The Semi-weekly Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 1923-19??, 1932-06-03
Sleep!


sleeve of care'; Sleep! "kind Natures
sweet restorer"; Sleep!--of which
Sancho Panza said, "God bless the
man who first invented sleep; Sleep!
of which the Psalmist wrote, $50 he
giveth his beloved Sleep: Who shall
estimate its value to humankind, and
especially to the child?
Since man, both child and adult, is
playing and working so intensely, his
need for sleep is becoming more and
more essential. In this age of the
mechanic and the physicist, with all
its noises and all it's dangers, as well
as all its conveniences and all it's COM
forts; when the mind as we'll as the
body is jazzed by the hurry and hurly-
burly, and the soul itself has no time
for repose, who can tell how many of
the physical, mental and even spiritual
breakdowns can be traced to the exig-
encies of modern life and living?
The candle cannot be burned at both
ends, even in legitimate pursuits, with
out deleterious results. This is par
ticularly true of children, whose every
activity is intense, in keeping with the
abounding life which is theirs. And if,
in addition to that natural exuberance
which is Natures gift their store of
reserve strength is tapped, their nat
ural residence sapped by undue calls
upon them, such as those incident to
nights at the movies or parties, or by
habitual late retirement, there is dan
ger that the strength of their maturity
may be weakness and their prospect
of long life annulled.
Sleep is the regular method by
which Nature makes the needed bod
lily repairs or recuperation from
fatigue. Going to bed may be likened
to a ships going into drydock to be
overhauled, either for the repair of
existing damage or as preventive
measure to renew its strength. A
campaign on behalf of more sleep
would not be a bad thing for the
American people, especially in this
day of economic stress. 1t eliminates
worry, it ameliorates hunger for 9
considerable time, and if the body has
any reasonable amount of real nour.
ishment, it is surprising how fal
Mother Nature will be in the restora
tion of wasted tissues through the
simple medium of sleep; magic wore
a yet more magic phenomenon!
Medical authorities agree upon thu
following hours as minimum require
ments for the sleep of a child; under
a years, IL hours; 5 to Z, II to Il
hours; to II, 10 to IL hours; IL tt
IA, 10 hours. Generally speaking, M
one should have less than eight hours
sleep.
If possible, the child should sleeI
alone, with plenty of fresh air in his
room. Evening movies should be
avoided, and one movie a week shoult
be ample. Children's parties alst
! should be in the afternoon, not too
!. long, and limited to Friday or Satur
day.
, So much for the children; yet sleer
J is just as magical thing for thu
adult. No one can deny that the av
: erage mature person requires eigh
. hours of it out of each "a. On thu
! other hand, there is no reason to bt
, dismayed or even surprised, if few
of ones contemporaries apparently ge
along nicely with less. The wore
, apparently" is used advisedly; fo
there is surprising proportion O
, those who brag about how little sleel
they need and how well they feel VIII
pay dearly for it, ere the end. Never
, theless, sleep requirements in a com
paratively small class are minimizec
| 1t follows that each person must dis
4 cover for himself what his sleep quot;
should be, and govern himself accord
) ingly.
In the last analysis, the adult sleeI
problem resolves itself into gettin
5 sufficient rest each night to satisf
the health demands of the individua
involved. A real difficulty arises
: when the individual, having deter
: mined his sleep requirements, delib
erately turns his back on them an
. tries to get along with less. Consist
E emily attempting to keep up with tn
Six and seven-hour exception whe