GOOD NIGHTS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 118, 11 July 1911, Page 8

GOOD NIGHTS.

APPLES FOR SLEEPLESSNESS

Many people, especially those who do exciting or exhausting work during the day (says the London “Daily Chronicle’'), find it difficult to sleep at night. They get painful spells of insomnia, pass restless nights, and are quite unlit to face the duties of the day. Tins condition is one which can bo cured very often without tiio aid of drugs.. A few simple precautions will go far to set matters right, and to secure for the sufferer good long hours of unbroken rest. Apples are a valuable cure for sleeplessness. An apple eaten the last thing at night will do the work of a saotuing draught. Those who do not Know v..:e valuable medical properties of apples may fear that dyspepsia will follow sucli treatment; but no harm can come, even to a delicate system, from eating a ripe apple before going to bod. The apple is an excellent brain and nerve food, because it contains a largo amount of phosphoric acid in an easily digested .orm, and the very fact of eating

something lias a soothing effect upon ciio tired nerves., The bedroom window should always lie left open, winter and summer, unless there is a trick log. The air in a shut-up bedroom gets exhausted in a very few hours, and the sleeper wakes up with

a throbbing headache and a dry mouth as a result of spending a length of time in a poisoned atmosphere. The bedclotnes should he. only just heavy enough to give sufficient warmth—never weighty enough to press upon and tiro the body. it is wise, if possible, to avoid the use of eiderdowns, except in the depths of winter, as the heat of an eiderdown is too great for health. The number of pillows used must depend upon individual ideas of comfort. Many persons cannot sleep at all unless they lie high, though it is undoubtedly best for the figure and carriage to lie as Hat as possible. One small pillow and a firm bolster arc, in general circumstances, all that should oe' used. The correct position for sleep is flat upon the back, with the oedy extended at full length. ANOTHER VIEW. There are a groat many people who do not know how to sleep so as to secure the greatest possible recuperation. It is surprising to one who has been taught better to see how many retire to badly ventilated, stuffy bedrooms, with heavy draperies, which are the joy of microbes. Those sleepers, who do not know how to sloop, put on clothing unsuited to the functions of the skin, curl up under eiderdown quilts, and smother their heads in massive feather pillows. They partake of late suppers and richly concocted dishes, and turn night into day; then, when they reach a condition where sleep no longer comes to them, they complain as if everybody but themselves were to blame, and take medicine to quiet the nerves. The bedroom should bo well ventilated, and there should be no heavy draperies or dust-collecting ornaments. 'The mattress should bo moderately bald, the sheets fresh, the pillows hard and not large. The covering should consist of a woollen blanket, and one should learn to sleep under much loss envoi ing than is usually considered necessary. The night garment should be loose texture. The sleeper should lie at full length in the bod, and on the light side, with the head but slightly raised. By following these directions the sleep will be refreshing, and one will awaken rested in body and mind. Lad: cf proper sleep is shown in caro-worn faces, tired nerves, and increasing irritability. Six or seven hours of goad, refreshing sleep are sufficient for the average person, provided tho above conditions have been observed. The habit of throwing the arms above the head, oWdrawing the knees up near the body, or of

burying the face in 11 10 pillow snould bo carefully avoided. A nap, if taken during the day, should be of brief duration. It is better to throw oneself on the couch, prone on the back, for ten or liiteen minutes, onco or twice a day, and simply lie at ease, with worry banished for the time. As a rest for overstrained nerves and weary frames, it is far more beneficial than the afternoon nap, which sometimes interferes with perfect rest at night. Both the above articles agree as to the necessity of well-ventilated bedrooms find a moderate supply of bedclothes, but the “Daily Chronicle” makes the emphatic statement that tho correct position for sleep is flat noon the back, with the body extended at full length, while the other writer states that full length on the right, side is the proper position. However, those who arc troubled with insomnia have a choice ol methods.