EXEHCISE AND REST*. 269 



It is necessary that some part of our time 

 should be passed in sleep. Complete repose, and 

 the absence of all usual stimulants, recruit and 

 refresh the body and mind ; and however languid 

 and fatigued We may be, a night's sound sleep 

 renovates our strength and spirits. 



It is a bad thing to indulge in sleep during the 

 day, as we almost always feel heavy and dull after 

 it. Young children, however, should repose an 

 hour or two about noon, because their activity 

 tires them out, and makes them fretful and uneasy 

 before bed-time. 



Sleeping apartments should be large and lofty, 

 and plenty of fresh air should be admitted. Bed- 

 hangings are bad things in the rooms of young 

 people, as they confine the air, prevent it circu- 

 lating freely about the bed, and render the apart- 

 ment unwholesome. 



A hair mattress is by far the best thing to sleep 

 upon, and children should never be laid upon any 

 thing else. Feather beds, though very comfort- 

 able, and indispensable to persons who are accus- 

 tomed to them, are too warm and relaxing. 



We should be very careful not to be loaded 

 with bed-clothes, and above all things, never sleep 

 with the head buried under them : on the con- 

 trary, the head, neck, and upper part of the chest, 

 should rest on the pillow, and always be exposed. 



The habit of lying in bed late in the morning is 

 very prejudicial to health. Not only do we lose 

 the "sweet hour of prime," the most delightful 

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