ON SLEEP AND NERVOUS UNREST.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1613, 4 November 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

ON SLEEP AND NERVOUS UNREST.

Bx a Family Docxon.

TiiEiuJ is, in this busy continent which the Briton calls his home, a very large proportion of human beings— many of them well enough off, pecuniarily speaking — to whom the world is all a worry, and life a long-continued fever. People of this class are not invalids in the strict meaning of the term, although they oftentimes suffer far more than the generality of invalids. Pleasures they never know ; hard work is a weariness ; and yet they are unable to enjoy their leisure when they obtain it. Their symptoms, mental and bodily, taken collectively, constitute a disease which, for want of a better, I designate by the name of nervous unrest. A person so suffering does not consider himself ill, nor is he looked upon as a subject for condolence by those with whom he comes into daily contact. * How could he be ? He does not look a bit like the ghost of Banquo at the feast ; when you meet him in the street the smile rises readily enough to his lips, and merriment even may sparkle in his eye. If you search for anything lugubrious, you will search in vain. He is a ready talker, a ready listener, and, in business, a perfect ready reckoner. If you ask his opinion about any question of moment, you have not to wait long for your .reply, He will be down at the bottom of the page, down at the Q. E. D., in less time than it would have taken most men to arrange their premise. His friends say of such a man, " Poor so-and-so 1 he never was very robust in health, but how wonderfully lively he is!" while his enemies — if he has any — put him down as bird-witted, and prophesy his sudden extinction some day like the snuff of a candle. Very kind of both friends and foes, I must say, but, as a rule, both are in some , degree mistaken. For, in all likelihood, hardly nas he shaken hands with you, with a hurried, aw revoir, until he heaves a Bigh ; and if you could see your, friend sometimes, when he is all alone, you would, not think .there was much merriment 'about him ;'. genuine,, mind you, though his manner may have been when you met him in the street. In his moments of loneliness, were, he* to ask- himself 'the' question, "'Ami happy,?" tiie answer would, be, " No ; I never know what it means to be happy." Perhaps, though — and thin is a proof of the truth' of Pope's lines V ,l, l Hope; Hiring! eternal in the human breast ; M»n / neverw,lbut«lw»yBtb'l)e,'blepV'— • \ j , '', he promises ;hi!ms6tt T happiness some' \dfty, IJ , even in this World; when^;fye ; eliali >have 'done; thiti, ,'ot^6i^^^i^t^oTiMim^i.>M}

dition and legitimate lot in life. But while hir'friends may be right enough in saying that our patient — for so I must call hhn — $as never very robust, provided that he possesses blood' free from any hereditary taint, and a heart not over-dilated, there is good ohance of his giving his foes the lie, and not going out like the snuff of a candle. People suffering from this fever of life, this nervous unrest, 1 seldom look strong ; they do not carry abundance of muscle, and therefore are unfit for any long-continued bodily strain ; but, nevertheless, the strength of theirmuscle, i compared to its size, seems often out of all j proportion, and this enables them to do in one hour that which' it would take a heavilybuilt man three to perform. Do not marvel at this, pray, nor doubt the truth of what I am telling you. Nervous force is a wonderful thing. I have seen a boy of seventeen in a fit of exoitement and passion, whom it required the united strength of four men to hold down. Nor do men who suffer from the complaint wo are considering bend very easily before the storms of life, blow they ever so wildly ; little things annoy them more, and sorrow itself, which seems at first ready to crush them, is, after a time, oast aside by the very resiliency of their nervous systems. And so, too, they may for a time succumb, and that readily enough, to the little ailments of life, to trifling colas, or rheums," or aches, but these seldom lead to anything very serious ; they pass speedily away, and the same causes which, may produce deadly inflammations in the heavy-bodied and plethoric, will, ten to one, be productive in the nervous of only some trifling inconvenience. The reader will observe that I am talking about the sufferer from nervous unrest, as what people call a somewhat spare man. And so he is; a person of the true nervous temperament is never obese. But, it may be observed, do we not frequently see fat people who are exceedingly nervous ? No, I reply ; the term is misapplied : such people suffer from timidity, not from true nervousness ; and such timidity has its seat at the heart, which is generally flaccid or fatty, and always easily agitated. Your true nervous man is a brave man. He may march into a battle, up to the cannon's mouth even, with a feeling of dread, something telling him he will never return ; but he goes there all the same, and once face to face with something to fight, be it fire or sword or stormy wave, fear is all, all forgotten in the excitement of conquering or being conquered. They are heroes then, Yes ; undoubtedly the hour of reaction comes sooner or later, and they are low and miserable enough when it does ; but, after all, to pcoplo of the nervous temperament must be granted the credit of being the salt of the earth, and I really do not see how this world could wag along without them. But, inasmuch as people who. suffer from nervous unrest, are possessors of a sorrow, none the less acute, because it is borne silently, and uncomplainingly — inasmuch as nervous unrest is a wearying, heart-breaking burden in itself, that, if not eased and lightened, increases with years, bears down the frame, and even enshrouds with a gloom that cannot be penetrated, the latter end of many a long and useful life— therefore, I do not think lam wrong in considering it a disease, and trying to prescribe means for its alleviation. Well then, in the first place, the sufferer from nervous unrest, often longs for the quiet of retirement. If free, he thinks, from the world's bustle and care, he would be all right. He longs for the wings of the morning, in order to fly away, and be at rest. This is a mistake. To be always basking in the sunshine of excitement, always in the midst of the battle of life, or always engaged in the exciting gamble of business, is killing, but a certain amount of excitement is necessary to the very existence of a person of the nervous temperament. Without it, he would droop and die, like a tender plant placed in a semidarkened room, into which the sun never shines, nor the fresh air finds access. By judicious management of the digestive organs you supply the nerves with the elements of nutrition. The great object of the nervous should be, as far as the body is concerned, to establish and keep up a correct balance between the blood and the nervous system. Sufferers from nervous unrest think and live faster than do others, and there is a greater waste of tissue, causing a drain on the system, which must be met by a due supply of healthy nutriment. It is when the demand is greater than this supply, that hours of depression ensue, hours of unhappiness and misery by day, and sleeplessness or broken rest at night. Begulation and due selection of diet are therefore imperative, if a certain degree of happiness and comfort in living is to be obtained! The state of the stomach and digestive organs must be carefully studied ; whatever is known to disagree must be avoided. The food should be taken as regularly as possible, day after day at the same hour, and not in too large quantities. . A hearty meal, to the nervous, produces a certain degree of excitement, which is assuredly followed by slight dyspepsia, the only symptoms of which may be peevishness and irritability. The food should not be sloppy, and too much liquid should be avoided. No work should be done for half an hour after eating. Breakfast should be early, dinner in the middle of the day, and supper three hours at least before going to bed. But a lunch or milk' biscuit may be eaten a short time before retiring. Perfect sleep will not be obtained if the stomach be entirely empty ; indeed, going to bed with an empty stomach is generally followed by getting up next morning with that organ partially disturbed by gas, nauseating juices, and bile itself. The food should be nourishing, but at the same time, substantial. The stomach is composed of muscular tissue, . and deteriorates if not exercised: a truth which few are aware of, but which facts prove. But yon must do more : the blood must be as pure as possible ; it must be decarbonised by plenty of fresh air ; while the heart, the great centre propeller, must be invigorated and kept up to the mark by a due proportion of exercise. This must on no account be carried to the verge of fatigue. Food, fresh air, and exercise act then on the nervous system through the blood, but the nerves are directly braced and toned by means of the cold or tepid sponge-bath, with occasionally a warm vapour or hot-air bath. Change of scene and change of climate are nearly always beneficial to the sufferers from nervous unrest. Most cases are benefited by seaside or mountain air, but to some, life in the country parts where trees wave and fields are green, is more soothing than calmative. But relaxing climates on the one hand, and exciting on the other, are as a ruld to be avoided. When I speak of climates, I must be understood to mean those of our own country ; but a sea-voyage does much good. Is there no relief to be had from medicines? Sometimes there is, but it is not well-sustained. , Flying ( for > help to 'the Pharmacopoeia is not a habit to be recommended, and I would advise the nervous patient to take no medicine without ' first consulting & physician — cod-liver oil probably excepted ; but this is more a food than aphysic, and does much good as a calmative in cases where' it is readily digested. I have, lastpf all, to say a word or two about sleep—" tired Nature's sweet restorer." The italics are mine, not the poet's. I wish thereby to draw the reader's attention to the fact, that,, unless a due proportion , of muscular exeroise be taken 'during the day, the sleep by night will not be refreshing. Exercise is,tHe, first preparation for sleep, and after supper, which,,l have, already said,, should be early,, the minji, must.not be allowed to dwell upon, any thoughts that excite or annoy., 'lt is^a good plan tp read for some. time before going ,to bed! woA one, pipe of, good' tobacco may be, allowed. Vo not read in v bed,' bue'reaft in your bedroom; perhaps lying onthesofa, in com'fortityedeiliaWle, and rfeWy, 1 whenever .the; inclination to slj&p steals' bver^ou; 'to* get rooM phoj&d -Tbe~, qniet.T tnffiwfp, *witEme>

moderately, hard, but very smooth and even, the bedclothes' light and -warm, and the pillows soft and rather high. The room should bejudiciously ventilated, and the curtains should not go right round the bed. I need scarcely add that narcotics or Bleeping draughts are most injurious, whether in the shape of opiates or that slow but certain poison called chloral hydrate. In conclusion, if he values his life and comfort, the sufferer from nervous unrest must do his best to avoid over-excitement of all kinds, both bodily and mental, and endeavour to maintain theviem sana incorpore sano, which, for once in a way, I must translate as a pure mind in a pure body.