Il8 ELEMENTARY BIOLOGY 



10. Deep breathing, through the nose, not a few breaths now and 



then, but as a regular thing, all the time (see p. 183). 



11. Take plenty of sleep every night. This is better than sleeping 



a little most nights, in the hope of raising the average by 

 sleeping later on Sundays or holidays. 



12. Emptying the bowels every day, as nearly as possible at a 



fixed time. 



151. Constipation. The importance of this last point has 

 already been suggested (see p. 88), but it is worth emphasiz- 

 ing. The decomposition of the refuse in the large intestine 

 by the action of many species of bacteria gives rise to a num- 

 ber of poisonous substances that are absorbed into the blood 

 if the refuse is not thrown out with sufBcient frequency. More- 

 over, the waste substances poured into the intestine with the 

 bile are also injurious to the cells of the body and should be 

 removed with the other undesirable matter. The absorption of 

 these poisons into the blood and their distribution to the cells 

 of the tissues bring about a real poisoning of the body. This 

 shows itself in a variety of ways. The most common symp- 

 toms of constipation ■ — the clogging up of the bowels with 

 the unremoved refuse — are the following : 



1. Headaches, especially the kind of headache that seems to 

 hammer at the temples when you bend over. 



2. The " blues " ■ — a feeling of general dissatisfaction and grouch, 

 when nothing that you know of has happened to give you cause for 

 dissatisfaction. 



3. Drowsiness, although you may have had plenty of sleep within 

 a few hours. 



4. A certain " tired feeling " when you have hardly done enough 

 work to account for the tiredness. 



5. Loss of appetite and indigestion. 



6. A coated, or furred, tongue. 



There are many headache powders on the market, and 

 several fortunes have been made selling people various kinds 

 of headache remedies. But the headache powders never cure 



