DREAMS AND DOCTORS

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 139, 18 July 1914, Page 6

DREAMS AND DOCTORS

"NEVER SEND A CHILD TO BED UNHAPPY."

From the medical point of view dreams in the vast majority of cases have little or no significance. But when they are of an unpleasant nature, and occur night after night, it is well to have a doctor's advice. They may, ifc; this ease, says a writer in the new number of the "Encyclopaedia ofj be syjnptomatie of disease of the brain, heart, or some other part of the body. J : The character of a dream depends very much on the condition of the body. Thus indigestion may give rise to dreams in which there are depression, anxiety, fear, and often a sensation of falling from a height. A painful spot in any part of the boitv may suggest ideas of torture. Oppression of .the chest sometimes produces dreams in which one has a feeling of suffocation, fear, and helplessness. "When dreams are very frequent, and particularly when they are unpleasant, a search for the cause should be made. Most often this will be found to be some error in diet. Usually the error consists ill eating indigestible food, or overloading the stomach late night. "In the case of children it may be the swallowing of fruit skins, eating currant cake, (dried j currants are almost wholly indigestible), eating oatmeal i porridge perhaps not well cooked, etc*. When: the diges-! tion is not strong, drinking tea or coffee at night may ; produce exciting dreams. i "On the other hand,'both in children and adults, J the dreaming may be due to going to bed with an • empty stomach. A substantial meal should be taken | within two and a-half hours of bedtime, or failing j that, something light, such as milk and biscuits, milk. j pudding, etc., half an hour or an hour before retiring. j "Nervous excitement and mental overwork are frequently the cause of dreaming and disturbed sleep. "In children especially they should be avoided. Children should have no lessons to learn within a couple of hours of going to bed. r Phey should not be told ghost stories or terrifying tales, and yotirig children should not be allowed to look, at pictures of wild animals or anything that can be woven into a dream of horror. . . A good rule to observe is that a child should never go to bed unhappy. "Occasionally dreams may indicate disease, and call tot medical treatment. The heart and the brain when disordered may give rise to very unpleasant dreams. Nervous irritability is another common cause. . . . Although ordinarily of no importance, dreams . when persistent should always be attended to."