Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-09

Washington, D. c., Nov. 6.-When
you lose your pep on a damp gloomy
day, or when you find it hard to con-
centrate on a difficult problem right
after lunch, don't get nervous and think
that you are OF the verge Of a break
down. You are merely a living example
Of the natural rhythms OF efficiency.
Almost everyone has a preferred
time for brain work and for exercise.
You hear a man say, II wait until late
at night to do my reading because it is
quiet and / can concentrate. My MN
seems to work better then than at any
other time" Another person holds an
equally decided opinion that early IN
the morning is the best time for brain
work. Opinions of this sort have been
held for centuries.
But for the past few decades science
has been making tests of the actual
abilities Of human beings in varying
circumstances. The effects on efficien-
cy. Of the weather, the time of day,
and the season Of the year have been
tested by mum rous Investigators. The
results have shown that these factors
do have an influence on efficiency, and
that certain rhythms prevail. II a large
group Of people is tested throughout
one day almost all are found to reach
the peak of mental ability at about
the same hour, and If the tests are
repeated over a long period of time
the tendency of the efficiency curve to
more apparent.
People who have this complex find
themselves more alert if they reflect
that around two and three o'clock,
when the noon slump is about over,
z- ~~a xra~x, .Naar1,y NO So -Nt
able for efficiency as at the high point
Of the mornings work.
Those who allow themselves to drag
through the middle. of the afternoon and
pull themselves together at night are
not taking advantage Of the best hours
for alertness, or so the results of nu-
merous tests would indicate. There
may be. of course, other factors to con
slider in special cases. There is some
thing in favor of night hours as con
ducive to mental effort. If distractions
are removed and the brain is not charg-
ed with items of the daily routine to
be gone through with the mental relax
alton may offset the dip in the eff
cheney curve.
The Sun and Suicides
Some of the effects of weather on
energy and alertness as traced by in
i~vestigators are decidedly unexpected to
most laymen. Thus most of us would
not imagine that more suicides occur
on bright. sunny days thar on the kind
of day We think of as depressing. Yet
comparison Of weather and suicide rec
ords in New York city for a period
covering five years showed that per-
SONS who intend to take their lives
screw up their determination on a
bright afternoon. The deed may be
%meditated on a fittingly dismal day, but
the sun brings the energy necessary to
action.
The sur stimulates constructive, as
well as destructive. activity. Dexter,
who made a special study of weather
conditions, found from experiments that
a high degree of accuracy might be
expected on a day that is sunny or OF
one that combines cloudiness with dry
atmospheric conditions. Damp days in
banks are recognized as bad for com
plicated bookkeeping. Dexter says, and
he adds:
During London fogs. and on days
when the weather is particularly de-
pressing, in the Bank of England, Ger
tain sets of books, an error in which
would be cumulative and produce dis
a%strouS results further IN. are locked
up. and the clerks set at tasks less
intricate and important in character"
This represents unusual precaution.
Most people have to do the days work
regardless of weather. Knowing that
damp weather is bad for accuracy is