Evening star., 1932-02-28
SCIENTIST STUDIES
SLEEPING CHILDREN
Will Obtain Photographic Rec
ord of How They Toss
About in Bed.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

"Billie's uncovered again
1t sometimes seems as if 4-year-old
Billie Just because of the natural per-
versity Of childhood, wakes up deliber-
ately four or five times in the course
of a cold Winter night, throws his
blankets to the foot of the bed. unbut-
tons his pajamas, and then drops to
sleep again to catch pneumonia
But really it is in the nature of
things for Billie to toss about a lot
when ue sleeps, according to DR.. M.
johnson, professor of psychology at the
American University Graduate School,
who is planning an experiment at the
National Child Research Center here,
which, it is expected, wiz yield a good
deal Of information on just how nor
NAL children behave after the coming
of the sandman.
Pictures to Keep Record
DR.. Johnson will make continuous
picture Of the child asleep Beside the
bed camera will be set up, operated
by a self-winding clock mechanism. The
bed will be arranged so every time the
sleeper moves, an electrical contact will
be made which will set off the clock
mechanism and produce a film expos
ure. Then the clock will rewind SO
there will be picture taken one min
ute later.
When the sleeper moves the electric
contact established lights a signal lamp
over the bed. If the film shows this
lamp lighted the picture is distinguished
as one caused by actual movement
Over the bed also is a clock whose
hands are photographed each time.
giving the exact time when each ex-
made The nnn1DlntoA
ord will show just how many times
the sleeper has moved during the Slum-
ber period. how many different posi-
tions he has assumed and will reveal
other overt sleeptime behavior.
DR.. johnson, who has studied the
problem of human sleep for several
years at the Mellon Institute in Pitts
burgh, has obtained a large number
Of such records of adults, but up to
the present, he explains, the records
for children are quite meager. Those
records which have been obtained SHOW
that child sleep presents picture not
greatly different from that of the adult.
with numerous movements, frequent
interruptions and many position
changes.
Study Relation of Nap.
An important problem upon which it
is hoped to throw some light by the
Child Research Center investigation is
the relation of the afternoon nap to the
nights sleep. 1t sometimes is main
tanned that there Is no clear gain from
the afternoon Slumber because it merely
means there will be that much less
sleep at night.
The rather meager records already
obtained by DR.. johnson and DR.. C. r.
Garvey OF Yale University, who worked
under his direction, indicate quite the
opposite. Children sleep more quietly
during the afternoon than at any other
time except the first hour of slumber
at night. The amount of tossing about
during the entire night does not seem
10 be at all influenced by the nap.
Thus, DR.. johnson says, it would seem
as If the afternoon nap meant that
much clear gain for the child. Under
the controlled conditions at the Child
Research Center, it probably will be pos
Sible to clear up this problem.
Everybody, the records indicate, fire.
Quently changes position while asleep
Thus, DR.. johnson holds, any correct
sleeping position" theory has little basis.
About the only way to make any sleeper
maintain such a position would be to
put in him In a straitjacket, with the
arms and legs clamped down.
Relative Wakefulness.
Sleep, as DR.. johnson sees it, Is
matter Of relative wakefulness. When
In individual Is asleep, the same mecha-
rism of behavior is operating as when
he is awake, but in a different manner.
The organism still is reacting to sens
ory stimuli receiving stimulus
through a sensory nerve ending which
is transmitted through the brain to a
muscle which moves in response to it.
The deeper the sleep, the fewer such
stimuli get through and. consequently,
the fewer the responses. Nobody ever
is completely aWake-that is. nobody
ever is sensitive to all the possible stm-
uli in the environment. Nobody ever is
completely asleep, insensitive to all of
them. Such condition would be very
close to DEATH
When a person changes position dur
ing sleep, 1t means simply that the ir-
kitation of the sensory nerve endings
has accumulated to the point where it
1s able to bring a response. This hap
pens quite frequently-on an average,
bt least Of once every 10 minutes. DR..
0ohnson expects to make similar OBJ
eervations upon the Research Center
children.