COLD FEET AND SLEEPLESSNESS.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 429, 28 May 1879, Page 2

COLD FEET AND SLEEPLESSNESS.

The association between cold feet and sleepnessm-ss is much closer than iscommonly imagined. Persons with cold feet rarely sleep well, especially women. Yet the number of persons so troubled is very considerable. We now know that if the blood-supply to the brain be kept up, sleep is impossible. An old theologian, when weary and sleepy with much writing, found that he could keep his brain active by immersing his feet in cold water; the cold drove the blood from the feet to the heaJ. INow, what this old gentleman accomplished by design, is secured for many persons much against their will. Cold feet are the bane of many women. Light boots keep up a bloodless condition of the feet in the day, and in many women there is no subsequent dilation of the blood-vessels when the boots are taken off. These women come in from a walk, and puttheir feet to the fire to warm—the most effective plan of cultivating chilblains. At night, they put their feet to the fire, and have a hot bottle in bed. But is is all of no use ; their feet still remain cold. How to get their feet warm is the great question of life with them—in cold weather the effective plan is not very attractive at first sight to many minds. It consists in first driving the blood vessels into firm contraction, after which secondary dilatation follows. See the snowballcr’s hands. The first contact of the snow make the hands terribly cold, for the small arteries are driven thereby into firm contraction, and the nerve-end-ings of the fiilger-tips feel the low temperature very keenly. But as the snowballer perseveres, his hands commence to glow; the blood-vessels have become secondarily dilated, and the rush of warm arterial blood is felt by the _ peripheral nerve-endings. This is plan to adopt with cold feet. They should be dipped in cold water for a brief period; often just to immerse them, and no more, is sufficient; and then they should be rubbed with a pair of hair fleshgloves, or a rough Turkish towel, till they glow, immediately before getting into bed. After this a hot-water bottle will be successful enough in maintaining the temperature of the feet, though, without this preliminary, it is impotent to do so. Disagreeable as the plan at first sight may appear, it is sufficient; and those who have once fairly tried it continue it and find that they have put an end to their bad nights and cold feet. Pills, potions, lozenges, “night-caps,” all narcotics, fail to enable the sufferer to woo sleep successfully ; get rid of the cold feet, and then sleep will come of itself —British Medical Journal.