Evening star., 1939-01-15

~ uIDED by pocket flashlight, Professor
= kleitman and made our way down
the pitch black corridor 1t was after
midnight. and the lights of the Physiology
Ruilding had long since been turned off, Out
side a door the busnessike little scientist
stopped. Here's my laboratory" he whis-
pered Then he opened the door and walked
i'll. tiptoed along behind.
The room was dark except for three tiny
lights. Arranged vertically, one few inches
above the other, they we're attached to one
side of an ordinary bed. By their dim glow
detected human form on the bed, apparently
sound asleep. later learned that this was
young graduate student, one of DR.. kleitmans
human guinea pigs" assisting the scientist
in his study of sleeping habits
Professor Kleitman motioned me to chair
stumbled noisily but the third member of
our party went right on sleeping. The scientist
and sat and watched. When the young man
turned just little. his body cut off the beam
from the lowest of the three lights. When he
turned halfway, he cut off the two lower
lights. When he turned all the way to his
side all three beams we're intercepted.
How do these lights work" whispered.
The beams are focused on photo-electric
cells on the other side of the bed," DR..
kleitman explained. Every time one of the
beams is interrupted. the corresponding 'elec-
trio eve across the bed sets up a current
(which operates pen on a moving roll of
paper The roll is connected with a clock
/ which keeps it unwinding all night Thus in
the morning, we have written record of the
mans movements lie is working for us while
he sleeps"
As my eyes grew accustomed to the dark
ness, began to inspect my surroundings.
The bed gave the laboratory something of
the appearance of an ordinary bedroom. But
attached to the bed, to the spring, and to the
mattress were jungle of wires and strings,
leading to a variety of clocks thermometers
in glass cases. and other instruments This
was the machinery with which Professor
Nathaniel kletman and his associates at the
University of Chicago have for fifteen years
been studying the physiology. of sleep.
One OF the mysterious looking instruments
resembled loud speaker DR.. kletman whis-
pered that it was used to awaken the sleeper
at specified intervals button in an adjoin-
ing laboratory is pressed to sound a horn. The
button can produce as loud or soft blast as
desired The louder the noise required to
waken the sleeper the more deeply he is
sleeping.
Do you know how to sleep? How long
should you sleep, and at what hours? What
constitutes good nights rest? Do We
need eight hours of sleep? Do we impair our
health when we don't get them? What kind
of covers, pillows, mattresses are best? Just
what does our body do during the hours we're
dead to the world? And why?
lished book on sleep, titled Sleep Charac-
teristics," to ask such questions. He is precise
and efficient. Hollywood would cast him as a
business executive rather than professor. In
his efforts to learn all about sleep, he and his
associates have collected ten thousand sepa-
rate nights of sleep in the course of their
research. If you are less than twenty seven
years old. you haven't slept that many.
Before answering my questions DR.. kleit-
man suggested that visit his laboratory to
see some of his apparatus in action. There
was exposed to some of the research methods
he has developed.
After we crept out of the laboratory. leav-
ing the research assistant sleeping land at the
same time working) amid the scratching pens
and blinking lights. vas ready to tackle the
= 4