Health in the Home

Southland Times, Issue 22999, 19 September 1936, Page 17

Health in the Home

(By a Family Doctor). Some people find great difficulty in sleeping; others think they sleep very much less than they actually do. Remember that an hour of wakefulness at night may seem an eternity, whereas six hours’ sleep will pass 'as a moment. However, if one begins to get into the way of thinking one is not sleeping and of worrying whether one is going to sleep one tends very easily to get into the habit of lying awake. If you find such a difficulty starting try, above all, not to let it worry you. In addition, you can try various remedies. You may try taking a short walk in the open air just before turning in. Sometimes a hot bath just before going to bed may help. Again, take a book to bed with you and read for half an hour. If you are liable to wake up in the middle of the night it is often a good thing to turn on the light and read for a bit rather than lie awake “trying to sleep.” But if none of these dodges help you get your doctor to prescribe a simple sleeping draught. There are many that are quite harmless and anyhow, far less harmful than a sleepless night. Do not, however, prescribe drugs for yourself, for some of them are dangerous and some are liable to produce a habit which is extremely difficult to break.