Remedies for Insomnia.

Manawatu Herald, 5 January 1899, Page 2

Remedies for I nsom nia.

« Insomnia is not a disease itself, but the effect of an unhealthy condition of body or mind. When the cause is removed the insomnia may be expected to disappear. The most common cause ot insomnia is found in tbe y digestive organs. Either unsuitable ■: food, causing insomnia as a feature of f indigestion or insuffiicent food, causing ij the patient to be kept awake by M hunger. There are few things that . i can be universally recommended as i diet for sleeplessness, since what ; will agree with one man will disagree .;| with another. Bnt two things that ji may almost always be recommended i! are lettuce and celery. The lettuce | should be taken in the form of salad, : in which plenty of olive oii should be ! used, something like three-parts ot oil to one ot vinegar. The lettuce is good* . for stomach, and especially good ft* ;!l the intestinal track, on which it exerts a soothing influence. The celery is especially good tor the nerves, foi; which it is tranquilizing and calming. Never go to bed hungry is an important rule. Some people axes hungry at bedtime and never know it. They attribute the feeUh_Mi| to their nerves, to fatigue, to anything ™||| except its real cause. Then they lie ! awake and wonder what causes their insomnia. Others become hungry ■ !:•! within three or four hours after going ' ' to bed and arise in the morning with a bad headache. What sort of meals should be eaten at night is a question which must be determined in each case for itself. Ft often occurs that the reverse of a victim's usual habits will cause relief. A person who is strong and hearty and eats many meals will often sleep more soundly after a light supper late in the evening. On the other hand, a person whose appetite is small and whose ordinary meals are light, may eat a welsh rabbit at midnight and drink a bottle of ale with it and sleep peacefully. So simple a thing as a glass of water at night may cause a person to sleep. Many people drink too little water not enough to supply the demands of the system for fluid. Everyone needs a certain amount of it, and the best time to drink it is at night. Bathing is sometimes the key to a cause of insomnia. A cold plunge will sometimes relieve cases when the shock is not attended by any disagreeable results. A warm bath is better for others and for the average person a tepid bath is generally best.