HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 2, 2 July 1929, Page 17

HEALTH NOTES

SLEEP

AGE REQUIREMENTS

(Contributed by tfce Department of

Health.)

The previous article relating to noise frilly justifies the present article on sleep, "great Naturo's second course," if any justification were needed; in particular froni the mental and nervous aspects.

Sleep may be defined aa a natural condition of insensibility more or less complete,- recurring once in 24 hours normally (for the adult), and lasting from six to eight hours. The infant may sleep twenty houra out of each twenty-fonrj the growing child may take twelve hours at a stretch. After middle-ago sleep teaids to become lighter, that is, more easily broken and of shorter duration. In hnman sleep. When it is deep, the body lies quiet, I with th« nttlscles relaxed, the pulse ratr lower thstn during waking hours, and the respiration less frequent, but deep. It reaches its maximum within the first hour, and then diminishes at first rap idly and then more slowly. Some have referred to sleep as a natural rhythm, that it bears a resemblance to the alteratidji of day and night, that rhythm is innate in Nature—after. activity comes rest, after energy torpor aftef mobility cfniescence, and after waking comes sleep, because it is a law of Nature that action and reaction are always ecjnai and contrary. This rhythm^if it be so—is seen not only Hn man and animals, but also in vegetable kiDgdom. Witness, for instance, the leaves and flowers of many plants which expand by day ana shrink at night.

It requires no great consideration to make it obvious that witliout sleep healthy mental and bodily life is imposible. Men can fast, provided water is Supplied, for several weeks, but loss of sleep* even for a few days, maj' prove fatal. Therefore it is a necos^ luity, and the average individual sufIferS considerably after forty-eight hours of. absointd sleoplessness.

PROi&X/CTION OP SLEEP. Almost evefy rnle of hygiene ana right living could be quoted as'o sleep

producer. The loss of sleep should Dot be considered as a fore-runner of some thing dreadful. Persons often get much more sleep than they think they do On | the other hand restless and insufficient sleep should not be" accepted as an in curable condition. Insomnia or sleep lessness may bo due not so much to overwork itself as to the manner <f working, and particularly the foolish and uttely unnecessary habit of not shutting down the business or profes sional part of the brain woTks for a reasonable time before retiring. In telleetual over-indulgence is a most unnecessary and unwise form of excess, the consequenceS of which .tre often most disastrous. How often it is that man's inhumanity to himself brings on the infliction of insdmnia. Should the insomnia habit become firmly establish cd, sleep may often be successfully wooed by a change of environment to counteract all the old suggestions linked up in the mind. PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE. The normal funct.oning brain can sleep nndef almost any circumstances, but once there has been trouble, and the habit of fitfnl sleeping acquired, certain precautions are necessary. The rule.of the bedroom is a most important one. It should be quiet, cool, and with open window, but darkened, and the bed should be of the type used in hospitals, being without hollows and inequalities. A3 a rule light sleepers should avoid late and heavy meals. On the other hand a glass of hot milk and a cracker biscuit will often help if one is restless. The habit of rising and restlessly moving round at night should, however, be avoided. Eye-strain Is a fertile cause of insomnia. Restless sleep, as do headaches, calls for thorough examination of the eyes. Drug's should be taken only in the extreme necessity and under the supervision of the family doctor. EXERCISE. Sometimes want of sleep is accounted for by a real want of physical exercise, but such exercise must be a real distraction, and must be entered into with heart and mind, and be pursued genuinely and not as a make-believe. Golf, bowls, gardening, and such" outdoor recreations usually promote sound refreshing sleep, which is "a generous robber, giving back in strength what it. robs in time.''

SLEEP REQUIREMENTS. At puberty, adolescence, and "•change of life," there is special need of attention to secure the amount of sleep which each particular case needs. Regularity in time and duration of sleep is essential to the growing organism. The

usual bedtime is determined by the customs of the community, but there is, however, sound science at tho basis of the old belief in "Beauty sleep," and the value of the hours before twelve at midnight so spent. The reasonable hour for the ordinary man or woman to go to bed is ten, or at the latest eleven Late hours at bridge or other recreations which extend beyond these hours should be avoided. Many modern parents appear to have lost sight of the fact that the nervous system of the young in process of development needs a great deal of steep, and to deprive it of an adequate amount is to starve it to an extent that leads to various forms of nervous disorders, some of grave signifie nee. Medical authorities and others agree that childret four years old need twelve hours; five to seven years old, eleven to twelve hours; twelve to fourteen years old, nine to ten hours. Remember, if you neglect the rules of hygiene and right living, sleep may neglect you. Regularity in time and duration of sleep is important. Beware of mental over-indulgence, as it is often the cause of insomnia. Finally engage the miad in pleasant thoughts' and learn to love fresh air and sunshine and physical exercise, and "sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care, the death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, balm of hurt minds, great Nature's' second course, chief nourisher in life's feast," will be yours, j