CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



with physiologists, and upon which it is undeniable 

 that a great portion of human happiness depends. 



Sleep. 



It may be laid down as an axiom, that the more 

 uninterrupted sleep is, the more refreshing and 

 salutary will be its effects ; for, during this period, 

 the body undoubtedly acquires an accession of 

 nervous energy, which restlessness, however in- 

 duced, 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 per- 

 formed 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 oppressive 

 and harassing dreams is almost certain to ensue. 

 When the sleeper lies upon his back, the heart 

 pressing, while pulsating, on the stomach, 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 impulse of the will, and every effort 

 to move appears to be altogether unavailing. 

 This constitutes incubus or nightmare j 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 dreaming to 

 be a symptom of disease. It is certain that the 

 dreams of healthy persons are the lightest and 

 most evanescent. 



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 dif- 

 ference 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 bed, and 

 thereby a greater degree of comfort is enjoyed. 

 Parents err in fancying that a very hard bed 

 contributes to harden the constitution 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, pro- 

 vided 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 injurious 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 unrefreshing. 



When in bed, the head should be always higher 

 than the feet ; and those subject to palpitation of 

 the heart should lie with their heads considerably 

 higher. Night-clothes should never consist of 

 more than a chemise or shirt of cotton or linen. 

 It is also highly improper to sleep in a bed 

 overloaded with clothes ; the body is thereby 

 heated, and feverishness and restlessness induced. 

 Accordingly, persons who complain of sleepless- 

 ness should look to the quantity of their bed- 

 clothing ; for the unnecessary addition of a single 

 blanket may be the sole cause of the annoyance. 

 It is also imprudent to lie with the head entirely 

 within the bed-clothes ; for in this case the same 

 air which has been already breathed must be 



again and again inhaled. 



730 



For the same reason, 



the curtains, if used at all, should not be drawn 

 closely round the bed. Washing the face and 

 hands, and brushing the teeth, before going to 

 bed, will be found to contribute materially to com- 

 fort. Whatever be the time chosen for sleep, it is 

 evident that no person can with impunity convert 

 day into night. Eight o'clock for children, and 

 eleven for adults, may be recommended 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. On leaving the bed-room, the windows 

 should be opened, and the clothes of the bed 

 turned down, in order that the exhalations of the 

 body during sleep may be dissipated. If, instead 

 of this, the bed be made immediately after we 

 have risen, these exhalations are again folded up 

 with the clothes a practice which is not consonant 

 either with cleanliness or with health. 



TEMPERATURE. 



The fifth important requisite for health is, that 

 the body be kept in a temperature suitable to it. 



The degree of heat indicated by 64 degrees of 

 Fahrenheit's thermometer, or that of a temperate 

 summer day, is what the human body finds it 

 agreeable to be exposed to when in a state of 

 inactivity. In air much colder, the body experi- 

 ences an unpleasant sensation, unless some warm 

 clothing be worn, or a pretty active exercise 

 indulged in. When, either by natural or artificial 

 means, the body is kept in a suitable state of 

 warmth, the functions of the circulation and per- 

 spiration in the skin go on healthily ; it is red, 

 in consequence of the blood being urged into the 

 capillaries or minute vessels near the surface ; it 

 is also soft and moist, from the action of the 

 glands for secreting the waste fluid and its free 

 egress through the pores. This is a condition of 

 great comfort ; and the appearance of those who 

 enjoy it, conveys to others the notion that they 

 are in good health. When, on the contrary, there 

 is a much lower temperature, the functions of the 

 vessels connected with the skin are liable to be 

 considerably deranged. The vessels in these 

 circumstances, contract ; the blood is driven in- 

 wards, where it sometimes occasions diseases of 

 a dangerous nature ; the perspiration also being 

 prevented from passing out by its usual channels, 

 catarrhal complaints ensue, sometimes ending in 

 consumption. 



It is of the more importance to make the 

 facts generally known, as a notion prevails tl 

 exposure to a painful degree of cold tends 

 induce hardiness of constitution and to promote 

 health. Undoubtedly, there may be harm from 

 an opposite extreme, and we know well that ex- 

 cessive clothing and living in overheated apart- 

 ments are detrimental to health. But safety lies 

 in a medium between the two extremes. There is 

 a degree of warmth which is both agreeable and 

 healthy, and which it is desirable to have around 

 us as constantly as possible generally from 60 to 

 64 degrees Fahrenheit. 



There is no period of life at which warmth is of 

 more consequence than in infancy. In a very 

 young babe, the circulation is almost altogether 



