BY DISCIPLINE

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 1, 1 July 1935, Page 16

BY DISCIPLINE

HOW TO ACQUIRE SLEEP

Though they may sometimes afflict young people, capricious sleep and definite insomnia are more commonly to be met with in later life, and are due to v variety, of causes, most of them both preventable and curable, says the "Daily Telegraph's" medical correspondent. Probably the most usual cause of insomnia is' mal-digestion in the lower bowel. • After a bad night, accompanied by or associated with abdominal discomfort, the'following: day's meals should be sparing, and, if possible, violent physical exertion should be avoided. •

Another frequent cause' of insomnia, especially in the first two or three days of a holiday, is also associated with indigestion and is due>to the.temptation, at the end of a-long and unaccustomed day's exercise, to- eat a- large meal when over-tired and under-trained. In such circumstances - a heavy meal should be strictly avoided, and the following day's breakfast-relied upon to replace the necessary fuel.

Amongst the ' commoner causes of what may be called sporadic sleeplessness are new surroundings, an unfamiliar bed, a railway ' journey at night, a strange pillow, or the chiming of a neighbouring clock. In each case the cause is very' largely psychological. ; : ,

It is quite possible to compose the mind, to direct the attention away from the particular annoyance; and' it is a discipline that should always be attemptea. •

People liable from any cause to sleepless nights should always sleep in a room by themselves. Once the light is turned off it should never be' turned on again until it is time to get'up. Even if sleep does not apparently come, it should be remembered that far more actual sleep may" be experienced than the sufferer is conscious of. :

Lastly, the value of an- occasional soporific • should :be • remembered, though- these' should never be taken except :upbn medical-advice.