THE AFTER DINNER NAP.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2385, 28 August 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE AFTER DINNER NAP.

There is much difference of opinion concerning the desirability-of an - after dinner nap. Those who advocate itcite, the example of animals, but these gorge thenißelvea with food whenever opportunity offers, and and are heavy and drowsy in consequence. A short rest is, however, different from lethargic sleep, and often appears to do good. Brain work should' certainly be forbidden after dinner , the interval between ty aud bedtime should bo devoted to recreation and amnsenient. In the case of elderly people a short nap after a late dinner • often aids digestion but as a. general rule it is better for such persons to make their principal meat at 2 p.m. The digestive powers-of most elderly people are at a low ehb in the evening. When sleep* lessnessis -troublesome relief should be sought for iu the discovery and removal of the cause whenever possible. Thi condition is often due to indigestion! and when this is the case the ordinary remedies for inducing sleep are worse than useless.' The nervous relations between the brain and the stomach are so intimate that disorder of the one organ is almost; certain to affect the other. Excitement, warry, atid auxiety, which have their seat in, the brain, interfere with the functions of the stomach,and in like manner anything, that unduly taxes the powerotor irritates the stomach disorders the circulation' and nutrition of the brain. The sleeplessness often complained of by gouty persons is due to the poisonous effect of the morbid material upon the nervous system, Excessive smoking, too muoh alcohol, tea, and coffee, often resorted to by overworked persons, are frequent causes of sleeplessness* In all these cases the cause is removable, wbilo the eflect may be counteracted by appropriate- treatment, Nothing is more mischievous, however, than to continue the habits, and to have recourse to drugs to combat the effects. A due amount of exercise tends to induce normal sleep, and'such exercise need not be of a violent character. A walk of two or three miles daily is sufficient, and is perhaps as much as a busy man can Jfind time for. A ride on horseback, the Palmerstonian cure for gout, is probably the best form of exercise for those whose minds are con. stantly at work It has been well said thata man must come out of himself when in the saddle; he is forced to attend to the horso and notice the objects he meets, Walking may be a merely automatic process, and afford little if any relief to the mind, and carriage exercise may be practically valueless, if the mind is not diverted from what had previously occupied it. "