THE NERVOUS SYSTEM I 35 



Nervous Children. — A report on the health of the school children in 

 one of our large cities shows that one third of the children in those schools 

 have some disorder of the nerves. Nervousness (weakened control of 

 the nerves) may show itself by sluggishness of mind, great irritability 

 of temper, frequent spells of tlie " blues," or by involuntary movements 

 of a jerky or fidgety kind. Sound development of city children's nerves 

 is hindered because of the constant noise in cities both day and night ; 

 by shortening of the hours of sleep ; by excessive use of sugar for food ; 

 by living much among people with no chance to be alone and let the 

 nerves rest, and among boys by the use of cigarettes. 



How to Prevent the School from injuring Children. — 



(1) Ventilation is of first importance. Breathing the 

 breath of fifty other children does far more harm than 

 overstudy. (2) The time devoted to zvork should not be 

 long, especially in the lower grades (no study out of 

 school). (3) The work should be diversified ; not only 

 printed words, but pictures, natural objects, and the out- 

 door world should be studied. (4) The teacher and parent 

 should see that the habitual poise of the child is favorable 

 to health. (5) The children should be encouraged to play. 

 Running games at recess are of the greatest value, and 

 are as indispensable to the health of a boy or girl as of a 

 colt. (6) Physical exercise should be provided at short 

 intervals between lessons, especially stretching exercises 

 and movements that straighten the spine and hips and ele- 

 vate the chest. 



The Effect of Alcohol upon Nerve Function. — In attack- 

 ing the nerve centers, alcohol begins with the cerebrum, 

 the highest, and proceeds toward the lowest. Hence as a 

 man becomes drunk he first talks foolishly (cerebrum 

 affected), then he staggers (cerebellum affected), and he 

 finally goes to sleep and breathes very hard (medulla 

 affected) in a drunken stupor. It rarely happens that the 

 breathing center is completely disabled and the man dies 

 from the strong poison. The greatest evil of alcohol is 



