HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE NEED?

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 419, 30 January 1909, Page 9

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE NEED?

: THE RECORD, FOR SHORT HOURS. ';} : : : The question of how much sleep we really; ■ need is a sorely vexed : o'ne,'even .with medi-cal'men-who have, made a life-long study of : tlie:. subject. - : Certainly,'.'. our/requirements .differ, jit: is said that .in ,the>'Teoent Tresis' :dential campaign,' particularly '.when the.can'-' •didatt's : were .■'stumping New ; neither'■"of' them slept- "more > than • sis 'hours inra night during- the critical period of-'.the; ;contest;' On October 26,.27,-28,, and 29, Mr. ' Bryaiihad : to c'oiitent his'body; and soul-with.: only ■' four hours, and Mr., Taft was: seen at' some ;of tlie--great meetings to.be.almost ;bn the yawning.stage..'■■ -. : : ;; .;: . .Napoleon!; it 1 is. well known, could' do, wittiest sleep 'than: probably any.other, man-who. ; ever 'lived, r' On , the evening : of the ■ battle : of. Eylau, after a nard-won\victory,'/he declared lio -had not;'slept: for .forty-eight hours pre-. viously. ...(Sertain/if-is' that when : he retired. ,t<) his-'couch .he' slept for nearly thirty-six hours continuously.' : .Kis-j valet .dared: not'--, wake -him ;-:hbr- was even , Berthiotj. his. chiefr. ,of-statf,; venturesome enough' to .do, so.' . IV was-subsequently said:that thisj: his longest.. sleep,'' w'afc : :inore : in'.-the nature c£ i,a' trainSe.''•than sleep, even corisider- : ing his' previous.'forty-eight>hours'of wakingi ': ■A' similar disposition to sdmnoleiico evinced" itself injtho.two days preceding. .WaterloOv../ '; As !to how long a; busy.:man should sleep.'. authoritios—the busy: men themselves—-dif- n ' fer. widely.; . M. Mazade, a'"''! French"- news-' • paper man, has recently inquired among a. score-or more of the busiest men'of the. French.• metropolisj-.and. , received replies of considerable interest" from many of them.-They-were all brain-workers. Prince Roland" Bonaparte, • the scientist, finds some ; diffi- ; culty. in. putting a figure, on the amount-of - sleep be requires. He cannot, he says, perform any ..intellectual work unless he has' slept-we11.. : . ; -•.:',' ;■■■■"''■'■''.. ;..■■.■■■.."■■.'■ rjulesGlaretio tells the '.''WorW,". of New ■ Vork,'"jthat:; he...must' nave. at. least ■ seven hours, but- ihaV ho can work with equal , pleasure whether he-has slept well or badly.' s Baron' de, Constant, ; the diplomatist, requires . .eight hours; if ho gets less\ he. performs less work. He advises ..every man wno has a. big or important day's work.before him to sleepWell, , and as long as he can. Armand-GaUr: tier, -of :the Academy -.-'of; Science, declares j ! that ."about eight hours" is the proper al-. lowance.; He.says .with, much truth, that'to sleep too .long, is, enervating and physically : and mentally weakening; I ' : ' '!" Houssaye, the Academician, will-not con sider fewer than nine hours. His colleague, . v Etienno Lamy, wants seven for his bodily''.and mental satisfaction. Maurice Mueter; linck'goes to bed at 10 o,'clock : and rises a>: ! seven. vßibot, ,thp ,litorary,riiaui asks eight and this'allowancb seems to be the minimuni' .with;whichthe.maj6ri.ty of mankind is satisfied;; Mark Twain, it is said,, spends ..from' twelre to fifteen'hours a day in bed; , In the ■ course '.''of'■■ this' ; long spell,' ,how6yer,'- : th'e' humourist accomplishes mueli Sprjc or -reading. Mr; Edison, on. the> well onlan allowance of three of four hours' ■' ;sleep.' -_Mr.';;Rdosovelt is .said to ; -be■ia , liever. m' the seven-hour Sittings.' T-".' . v ■"■;■;; ' ■■ ■:' .:;.:. ;.;■;