DOMESTIC ECONOMY, HYGIENE, DIETETICS. 



375 



and smell become dormant ; and then those of 

 hearing and touch. The muscles, also, dis- 

 pose themselves with a certain reference to 

 ease of position, those of the limbs having 

 grown indolent before those that support the 

 head, and those that support the head be- 

 fore those of the trunk. In proportion as 

 these phenomena proceed, the respiration be- 

 comes slower and more deep, the circulation 

 diminishes in impetus, the blood proceeds in 

 great quantity toward the head, and all the 

 functions of the internal organs become re- 

 tarded. In this state, shut out as it were from 

 the external world, the mind still retains its 

 wonted activity, deprived, however, of the 

 guidance of judgment and the power of dis- 

 tinct recollection ; in consequence of which, it 

 does not perceive the monstrous incongruities 

 of the imagery which sweeps before it, and 

 takes but faint cognizance of the time which 

 elapses. 



It may be laid down as an axiom, that the 

 more uninterrupted sleep is, the more refresh- 

 ing and salutary will be its effects ; for dur- 

 ing this period, the body undoubtedly acquires 

 an accession of nervous energy, which restless- 

 ness, however induced, must disturb ; and 

 therefore the state of the body before going to 

 sleep, the kind of bed, and the manner of 

 clothing, require especial attention. As the 

 functions of the body are performed more 

 slowly during our sleeping than our waking 

 hours, a full meal or supper, taken immedi- 

 ately before going to bed, imposes a load on 

 the stomach which it is not in a condition to 

 digest, and the unpleasant consequence of op- 

 pressive and harassing dreams is almost cer- 

 tain to ensue. When the sleeper lies on his 

 back, the heart pressing, while pulsating, on 

 the lungs, gives rise to a sense of intolerable 

 oppression on the chest, which seems to bear 

 down upon the whole body, so that in this 

 painful state not a muscle will obey the im- 

 pulse of the will, and every effort to move ap- 

 pears to be altogether unavailing. This con- 

 stitutes incubus or nightmare ; and it may be 

 observed, that, as acidity on the stomach, or 

 indigestion, gives rise to such dreams, so all 

 dreams of this disturbed character are converse 

 indications of indigestion ; for which reason 

 the great physiologist Haller considered dream- 

 ing to be a symptom of disease. 



The kind of bed on which we repose requires 

 attention. Some are advocates for soft, others 

 for hard, beds ; hence some accustom themselves 

 to feather beds, others to mattresses. The 

 only difference between a soft and a hard bed 

 is this that the weight of the body in a soft 

 bed presses on a larger surface than on a hard 

 ted, and thereby a greater d.egrae of comfort 



is enjoyed. Parents err in fancying that a 

 very hard bed contributes to harden the con- 

 stitution of their children ; for which reason 

 they lay them down on mattresses, or beds 

 with boarded bottoms. A bed for young 

 children cannot be too soft, provided the child 

 does not sink into it in such a manner that the 

 surrounding parts of the bed bend over and 

 cover the body. The too great hardness of 

 beds, says Dr. Darwin, frequently proves in- 

 jurious to the shape of infants, by causing 

 them to rest on too few parts at a time ; it also 

 causes their sleep to be uneasy and unrefresh- 

 ing. Whatever be the time chosen for sleep, 

 it is evident that 110 person can with impunity 

 convert day into night. Eight o'clock for 

 children, and eleven for adults, may be recom- 

 mended as good hours for retiring to rest. It 

 is well known that children require more sleep 

 than adults ; and more sleep is requisite in 

 winter than in summer. The average duration 

 of sleep which may be recommended for adults 

 is eight hours ; but much depends upon habit, 

 and many persons require only six. It is 

 scarcely necessary to observe that, on rising in 

 the morning, the strictest attention should 

 be paid to washing the face, neck, and hands ; 

 the mouth and teeth should also be well 

 cleansed. The most simple powder for the 

 teeth is finely brayed charcoal, a little of 

 which will clear away all impurities, and pre- 

 serve the teeth. On leaving the bedroom, the 

 windows should be opened, and the clothes of 

 the bed turned down, in order that the exhala- 

 tions of the body during sleep may be dissi- 

 pated. If, instead of this, the bed be made 

 immediately after we have risen, these exhala- 

 tions are again folded iip with the clothes a 

 practice which is not consonant either with 

 cleanliness or health-. 



Overworking- the Undeveloped 

 Brain. "Overwork," properly so-called, 

 can only occur when the organ upon which 

 the stress of the labor falls is as yet immature,' 

 and, therefore, in process of development. 

 When an organ has reached the maturity of 

 its growth it can only work up to the level of 

 its capacity or faculty for work ! Fatigue may 

 produce exhaustion, but that exhaustion will 

 come soon enough to save the organ. Re- 

 peated "efforts" may, under abnormal condi- 

 tions, follow each other too rapidly to allow of 

 recuperation in the intervals of actual exertion, 

 and as the starting point will, in each succes- 

 sive instance, be lower than the previous state, 

 there may be a gradual abasement ; but even 

 this process should not seriously injure a 

 healthy and well developed organ. In short, 

 a great deal of nonsense has been said and 

 written about the ' ' overwork ' ' of mature 



