THE FAMILY DOCTOR.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 345, 18 July 1885, Page 4

THE FAMILY DOCTOR.

REST AND RECREATION.

The exhaustion entailed by this busy life of ours is tremendous, and so depletes the nervous system that disease is invited, and., the system being so exhausted, falls an easy victim to the disease. Thus it is that

recreation is absolutely necessary for the health, of mankind. Recreation is that which, with the least expenditure of time, fits the person to resume his work. The recreation must, of course, vary according to the daily life of the person. The organs not under the control of the will, such as the heart and the secretory organs, receive rest immediately after performing- a duty, but it is not so with the muscles of the body. A good digestion is necessary for recreatioi. As long as nutriment is kept up, endurance is likely to continue. Digestion is always greatly aided by proper physical exercise, and it is thus that Aye may say exercise is the best of recreation. The fundamental principle of recreation is a change from one class of work to another, the brain worker requiring muscular exercise and the mechanic brain work. Both classes will find a certain amount of emotional recreation to their advantage. • It is well known that low spirits tend to lower the vital tone and render one liable to disease. Those most in need of recreation are those engaged in work of a sedentary nature. Professional men should have recreation largely of a physical nature. A brisk walk is what physicians most frequently recommend for exercise, but for a person not accustomed to exercise this is not always beneficial, for, his brain being the only part of his body that is kept in activity, the exercise forces the blood into the head, and lie returns home with a severe headache. Such a man should take passive exercise, such as rowing, sailing, or hunting, where the mind could be in slight activity also. The majority of men engaged in mercantile pursuits get enough physical exercise from their every-day life, and their recreation should be of a mental nature. A few days in the country, a change of scenery, is beneficial to every one. Stock brokers and bankers require a very quiet recreation, but instead they try to get their recreation from the most exciting of sports, which is really no change from their daily life. Merchants and clerks are recommended to attend light entertainments, such as concerts and lectures, or play cards, chess, draughts, or other games of that nature. Women and children, the former especially, rely too much on excitement for recreation, and carry it to such an excess that it becomes simply dissipation. A distinction must be understood between excitement which invigorates and excitement which exhausts. Dancing is an excellent exercise, but under .the excitement of the music is too often continued to exhaustion.