LIFE EXTENSION 



3411 



LIFE EXTENSION 



be particularly clever about availing themselves 

 of such pleasures. In some country homes the 

 windows were nailed down to prevent fresh air 

 from entering. Modern men and women, how- 

 ever, will not be denied the blessings of pure, 

 sweet air, and have devised methods of obtain- 

 ing it inside their houses, winter and summer, 

 without any attending discomforts. 



The use of window boards is one method. A 

 window board three or four inches high which 

 stands on the edge of the window sill deflects the 

 incoming air upwards, so that it may reach the > 

 breathing zone, instead of simply flowing on to 

 the floor and chilling the feet. Any enterprising 

 boy can make one of these window boards and 

 perhaps save his whole family from sickness dur- 

 ing the winter. 



After fresh air enters the house, it should be 

 kept fresh. For one thing, it must be kept free 

 from dust. This should be removed from the floor 

 and furniture, not by the old-fashioned feather 

 duster and the broom, which scatter the dust into 

 the air, but by a damp or oiled cloth. Dust- 

 catching furniture or hangings are not hygienic. 

 A carpet sweeper is more hygienic than a broom, 

 and a vacuum cleaner is better than a carpet 

 sweeper. The removable rug is an improvement 

 over the fixed carpet. Dust should be removed not 

 only because it is harmful in itself, but because 

 it is a vehicle for the carrying about of harmful 

 bacteria. 



A very common and at the same time injurious 

 form of air vitiation is that from tobacco smoke. 

 Smoking, especially in a closed space such as a 

 smoking room or smoking car, vitiates the air 

 very seriously for smoker and non-smoker alike. 



The best way to keep air fresh is to have it 

 constantly renewed. It is well to have an en- 

 trance for fresh air and an exit for used air, 

 bringing about a constant circulation. Where 

 there cannot be such a cross-current some circu- 

 lation can be secured by having a window open 

 top and bottom. Air fans are also useful for 

 keeping the air from getting stagnant, especially 

 in summer. 



Drafts are not necessarily the evil things 

 which many people think them. A gentle draft, 

 as a matter of fact, is one of the best friends 

 which the seeker after health can have. Of 

 course a strong draft directed against some ex- 

 posed part of the body, causing a local chill for 

 a prolonged time, is not desirable; but a gentle 

 draft, such as ordinarily occurs in good ventila- 

 tion, is extremely wholesome. 



It goes without saying that persons unaccus- 

 tomed to good ventilation, and consequently over- 

 sensitive to drafts, should avoid overexposure 

 while they are in the process of changing their 

 clothing. But after even a few days of enjoyment 

 of free-moving air, with cautious exposure to it, 

 the likelihood of colds is greatly diminished. 

 Persons who continue to make friends with mov- 

 ing air soon become almost immune to colds. 

 Army men have often noted that as soon as they 

 are on the march and sleep outdoors, they seldom 

 or never have colds, but they develop them as 

 soon as they get indoors again. 



In every household there should be an accurate 

 thermometer. It should be someone's duty to 

 watch that thermometer from time to time, and 



not permit the temperature to rise above 70 de- 

 grees ; preferably it should be kept between sixty- 

 five and sixty-eight degrees. The average indi- 

 vidual is overdressed, during the winter time, 

 for a house temperature of seventy degrees. 

 With windows closed and usually no adequate 

 and constant means of ventilation, the air is 

 stagnant and overheated, and the skin- and 

 surface-circulation of the blood is rendered over- 

 sensitive to the sudden and extreme changes of 

 temperature so common in temperate climates. 

 2. Wear light, loose and porous clothes. 

 A truly healthy body is not the waxy-white 

 which is so common, but one which glows with 

 color, just as do healthy cheeks exposed to open 

 air. Clothing, therefore, must allow of ventila- 

 tion, namely, such as will allow free access of 

 air to the skin, requires that our outer clothes 

 including women's gowns and men's shirts, vests, 

 vest-linings and coat-linings should also be loose 

 and porous. Most linings and many fabrics used 

 in outer clothes are so tightly woven as to be im- 

 pervious to air, yet porous fabrics are always 

 available, including porous alpacas for linings. 

 To test a fabric it is only necessary to place it 

 over the mouth and observe whether it is possible 

 or easy to blow the breath through it. 



Exercising in cool air not too cool with 

 clothing removed, is an excellent means of hard- 

 ening the skin and of promoting good digestion. 

 The constriction from rigid and tight corsets, 

 belts, tight neckwear, garters, etc., interferes 

 with the normal functions of the organs which 

 they cover. All such constriction should be care- 

 fully avoided. The tight hats generally worn by 

 men check the circulation in the scalp. Tight 

 shoes, with extremely high heels, deform the feet 

 and interfere with their health. Several anatom- 

 ical types of shoes, that is, shoes made to fit the 

 normal foot instead of to force the foot to -fit 

 them, are now available. In all except cold 

 weather, low shoes are preferable to high shoes. 

 When possible, sandals, now fortunately coming 

 into fashion, are preferable to shoes, especially in 

 early childhood ; but the adult, whose calf mus- 

 cles and foot-structure are not often adapted to 

 such footgear, must be cautious in their use, lest 

 flat-foot results. 



Only the minimum amount of clothing that 

 will secure warmth should be worn. Woolens 

 protect most, but they require the least exercise 

 of the temperature-regulating apparatus of the 

 body. While wool is also highly absorbent of 

 moisture, it does not give off that moisture 

 quickly enough. Hence, if worn next the- skin, 

 it becomes saturated with perspiration, which it 

 long retains, to the disadvantage of the skin. 

 Consequently, woolen clothing is best confined to 

 overcoats and outer garments, designed especially 

 for cold weather. The underclothes should be 

 made of some better conducting and more quickly 

 drying material, such as cotton or linen. In win- 

 ter light linen-mesh, and medium wool over that, 

 or "double-deck" linen and wool underclothes can 

 be worn by those who object to either linen or 

 wool alone. 



Those who have learned to clothe themselves 

 properly find that they have grown far more 

 independent of changing weather conditions. 

 They do not suffer greatly from extreme summer 



