
Sleep must be natural, dreamless, rest
full. Such sleep cannot be produced
by drugs; neither will it come to the
man who eats and drinks to excess
late at night. The active business or
professional man who loses sleep, or
who does not get good sleep, and who
eats, drinks, and smokes to excess, is
breeding a bunch of trouble that is
bound to overtake him sooner or later,
almost invariably about middle life, or
soon after. The irregular life of the
society man or man about town can
not be combined with that of the siren
uous business man with impunity.
Drugs and stimulants won't help you.
You cannot drug yourself into society
or business.
By the aid of sleep we recover the
energy we have used for the day, and
actually accumulate and store up en-
ergy. The foolish man tires out his
mind and body and then resorts to
drugs to get to sleep. He is a slave
to his conscious mind: he depends on
his body, with its cerebro-spinal sys-
TEN that tires and wears out easily.
The wise man, whether he is energetic
or slow, depends on his superconscious
mind, which he opens to all elevating
! influences. 1t Is he who lives the real
! life, whether it be short or long. And
| If you could know his mind, his inner
| life of thought, you would find that he
never allowed mundane matters to in
| terfere much with the amount of rest,
| including sleep, that he had learned
to be necessary for his good health.
On going to bed at night, after taking
| breathing exercise, you should under
| stand that first of all 1t Is wrong
to attempt to force sleep, for that will
prevent you from sleeping If anything
will. 1t wiz make you anxious. and
anxiety is death to sleep. Just assume
a natural, easy position in the bed and
| give yourself up to the soothing influ-
ence of the night. The superconscious
will do the rest, in ordinary circum-
stances. But If sleep should not come
at once, don't worry. A variety of
reasons for sleeplessness may exist
but they mostly resolve themselves into
one, namely, tendency to think in,
stead of casting all thought from the
mind. After a little practice, you can
learn to submit yourself to rest with,
out thought, leaving everything to the
superconscious mind. Outdoor sleep
ing is preferable, but plenty Of fresh
air is imperative. The bed clothing
should be light and porous but suffi'
cient to keep the body warm. A good
mattress, and not too high a pillow
are essential. When you awaken in
the morning you may lie a moment
getting used TO the change from sleep
and then you should get up. Do moi
lie there doing. Doing in bed in the
morning often will be enough to sci
the tone for an entire day Of weari
ness. You would better get up ever
If you do not feel fully rested. You
will sleep the surer and the better fol
it during the coming night. LEARN
HOW TO LIVE.