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Shannon News, 7 February 1922, Page 2

Concerning the question of the best hours for sleep, over which some correspondence occurred in the Daily Mail, Dr. A. King, of Southaiiipton, writes to that paper as followsTo fix precisely the hours for sleep is a. little arbitrary, hut the principle involved, that the “sweet unconscious quiet of the night” should be obtained in its appointed season is scientifically well grounded. The nature of man is so plastic that he can adjust himself to many kinds of abnormal conditions, but he perishes if they continue too long. He swims, dives, and flies, but only for limited periods. We are intimately bound up with the life of the world and its seasons, and our vitality has its daily variations roughly corresponding with the radiations of the sun’s heat from the earth. Sleep is more reposeful when these natural forces are at rest, and work more efficient when they are in full swing and the body perfectly rested. In announcing the result of a prize competition for ideas of new and extended uses of rubber held by Ute Rubber Growers’ Association, the judges state that hardly an idea suggested among nearly 2000 competitors was not anticipated by Goodyear in his work on Gum Elastic, published in 1855. The first prize of £IOOO was awarded to the suggestion of using sponge rubber for general upholstery purposes, including the making of mattresses. There were 80 competitors who suggested this method of utilisation, and accordingly the prize was divided between them.