POSITION IN SLEEP.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 487, 24 December 1879, Page 2

POSITION IN SLEEP.

Position affects slew . A constrained or uncmnioriable posture will Oltcu prevent ivpose. Hying list «m the hack with the limits relaxed would seem to secure the greatest amount of rest for the muscular system. This is the position assumed in tie; most exhausting diseases,, and it is generally hailed as a token of revive,; wiimi a patient vmimtarily turns on the, side ; hut there are. several disadvantages in the supine posture which impair or embarrass sleep. Tims, iu weakly slates ol the heart and bloodvessels, and in certain morbid of the brain, the blood seems to at the hack ot the head, and to troublesome dreams. In habitually, in their gait or there is probably some distress qnent on straightening the Those wno have contracted pccially persons who have had and retain adhesion of the lungs, do no* sleep well on the luck. Nearly all are inclined to snore do so when in that 1 position, because the soli palate and uvula bang on the tongue, ami that organ falls back so as to partially close the top of the windpipe. It is bettor, therefore, to lie on the side, and in the absence of special chest disease, rendering it desirable to lie on the weak side so as to leave the healthy lung free to expand, it is well to choose the right side, because when the body is til ns placed the food gravitates more easily outol the stomach into the intestines, and the weight of the liver does nut compress the upper portion of the intestines. A glance at any plate of the visceral anatomy will show how tins must be. Many persons are deaf in one ear, and prefer to lie on a particular side; but, it possible, the right side should lie chosen, end the body rolled a little forward, so that any saliva which may be secieted shall run easily oat of ihe mouth, if not nneonciously swallowed. Again, sleeping with the anus thrown over the head is to be deprecated ; but this posbiou is often assumed during sleep, because' the circulation is then free in the extremities and the head and neck, and the muscles of the chest are drawn up and fixed by the sholders, and thus the expansion of the thorax is easy. The chief objections to this position are that it creates a tendency to cramp and cold iu the arms, and sometimes seems (o’ cause headache during sleep, and dreams. These small matters o'.ten mak' - or mar j comfort in sleeping.—Du. Muutimicu Gkanvii.i.k.