SLEEP
MORE VITAL THAN FOOD. HOW TO AVOID WAKEFUL NIGHTS. (By Sir W. Arbuthuot Lane. Bart.) Sleep | s one of Nature’s chief restorers, ami those who would enjoy good health should make certain that their sleep is sound in quality and sufficient in quantity. Howi fivonderiiu'iy: ic-UuU'd t » ip, alert we feel after a night of calm oblivion, and, in contrast, how listless and irritable after a night oi wakeful hours. Persistent sleeplessness in adults is as grave a menace to health as insufficient sleep in children, and that is grave indeed. The purpose of sleep is to make good the wear and tear of waking hours and to restore the reserves of the body energy. J.n many ways sleep is more vital than food. It is possible to exist .longer without food than without sleep. Apart Irom bodily or mental illhealth. wakeful nights are a penalty of faulty living, a penalty which, like all penalties resulting from breaches of tho laws of health, is most apt to bo exacted in middleage.
While an occasional disturbed night may arise from a dietetic indiscretion or a bout of overwork, a .■ ueaeiisUm of such nights is usually attributable to long-standing errors in personal hygiene Long hours in stuffy atmosphere, insufficient 'exercise, 'excessive brain work, .especially if carried on late into the night, and last, but by no moans least, a chronically overloaded digestive tract are peculiarly liable to disturb the rhythmic habit of sleep. What measures can you adopt to ensure nights of restful sleecp? First, you must examine your habits of life and correct any obvious error as mentioned above. Spend the hours before retirement in some unexciting pastime and go to bed at approximately the same time every night; habit plays a large part in the* function of shyi.
Late meals are taboo, as also strong tea or coffee, hut a glass of warm milk is soothing and promotes drowsiness.
The bedroom must be well ventilated'without being cold, and the bed comfortable, with light but warm bedclothes.
Your body slioull be warm before retiring. Remember that cold leet is a common cause of sleeplessness; therefore do not be ashamed to use a hot-water bottle.
A warm bath is often valuable as it promotes, relaxation of tho muscles.
When in bed do not anticipate, a bad night or think deliberately about pitting off ;to sleep. Be concerned with making yourself thoroughly comfortable in bed and stop thinking. A word of warning. Never have recourse to sleeti-producing medicines except under the personal direction of your doctor. They are dangerous when wrongly used and are seldom necessary if natural means to obtain sleep are fully tried.
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Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1930, Page 7
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443SLEEP Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1930, Page 7
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