CHAPTERXXIII.BATHS AND BATHING.

CHAPTERXXIII.BATHS AND BATHING.The skin plays an important part in eliminating waste products from the system. It does this by means of the sweat-glands, which are found scattered all over the body. These glands have small ducts, ending in minute apertures on the surface of the skin. If these apertures are allowed to become blocked up, either by dirt or by the natural grease of the body, the skin cannot carry out its duties. The result is that a certain amount of this waste matter is kept back, and the health suffers in consequence sooner or later.Hot baths.Neither cold baths nor outdoor bathing can get rid of this grease, so that a hot bath occasionally is essential, even in the case of people who bathe regularly every morning, either at home or out of doors.The usual objection to hot baths is that people take cold unless they go straight to bed as soon as they have dried themselves. Otherwise, so they say, they go on perspiring and take a chill. Now this is due, not to their having had a hot bath, but because the water was not hot enough when they got out of it. Hot water has the same effect as cold in bracing up the sweat pores, andpreventing them from continuing to pour out unnecessary perspiration. Lukewarm water, on the other hand, leaves the skin lax and moist, and it is then that people are liable to chills. Hence the popular idea of running in some cold water before the bath is finished is a mistake, as it brings about the very conditions we are anxious to avoid.An indispensable adjunct to every bathroom is a thermometer, by which the temperature of the water can be accurately gauged. The common plan of testing it by the hand is fallacious, as the result depends largely on the state of the hand at the time. If the fingers are cold when dipped in, the water feels warmer than it usually is, andvice versa.The best temperature at which to take a hot bath is 100°F.or just below that. If more water is added afterwards it should be hot, not cold, so as to maintain the temperature at the same level. With the aid of these precautions it will be found that drying is a simple process, and the skin is left in a delightful state without any undue perspiration to follow. So far from causing a liability to chills, it is perfectly safe to emerge from a bath of this sort and take a walk immediately after dressing, even on a winter’s day, without suffering from any ill-effects. People sometimes complain that a hot bath makes them feel faint. This is due to the steam, not to the water itself. If the windows are kept open this discomfort may be entirely avoided.There is nothing more refreshing than a bath ofthis sort, not only in winter, but in hot weather also, as many athletes are beginning to find out. After a hard walk or game it effectually relieves the aching of the limbs, and helps to prevent the stiffness which is apt to follow. The good effect of the bath may be increased by massaging the limbs while they are under water. The proper way to do this is to grip the muscles between the two hands, and squeeze them with a sort of sliding movement towards the extremities, afterwards kneading them a bit at a time.Hot baths are an excellent remedy for nausea or biliousness. A quarter of an hour in a bath at a temperature of 100°F.will often be found to remove all unpleasant symptoms and restore the appetite and digestion. They are also a boon to rheumatic persons, helping to banish the muscular pains and general feeling of malaise.All this they do by causing the blood to circulate more freely, and dilating the vessels on the surface, and in so doing relieving the congestion in the muscles and internal organs. In this way they promote the elimination of the waste products which cause tiredness, fatigue and most of the other aches and pains from which tired humanity is liable to suffer. It is not necessary to wait until bedtime before having a hot bath. Its most beneficial effects can be obtained by taking it in the evening on returning from work. It is then that it is most refreshing, and if made use of at this time of day, will enable many a man who has come home fagged out to spend an enjoyable evening, when otherwise he would besitting down too tired to read or take part in any amusement.Cold Baths.Cold baths do not suit everyone. In fact, there are comparatively few people who derive any benefit from them. Many persons find that if they have one in the morning before breakfast it leaves them tired, and with no appetite for the meal. They only take them because they are popularly supposed to be invigorating. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If a man feels well, in a comfortable glow, and ready for his breakfast after them, they are good for him. If he feels otherwise, and does not enjoy the bath while he is in it, they are bad for him. There are some people who dread cold baths, and yet go on having them from a mistaken sense of duty. The only explanation is that they must think they do them good just because they are so unpleasant, in the same way that some people have more faith in medicine if it tastes nasty.Of one thing there is no doubt. Rheumatic persons and those liable to bronchial affections should never take them under any circumstances. Nor should delicate or elderly people make use of them.The cold shower.The disadvantage of a cold bath at home is that the feet are chilled before the head. And wetting the hair with cold water does not get over this inconvenience. A shower bath, however, does away with this objection altogether, and on this account there is no form of cold bath equalto it. The head can be held under the water first, and after that the bather steps in and the body and limbs receive the shock at the same time, so that the lower extremities are not chilled before the rest. The unfortunate part of it is that so few houses are fitted up with shower baths.Whatever form of cold tub is used, it is advisable to stay in for a very short time only. Even robust people can rarely stand more than a few minutes of it.It is generally supposed that a cold bath should be taken when the stomach is empty. Such is not the case, however. While no one would be so foolish as to take it immediately after a meal, yet a drink of hot tea or water just before going in will enable many persons to enjoy and get benefit from them, who could not do so otherwise.Outdoor bathing.Outdoor bathing, either in sea or river, does not agree with everyone, although some people can enjoy a bathe who are unable to take a cold bath at home. The common mistake is in bathing before breakfast, when the system is at a low ebb, owing to the long abstention from food. It may be all right for strong young people, but for many others it is unsuitable and even dangerous. The best time, as a rule, is about two hours after breakfast, when the body has been fortified by the morning meal, and has had time to digest it.The great point is to get thoroughly warm before entering the water. A brisk walk is thebest way of accomplishing this, or if that does not produce the wished-for result, take a hot drink. The body heat falls rapidly whilst in the water, and hence it is advisable to be in a glow before going in.For the same reason do not waste time over your undressing, and always remove the upper part of the clothing first, leaving the stockings to the last. It is the feet which are specially liable to be attacked by the cold, and it is therefore necessary to keep them warm as long as possible.Before taking the plunge, pour cold water over the head; simply dabbing the hair with it is not sufficient. After that, get the whole body under water without any delay, and keep it under all the time you are in. It is the evaporation from the surface of the skin which lowers the temperature, rather than the contact of the body with the water.Do not stay in too long. If you remain until you feel you have had enough, it generally means that you have had too much. Then dry yourself rapidly, using two towels, the first to take off the greater part of the moisture, reserving the second to dry yourself with thoroughly. Just as you began undressing from the upper part of the body downwards, so dry and dress in the inverse order, rubbing the feet and legs and putting on the stockings and nether garments first. After that, if you are feeling chilly, have a hot drink and some biscuits or other light food.Turkish Baths.Of all forms of baths there is none so refreshingas Turkish baths. The hot air which produces the perspiration also causes it to evaporate. The sweat-ducts are cleansed from within as well as from without by means of the profuse perspiration, and the relief to the system is very great.The patients who benefit most are those suffering from kidney trouble or rheumatism. In the latter case the complaint is due to the presence of excessive waste matter in the tissues; in the former to the fact that one of the outlets is more or less deranged. Free sweating is of untold advantage in both, as it enables the skin to do double duty and help to eliminate the poisonous material.Of late there has been a tendency to treat common colds and influenza by means of these baths, but in many cases they only increase the catarrh, instead of relieving it. Considering the infectious nature of colds of all sorts too, it is hardly fair to other people to contaminate the air in the bathing-rooms.People with weak hearts, and full-blooded persons with any tendency to apoplexy, should avoid Turkish baths, as they are not suitable in either of these conditions.The proper way to take them is to devote plenty of time to the process. On entering, stay in the first room, the moderately hot one, until all feeling of oppression has passed off. Then move on into the second, the hot room as it is called. The third one, called the oven, shouldnever be used, as the heat is too intense to be safe.It is best to be content with a mild perspiration at first, and to stay in too short a time rather than too long. People are apt to think that the more they perspire the better they will be. But that is not the case, and, what is more, there is an element of danger in prolonging the process. So much liquid may be abstracted from the system that the impure matter circulating in the blood becomes too concentrated, and instead of being thrown off may be deposited in some muscle or joint, giving rise to an attack of rheumatism. In this way the very mischief is precipitated that we are anxious to avoid. Taken quietly and with discrimination, Turkish baths are one of the greatest boons to suffering humanity.One of the most important details is the rest afterwards. This should never be less than half an hour, and an hour or more is preferable when it can be managed. The whole system needs this period of rest in order to get back to its ordinary routine, and without it much of the benefit of the bath is lost.Once a week is quite enough, and in many cases once every two or three weeks is sufficient to keep the system active and healthy.One other point should be kept in mind. Seeing that so much liquid is lost in the form of perspiration during the process, it is advisable to sip water freely, both during the process and after it.If these precautions are observed these baths will prove beneficial to mind and body alike,eliminating the impurities, improving appetite and digestion, and restoring the sense of vigour and well-being.In these ways both Turkish and plain hot water baths are of the greatest service in preventing the onset of neurasthenia and its successor, breakdowns. The time spent in taking them will be repaid a hundred times in an increased enjoyment of life and powers of work.

The skin plays an important part in eliminating waste products from the system. It does this by means of the sweat-glands, which are found scattered all over the body. These glands have small ducts, ending in minute apertures on the surface of the skin. If these apertures are allowed to become blocked up, either by dirt or by the natural grease of the body, the skin cannot carry out its duties. The result is that a certain amount of this waste matter is kept back, and the health suffers in consequence sooner or later.

Hot baths.

Neither cold baths nor outdoor bathing can get rid of this grease, so that a hot bath occasionally is essential, even in the case of people who bathe regularly every morning, either at home or out of doors.

The usual objection to hot baths is that people take cold unless they go straight to bed as soon as they have dried themselves. Otherwise, so they say, they go on perspiring and take a chill. Now this is due, not to their having had a hot bath, but because the water was not hot enough when they got out of it. Hot water has the same effect as cold in bracing up the sweat pores, andpreventing them from continuing to pour out unnecessary perspiration. Lukewarm water, on the other hand, leaves the skin lax and moist, and it is then that people are liable to chills. Hence the popular idea of running in some cold water before the bath is finished is a mistake, as it brings about the very conditions we are anxious to avoid.

An indispensable adjunct to every bathroom is a thermometer, by which the temperature of the water can be accurately gauged. The common plan of testing it by the hand is fallacious, as the result depends largely on the state of the hand at the time. If the fingers are cold when dipped in, the water feels warmer than it usually is, andvice versa.

The best temperature at which to take a hot bath is 100°F.or just below that. If more water is added afterwards it should be hot, not cold, so as to maintain the temperature at the same level. With the aid of these precautions it will be found that drying is a simple process, and the skin is left in a delightful state without any undue perspiration to follow. So far from causing a liability to chills, it is perfectly safe to emerge from a bath of this sort and take a walk immediately after dressing, even on a winter’s day, without suffering from any ill-effects. People sometimes complain that a hot bath makes them feel faint. This is due to the steam, not to the water itself. If the windows are kept open this discomfort may be entirely avoided.

There is nothing more refreshing than a bath ofthis sort, not only in winter, but in hot weather also, as many athletes are beginning to find out. After a hard walk or game it effectually relieves the aching of the limbs, and helps to prevent the stiffness which is apt to follow. The good effect of the bath may be increased by massaging the limbs while they are under water. The proper way to do this is to grip the muscles between the two hands, and squeeze them with a sort of sliding movement towards the extremities, afterwards kneading them a bit at a time.

Hot baths are an excellent remedy for nausea or biliousness. A quarter of an hour in a bath at a temperature of 100°F.will often be found to remove all unpleasant symptoms and restore the appetite and digestion. They are also a boon to rheumatic persons, helping to banish the muscular pains and general feeling of malaise.

All this they do by causing the blood to circulate more freely, and dilating the vessels on the surface, and in so doing relieving the congestion in the muscles and internal organs. In this way they promote the elimination of the waste products which cause tiredness, fatigue and most of the other aches and pains from which tired humanity is liable to suffer. It is not necessary to wait until bedtime before having a hot bath. Its most beneficial effects can be obtained by taking it in the evening on returning from work. It is then that it is most refreshing, and if made use of at this time of day, will enable many a man who has come home fagged out to spend an enjoyable evening, when otherwise he would besitting down too tired to read or take part in any amusement.

Cold Baths.

Cold baths do not suit everyone. In fact, there are comparatively few people who derive any benefit from them. Many persons find that if they have one in the morning before breakfast it leaves them tired, and with no appetite for the meal. They only take them because they are popularly supposed to be invigorating. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If a man feels well, in a comfortable glow, and ready for his breakfast after them, they are good for him. If he feels otherwise, and does not enjoy the bath while he is in it, they are bad for him. There are some people who dread cold baths, and yet go on having them from a mistaken sense of duty. The only explanation is that they must think they do them good just because they are so unpleasant, in the same way that some people have more faith in medicine if it tastes nasty.

Of one thing there is no doubt. Rheumatic persons and those liable to bronchial affections should never take them under any circumstances. Nor should delicate or elderly people make use of them.

The cold shower.

The disadvantage of a cold bath at home is that the feet are chilled before the head. And wetting the hair with cold water does not get over this inconvenience. A shower bath, however, does away with this objection altogether, and on this account there is no form of cold bath equalto it. The head can be held under the water first, and after that the bather steps in and the body and limbs receive the shock at the same time, so that the lower extremities are not chilled before the rest. The unfortunate part of it is that so few houses are fitted up with shower baths.

Whatever form of cold tub is used, it is advisable to stay in for a very short time only. Even robust people can rarely stand more than a few minutes of it.

It is generally supposed that a cold bath should be taken when the stomach is empty. Such is not the case, however. While no one would be so foolish as to take it immediately after a meal, yet a drink of hot tea or water just before going in will enable many persons to enjoy and get benefit from them, who could not do so otherwise.

Outdoor bathing.

Outdoor bathing, either in sea or river, does not agree with everyone, although some people can enjoy a bathe who are unable to take a cold bath at home. The common mistake is in bathing before breakfast, when the system is at a low ebb, owing to the long abstention from food. It may be all right for strong young people, but for many others it is unsuitable and even dangerous. The best time, as a rule, is about two hours after breakfast, when the body has been fortified by the morning meal, and has had time to digest it.

The great point is to get thoroughly warm before entering the water. A brisk walk is thebest way of accomplishing this, or if that does not produce the wished-for result, take a hot drink. The body heat falls rapidly whilst in the water, and hence it is advisable to be in a glow before going in.

For the same reason do not waste time over your undressing, and always remove the upper part of the clothing first, leaving the stockings to the last. It is the feet which are specially liable to be attacked by the cold, and it is therefore necessary to keep them warm as long as possible.

Before taking the plunge, pour cold water over the head; simply dabbing the hair with it is not sufficient. After that, get the whole body under water without any delay, and keep it under all the time you are in. It is the evaporation from the surface of the skin which lowers the temperature, rather than the contact of the body with the water.

Do not stay in too long. If you remain until you feel you have had enough, it generally means that you have had too much. Then dry yourself rapidly, using two towels, the first to take off the greater part of the moisture, reserving the second to dry yourself with thoroughly. Just as you began undressing from the upper part of the body downwards, so dry and dress in the inverse order, rubbing the feet and legs and putting on the stockings and nether garments first. After that, if you are feeling chilly, have a hot drink and some biscuits or other light food.

Turkish Baths.

Of all forms of baths there is none so refreshingas Turkish baths. The hot air which produces the perspiration also causes it to evaporate. The sweat-ducts are cleansed from within as well as from without by means of the profuse perspiration, and the relief to the system is very great.

The patients who benefit most are those suffering from kidney trouble or rheumatism. In the latter case the complaint is due to the presence of excessive waste matter in the tissues; in the former to the fact that one of the outlets is more or less deranged. Free sweating is of untold advantage in both, as it enables the skin to do double duty and help to eliminate the poisonous material.

Of late there has been a tendency to treat common colds and influenza by means of these baths, but in many cases they only increase the catarrh, instead of relieving it. Considering the infectious nature of colds of all sorts too, it is hardly fair to other people to contaminate the air in the bathing-rooms.

People with weak hearts, and full-blooded persons with any tendency to apoplexy, should avoid Turkish baths, as they are not suitable in either of these conditions.

The proper way to take them is to devote plenty of time to the process. On entering, stay in the first room, the moderately hot one, until all feeling of oppression has passed off. Then move on into the second, the hot room as it is called. The third one, called the oven, shouldnever be used, as the heat is too intense to be safe.

It is best to be content with a mild perspiration at first, and to stay in too short a time rather than too long. People are apt to think that the more they perspire the better they will be. But that is not the case, and, what is more, there is an element of danger in prolonging the process. So much liquid may be abstracted from the system that the impure matter circulating in the blood becomes too concentrated, and instead of being thrown off may be deposited in some muscle or joint, giving rise to an attack of rheumatism. In this way the very mischief is precipitated that we are anxious to avoid. Taken quietly and with discrimination, Turkish baths are one of the greatest boons to suffering humanity.

One of the most important details is the rest afterwards. This should never be less than half an hour, and an hour or more is preferable when it can be managed. The whole system needs this period of rest in order to get back to its ordinary routine, and without it much of the benefit of the bath is lost.

Once a week is quite enough, and in many cases once every two or three weeks is sufficient to keep the system active and healthy.

One other point should be kept in mind. Seeing that so much liquid is lost in the form of perspiration during the process, it is advisable to sip water freely, both during the process and after it.

If these precautions are observed these baths will prove beneficial to mind and body alike,eliminating the impurities, improving appetite and digestion, and restoring the sense of vigour and well-being.

In these ways both Turkish and plain hot water baths are of the greatest service in preventing the onset of neurasthenia and its successor, breakdowns. The time spent in taking them will be repaid a hundred times in an increased enjoyment of life and powers of work.

CHAPTERXIV.REST.There are more tired people in the world to-day than ever before. Nervous exhaustion is taking the place of the old-fashioned stomach-aches and coughs and colds as the prevailing complaint of the times.Unrest.There is a spirit of unrest which is having a bad effect on many nervous systems. The air is dark with threatened strikes, wars and rumours of wars, and the clash of conflicting parties. The sense of impending calamity fills the minds of many nervous people with anxious forebodings. Probably things are not much worse, if any, than they have often been in previous times, but news is transmitted to and from all parts of the world with a swiftness that would have seemed incredible even a few decades ago. We hear of things that are happening, not of things that have happened, and there is a vast difference between the two so far as comfort of mind is concerned.Conditions of modern life.Town life has become much more wearing since petrol has displaced the horse and made the speed of traffic so vastly greater than before. And the noise of motor drays and buses is exercising a bad effect on many people’s nerves. They may become so usedto the row that they do not appear to notice it, but its irritating influence on the nervous system is there all the same.The ever-increasing stress of competition is making work a strenuous affair. But what is worse is the fact that this stress is, with many persons, invading their hours of leisure. We grudge no man his pleasures, but when the rush for amusement is carried on to the detriment of a body that is already fagged out, it is time to stop and think where it is all going to lead to.Periodic rest.The phrase “day and night, Sunday and week-day” is a significant one. It expresses the need for periodic rest as imposed by Nature. Loss of sleep is equally harmful, whether it be due to work or pleasure. And whatever views people may hold in regard to the old-fashioned Sunday, when considered from a religious point of view, there is only one when we look at it from the medical side. Change is rest, as we shall have occasion shortly to emphasise, but the increasing tendency to rush off motoring and golfing on Sundays is not change, for the simple reason that most of the people who indulge in these pursuits are the very ones who motor and golf most days of the week. The old-fashioned Sabbath was no doubt carried to the opposite extreme, but it did at any rate infuse an atmosphere of restfulness, which is lacking in these days.What rest is.It is not that we wish to encourage idleness. That is a very different thing from rest, which implies cessation from work. There is a form of languor due to want of exercise, and we meet with people who are always tired because they lounge about too much. But there are others who are constantly feeling languid because they have not learned how and when to take suitable rest.Some people are always on the go. They habitually walk beyond their proper pace and rush at their work and their amusements with feverish anxiety. Even when they are playing golf, they hurry after the ball as though they were afraid it would run away from them if they did not catch it up.To people of this type illness, which is usually regarded as a misfortune, often proves a blessing in disguise. For it has one great advantage, in that it imposes upon the system the much-needed rest which has been denied it.We compared the human body to an engine. Yet in one respect this simile falls short. For man is a living being, and it is on this account that he needs something that the engine can do without. The marvellously delicate machinery of his body must have rest. An engine is liable to wear and tear, no matter how well it may be put together; even if it is made of the best metal to be obtained, and constructed as nearly perfectly as possible, there is always bound to be a certain amount of friction and concussion, which will in time lower its quality and impair its efficiency.But the machinery of the human system is subject to more than simple wear and tear; for there is, as we have seen already, a chemical process constantly taking place, which produces waste matter that must be drained away every day of our lives.Yet in spite of this, it is in a vastly better position than the engine, for it possesses at the same time a faculty of self-repair. We cannot take out parts and replace them by spare ones, but we do not need to do so. The most marvellous thing about the human system is the fact that waste and repair go on simultaneously. But in order that this may take place the system must have periodic rest.Object of rest.The object of rest is not merely to add to man’s happiness and enjoyment, to give him time for pleasure. It is to recuperate his body and mind. If he were to go on using his muscles without any relaxation they would gradually waste, and after a time would waste rapidly and to a serious extent. If he were to exercise his mind without any respite, the delicate brain-cells would become exhausted, for like the muscles they would have no chance of renewing themselves.Strong, hardy sailors who have had to undergo a prolonged physical strain, as in the case of shipwreck, have been known to suffer ever afterwards from debility; their hearts and muscles had been over-exerted to such an extent that they were never able to recover themselves. And peoplewho have had to go through a long stretch of brain work have lain in a stupor for weeks afterwards, unable to use their minds or even know what was going on around them.Rest is therefore of all considerations of health the most important, and it demands our closest attention. Particularly so because it is those who need it most who find the greatest difficulty in obtaining it. Active-minded people abhor rest; to their minds it savours of “doing nothing.” They do not understand that it is a positive mode of treatment, and that a definite process of repair and building up is going on all the time in the brain-cells and the various tissues of the body.The question of rest is simple enough in the case of animals and human beings of a low order. The yokel if he feels inclined for a sleep lies down and takes it just as the dumb creatures do. And many a man of education and refinement has envied the tramp his siesta in the roadside ditch. He would give anything to be able to get a rest like that whenever he wanted it. His delicately-balanced nervous system needs repose far more than that of the tramp or the peasant. Yet, instead of submitting to lie dormant, it is his nervous system which keeps him awake. It is like a fractious child, which will neither go to sleep nor allow its parents to get their rest.It is a matter of the utmost consequence, therefore, to consider in what way rest can most easily be obtained both for body and mind.Bodily rest.Bodily rest can only be got by having themuscles completely relaxed. The ordinary sitting position in a chair is not sufficient, as the lower extremities are still more or less rigid. The chair should be an easy one, with an extension or a footstool to support the lower limbs just a trifle below the level of the body. A better rest can be had, however, by lying full length on a couch or bed with the arms and legs sprawling in the manner adopted by the tramp when he takes a sleep by the wayside. This attitude assures ease if not elegance. And it does more than relax the limbs, for it gives repose to the heart as well. When the body is in this position the heart beats more slowly than when we are standing, walking, or even sitting.When we consider that from the moment of birth to that of death this organ is working incessantly, it is evident that it needs rest more than any other muscle in the body. Suppose a hard-working man takes a quarter of an hour’s loll in the middle of each day; multiply this by 365 and again by the number of his adult years, and you will have some idea as to the amount of rest his heart has had by the time he has reached middle age.This position of ease and relaxation has a beneficial effect on the mind also. When we are thinking hard we instinctively contract our muscles. The face of the thinker is always associated with a rigid cast of countenance and a furrow between the brows. Conversely, when our muscles are more or less stiffened the mindtends to be concentrated at the same time. Relax the muscles, and the mind also tends to relax.There is no more efficacious restorative to a tired body than a hot bath, as hot as it can be borne, in fact. It should be fairly deep too, so that the whole body is immersed. Ten minutes or so of this acts marvellously as a refreshing tonic to body and mind alike, especially if followed by a rest in the horizontal position.Rest of mind.Rest for the wearied mind is of even greater importance than for the body, for a tired brain is apt to keep the latter on the rack. Every evening thousands of men and women reach home too tired to think and too tired to stop thinking, especially on the very subject which should be strictly left alone, viz. their daily work.It is not unnatural that they should feel tired. Yet they do not always look at it in this light.One Sunday evening a parson was sitting by his fireside with a book in his hand which he was vainly trying to read. Time after time he had taken it up, only to put it on one side again after scanning a few lines. He had a look of utter weariness and dejection, and every now and then would start out of his chair and pace restlessly up and down. It was not the first time he had gone through this experience, and he was not the only one of his kind who at that very hour and in a precisely similar manner was having a bad time of it.Now what was it that was troubling him? In the first place he was tired. That was not to bewondered at, seeing that he had conducted three services in the course of the day. Most persons from the navvy to the king feel tired when their day’s work is finished, but this does not worry them. There is no more delightful sensation than that of real fatigue.What chiefly troubled him was the fact that although the book he was trying to read was one dealing with spiritual matters, he was not only unable to give his mind to it, but could not even arouse any interest in the subject. He did not see that it was the most natural thing in the world that this should be so. If a surgeon were to perform three operations in one day, I am quite sure that he would wish to talk or think about anything except surgery. And if a pianist gave three recitals in the day, I believe that the last subject which would interest him would be music. His faculty for it, like the surgeon’s for his own art, would be exhausted for the time being. Why then should the parson who had thrown all his spiritual energies into his Sunday’s work be surprised to find that his active interest in such matters was in abeyance? His faculties had been confined to a certain groove all day, and refused to work any longer on those lines.That parson was only a type, if a pronounced one, of many other people, business men, lawyers, doctors, stockbrokers and any other you can mention, who cannot make out how it is that if they think of their work in the evenings they only worry over it. Yet it forces itself upon their notice, and they cannot shake it off. They seekrest and find none because they seek it in the wrong way. They try to sit still and think of nothing, and that is the most difficult thing on earth for any intelligent human being to attempt.We can arrest the movements of the body, but it is infinitely more difficult to stop the workings of the mind. The engine is going at full speed, and we are unable to pull it up. But we can do something equally efficacious, we can switch it on to a different line.Change is rest.We can give it change. And change is rest. There is nothing more wearying to a mind that is tired and yet strung up than for any man or woman to sit gazing moodily at the fire, fretting their nervous systems with the worries that should have been left behind. Recreation is as indispensable to health as food itself.A fascinating novel, a pleasant game or an absorbing hobby will afford the wearied brain its much-needed relaxation.And when, in one or other of these ways, the mind has been enabled to settle down into a quieter groove, it will be in a vastly better condition to secure the ideal form of rest, nature’s sweet restorer, sleep.So important are these considerations, sleep, recreation and a kindred one, holidays, that they deserve more than a passing reference. In the next few chapters, therefore, we shall describe them more fully.

There are more tired people in the world to-day than ever before. Nervous exhaustion is taking the place of the old-fashioned stomach-aches and coughs and colds as the prevailing complaint of the times.

Unrest.

There is a spirit of unrest which is having a bad effect on many nervous systems. The air is dark with threatened strikes, wars and rumours of wars, and the clash of conflicting parties. The sense of impending calamity fills the minds of many nervous people with anxious forebodings. Probably things are not much worse, if any, than they have often been in previous times, but news is transmitted to and from all parts of the world with a swiftness that would have seemed incredible even a few decades ago. We hear of things that are happening, not of things that have happened, and there is a vast difference between the two so far as comfort of mind is concerned.

Conditions of modern life.

Town life has become much more wearing since petrol has displaced the horse and made the speed of traffic so vastly greater than before. And the noise of motor drays and buses is exercising a bad effect on many people’s nerves. They may become so usedto the row that they do not appear to notice it, but its irritating influence on the nervous system is there all the same.

The ever-increasing stress of competition is making work a strenuous affair. But what is worse is the fact that this stress is, with many persons, invading their hours of leisure. We grudge no man his pleasures, but when the rush for amusement is carried on to the detriment of a body that is already fagged out, it is time to stop and think where it is all going to lead to.

Periodic rest.

The phrase “day and night, Sunday and week-day” is a significant one. It expresses the need for periodic rest as imposed by Nature. Loss of sleep is equally harmful, whether it be due to work or pleasure. And whatever views people may hold in regard to the old-fashioned Sunday, when considered from a religious point of view, there is only one when we look at it from the medical side. Change is rest, as we shall have occasion shortly to emphasise, but the increasing tendency to rush off motoring and golfing on Sundays is not change, for the simple reason that most of the people who indulge in these pursuits are the very ones who motor and golf most days of the week. The old-fashioned Sabbath was no doubt carried to the opposite extreme, but it did at any rate infuse an atmosphere of restfulness, which is lacking in these days.

What rest is.

It is not that we wish to encourage idleness. That is a very different thing from rest, which implies cessation from work. There is a form of languor due to want of exercise, and we meet with people who are always tired because they lounge about too much. But there are others who are constantly feeling languid because they have not learned how and when to take suitable rest.

Some people are always on the go. They habitually walk beyond their proper pace and rush at their work and their amusements with feverish anxiety. Even when they are playing golf, they hurry after the ball as though they were afraid it would run away from them if they did not catch it up.

To people of this type illness, which is usually regarded as a misfortune, often proves a blessing in disguise. For it has one great advantage, in that it imposes upon the system the much-needed rest which has been denied it.

We compared the human body to an engine. Yet in one respect this simile falls short. For man is a living being, and it is on this account that he needs something that the engine can do without. The marvellously delicate machinery of his body must have rest. An engine is liable to wear and tear, no matter how well it may be put together; even if it is made of the best metal to be obtained, and constructed as nearly perfectly as possible, there is always bound to be a certain amount of friction and concussion, which will in time lower its quality and impair its efficiency.But the machinery of the human system is subject to more than simple wear and tear; for there is, as we have seen already, a chemical process constantly taking place, which produces waste matter that must be drained away every day of our lives.

Yet in spite of this, it is in a vastly better position than the engine, for it possesses at the same time a faculty of self-repair. We cannot take out parts and replace them by spare ones, but we do not need to do so. The most marvellous thing about the human system is the fact that waste and repair go on simultaneously. But in order that this may take place the system must have periodic rest.

Object of rest.

The object of rest is not merely to add to man’s happiness and enjoyment, to give him time for pleasure. It is to recuperate his body and mind. If he were to go on using his muscles without any relaxation they would gradually waste, and after a time would waste rapidly and to a serious extent. If he were to exercise his mind without any respite, the delicate brain-cells would become exhausted, for like the muscles they would have no chance of renewing themselves.

Strong, hardy sailors who have had to undergo a prolonged physical strain, as in the case of shipwreck, have been known to suffer ever afterwards from debility; their hearts and muscles had been over-exerted to such an extent that they were never able to recover themselves. And peoplewho have had to go through a long stretch of brain work have lain in a stupor for weeks afterwards, unable to use their minds or even know what was going on around them.

Rest is therefore of all considerations of health the most important, and it demands our closest attention. Particularly so because it is those who need it most who find the greatest difficulty in obtaining it. Active-minded people abhor rest; to their minds it savours of “doing nothing.” They do not understand that it is a positive mode of treatment, and that a definite process of repair and building up is going on all the time in the brain-cells and the various tissues of the body.

The question of rest is simple enough in the case of animals and human beings of a low order. The yokel if he feels inclined for a sleep lies down and takes it just as the dumb creatures do. And many a man of education and refinement has envied the tramp his siesta in the roadside ditch. He would give anything to be able to get a rest like that whenever he wanted it. His delicately-balanced nervous system needs repose far more than that of the tramp or the peasant. Yet, instead of submitting to lie dormant, it is his nervous system which keeps him awake. It is like a fractious child, which will neither go to sleep nor allow its parents to get their rest.

It is a matter of the utmost consequence, therefore, to consider in what way rest can most easily be obtained both for body and mind.

Bodily rest.

Bodily rest can only be got by having themuscles completely relaxed. The ordinary sitting position in a chair is not sufficient, as the lower extremities are still more or less rigid. The chair should be an easy one, with an extension or a footstool to support the lower limbs just a trifle below the level of the body. A better rest can be had, however, by lying full length on a couch or bed with the arms and legs sprawling in the manner adopted by the tramp when he takes a sleep by the wayside. This attitude assures ease if not elegance. And it does more than relax the limbs, for it gives repose to the heart as well. When the body is in this position the heart beats more slowly than when we are standing, walking, or even sitting.

When we consider that from the moment of birth to that of death this organ is working incessantly, it is evident that it needs rest more than any other muscle in the body. Suppose a hard-working man takes a quarter of an hour’s loll in the middle of each day; multiply this by 365 and again by the number of his adult years, and you will have some idea as to the amount of rest his heart has had by the time he has reached middle age.

This position of ease and relaxation has a beneficial effect on the mind also. When we are thinking hard we instinctively contract our muscles. The face of the thinker is always associated with a rigid cast of countenance and a furrow between the brows. Conversely, when our muscles are more or less stiffened the mindtends to be concentrated at the same time. Relax the muscles, and the mind also tends to relax.

There is no more efficacious restorative to a tired body than a hot bath, as hot as it can be borne, in fact. It should be fairly deep too, so that the whole body is immersed. Ten minutes or so of this acts marvellously as a refreshing tonic to body and mind alike, especially if followed by a rest in the horizontal position.

Rest of mind.

Rest for the wearied mind is of even greater importance than for the body, for a tired brain is apt to keep the latter on the rack. Every evening thousands of men and women reach home too tired to think and too tired to stop thinking, especially on the very subject which should be strictly left alone, viz. their daily work.

It is not unnatural that they should feel tired. Yet they do not always look at it in this light.

One Sunday evening a parson was sitting by his fireside with a book in his hand which he was vainly trying to read. Time after time he had taken it up, only to put it on one side again after scanning a few lines. He had a look of utter weariness and dejection, and every now and then would start out of his chair and pace restlessly up and down. It was not the first time he had gone through this experience, and he was not the only one of his kind who at that very hour and in a precisely similar manner was having a bad time of it.

Now what was it that was troubling him? In the first place he was tired. That was not to bewondered at, seeing that he had conducted three services in the course of the day. Most persons from the navvy to the king feel tired when their day’s work is finished, but this does not worry them. There is no more delightful sensation than that of real fatigue.

What chiefly troubled him was the fact that although the book he was trying to read was one dealing with spiritual matters, he was not only unable to give his mind to it, but could not even arouse any interest in the subject. He did not see that it was the most natural thing in the world that this should be so. If a surgeon were to perform three operations in one day, I am quite sure that he would wish to talk or think about anything except surgery. And if a pianist gave three recitals in the day, I believe that the last subject which would interest him would be music. His faculty for it, like the surgeon’s for his own art, would be exhausted for the time being. Why then should the parson who had thrown all his spiritual energies into his Sunday’s work be surprised to find that his active interest in such matters was in abeyance? His faculties had been confined to a certain groove all day, and refused to work any longer on those lines.

That parson was only a type, if a pronounced one, of many other people, business men, lawyers, doctors, stockbrokers and any other you can mention, who cannot make out how it is that if they think of their work in the evenings they only worry over it. Yet it forces itself upon their notice, and they cannot shake it off. They seekrest and find none because they seek it in the wrong way. They try to sit still and think of nothing, and that is the most difficult thing on earth for any intelligent human being to attempt.

We can arrest the movements of the body, but it is infinitely more difficult to stop the workings of the mind. The engine is going at full speed, and we are unable to pull it up. But we can do something equally efficacious, we can switch it on to a different line.

Change is rest.

We can give it change. And change is rest. There is nothing more wearying to a mind that is tired and yet strung up than for any man or woman to sit gazing moodily at the fire, fretting their nervous systems with the worries that should have been left behind. Recreation is as indispensable to health as food itself.

A fascinating novel, a pleasant game or an absorbing hobby will afford the wearied brain its much-needed relaxation.

And when, in one or other of these ways, the mind has been enabled to settle down into a quieter groove, it will be in a vastly better condition to secure the ideal form of rest, nature’s sweet restorer, sleep.

So important are these considerations, sleep, recreation and a kindred one, holidays, that they deserve more than a passing reference. In the next few chapters, therefore, we shall describe them more fully.

CHAPTERXV.SLEEP.The ideal form of rest for body and mind is sleep, for during it the muscles are completely relaxed, the heart beats quietly, the functions of the various organs are suspended to a very large degree, and the brain is in oblivion.This question is one of paramount importance. The individual who neglects to secure the requisite amount of sleep is committing a crime against himself, for which he will have to pay the penalty sooner or later. The experience of centuries has proved that the average man or woman needs eight hours of it daily, and that means that they ought to be in bed for eight and a half hours.Beauty sleep.It is not sufficient that these eight hours should be taken at any time of the day or night that happens to be convenient. The old idea of “beauty sleep” is perfectly correct, for there is no rest equal to that obtained during the first part of the night, and no amount of lying in bed in the morning can make up for the loss of it.Ask anyone who has to work at night, nurses, doctors or workmen on night shift, and they will tell you without any hesitation that such work takes twice as much out of them as a correspondingamount by day. They will also declare, if you inquire further, that the sleep they get in the daytime is not half so refreshing as that obtained during the night.Human strength ebbs and flows with the regularity of the tides, with the difference that the rise and fall occurs once instead of twice in the twenty-four hours. The system is at its best from about six in the morning until the evening. It is at its worst from about eleven at night until four in the morning, and during those hours, if people are awake, either at work or at play, and even if they have had abundance of sleep during the course of the day, the heart tends to flag, and all the powers and faculties are lowered. It is on that account that people who have to sit up all night begin to feel chilly and tired in the dead of night, even though the room itself may be quite warm. They feel cold and uncomfortable, simply because their whole systems are depressed. It is for the same reason that people who are ill are almost always worse during these hours.To sit up night after night, even with plenty of rest in the daytime, is wearing to the system. To do it without that daily rest would speedily cause a collapse. And people who habitually sit up later than they should do, not going to bed until midnight or after, are in danger of bringing about the same catastrophe, only in a slower manner. There is a measure of excitement about these late hours which makes them alluring. Many people say that they can work or write more easily or play cards with greater zest thenthan at any other time, but it is a false form of stimulant, for which the system has to pay a heavy price later on.Remedies for sleeplessness.Regular and early hours are essential to health, and the neglect of them is often the means of starting a breakdown, or bringing it to a head. Many cases of insomnia are due to a want of punctuality in this respect. And of all the tortures with which mankind can be afflicted there is none worse than insomnia, and none that so surely undermines the nervous system. One of the most vital points in the prevention of breakdowns is to consider the different ways in which sleep can be obtained—and to carry them out.Punctuality in going to bed.To emphasise what we have just said, punctuality in going to bed is the most important point of all. The brain, like the digestion, has a marked tendency to get into habits, either bad or good. And if anyone goes to bed at different times, later on some evenings than others, the brain is liable to select the latter hour as the one for falling asleep. This means that even on the nights when people go to bed in good time they cannot get to sleep for the next hour or two. If they would stick to the one hour regularly, the brain would soon learn to do the same.Dozing in front of the fire in the evenings is responsible for many bad nights. The mind gets into a half-awake, half-sleepy state, which hinders it from obtaining sound slumber whenbedtime comes. Even if people are tired and sleepy at, say, nine o’clock, it is better for them to read or play a game or move about in order to avoid falling into a doze.A brisk walk of ten minutes or so before retiring is often found to be one of the best sleep-producers. Or if the weather be too inclement, a few physical exercises will have the same effect.Avoid late suppers.Late or heavy suppers are a common cause of insomnia, especially that form of it in which people fall into a heavy sleep, only to awake with a start an hour or two later and find themselves unable to drop off again until early morning perhaps.Digestion comes almost to a dead stop during sleep, so that sufficient time should be allowed for the last meal to be disposed of before the hour for retiring. This interval should be two hours at least, which means that half-past eight is, as a rule, late enough for the evening meal. In any case, the food which is taken then ought to be of a light nature, and not include pork, cold meat, or any other article of diet which is slow of digestion. Coffee and strong tea, especially Indian tea, are unsuitable at this hour, as they tend to cause sleeplessness of themselves. Cocoa, made with water, is a much better beverage for use with the evening meal or after it.Sometimes, however, too long an interval between the last meal and bedtime will prevent sleep, as in the case of those who take high tea at half-past six, or dinner at seven or thereabouts.Under these circumstances light refreshments, in the shape of a few biscuits with a light drink of some sort, will assist sleep.For those who still, in spite of attention to these points, suffer from insomnia, the following hints will be of service.The bed and bedding.The bed should be neither too soft nor too hard. If the former, as when feather beds are used, people are apt to fall into a deep sleep and wake up later feeling half smothered. If too hard, the body cannot rest properly. The bedclothes should not be too heavy. An eiderdown quilt is worth several blankets for warmth. If means will not permit of this luxury, two or three sheets of brown paper will answer the same purpose, affording the maximum of warmth with the minimum of weight. The personal clothing, too, should be warm but not heavy, and above all the feet must not be allowed to get cold. The use of night socks will often cure insomnia, which has proved stubborn to all other modes of treatment.Ventilation.The room should be well ventilated. This is of the utmost importance, and an additional benefit can be obtained by pulling the bed away from the wall, if only for a few inches, to allow of a free circulation of air all round.Sip hot water.An excellent plan is to sip hot water at bedtime, not too much of it, but as hot as it can be taken. It is not advisable to put spirits into it, as in that case the dose has to be increased before long in order to maintain the good effect. Ahot bath, or putting the feet into hot water, is of great use in many cases.Simulate sleep.On lying down it is a good plan to take long, deep, slow breaths for five or ten minutes. At the same time relax the eyes, in the same way as in gazing at the distant horizon or into space, of course keeping the eyelids closed. These two points simulate sleep to a certain extent, and are a valuable means of obtaining it.Reading in bed.Reading in bed is not a good habit, as many persons have found that once they have begun the custom they cannot get to sleep without it. At the same time, if anyone has been lying awake for hours it is better to turn up the light and read a book than to lie awake in the dark, thinking and worrying of one thing after another. There is no time when life looms so hopeless and forbidding as it does when you cannot sleep. A better plan, however, is to walk about the room for a few minutes, or to sit up in bed and keep the eyes open as long as possible without blinking. It happens not uncommonly that after doing this people fall asleep as soon as they lie down again.The aimless wandering of the mind from one subject to another and back again may be prevented by repeating a piece of poetry to oneself. Needless to say, it must be something with which we are thoroughly acquainted, otherwise the effort to remember what is coming next will of itself prove a barrier to sleep.Fresh air as a soporific.The best remedy of all is to spend awhole day in the open air. This will often break the sleepless habit, and once a good night’s rest has been obtained others will be likely to follow.There is one other hint which sounds like an old wife’s tale. We do not pretend to be able to explain it, but experience has proved its efficacy in many instances. People have found that they can sleep better with the head pointing to the north than in any other position. Every method, however simple or inexplicable, is worth a trial, for there is no condition so distressing as insomnia, or so likely to lead to the much-dreaded neurasthenia.People often complain that they cannot sleep well in the summer-time. This is owing to the fact of the mornings being light at such an early hour. This can be remedied with the best results to the whole system by the plan of having dark green blinds fitted inside the windows.Massage.Those who, through some illness or infirmity, cannot take exercise, will find the greatest benefit from massage. If skilled massage cannot be obtained, gentle rubbing of the limb will fulfil the same useful purpose.

The ideal form of rest for body and mind is sleep, for during it the muscles are completely relaxed, the heart beats quietly, the functions of the various organs are suspended to a very large degree, and the brain is in oblivion.

This question is one of paramount importance. The individual who neglects to secure the requisite amount of sleep is committing a crime against himself, for which he will have to pay the penalty sooner or later. The experience of centuries has proved that the average man or woman needs eight hours of it daily, and that means that they ought to be in bed for eight and a half hours.

Beauty sleep.

It is not sufficient that these eight hours should be taken at any time of the day or night that happens to be convenient. The old idea of “beauty sleep” is perfectly correct, for there is no rest equal to that obtained during the first part of the night, and no amount of lying in bed in the morning can make up for the loss of it.

Ask anyone who has to work at night, nurses, doctors or workmen on night shift, and they will tell you without any hesitation that such work takes twice as much out of them as a correspondingamount by day. They will also declare, if you inquire further, that the sleep they get in the daytime is not half so refreshing as that obtained during the night.

Human strength ebbs and flows with the regularity of the tides, with the difference that the rise and fall occurs once instead of twice in the twenty-four hours. The system is at its best from about six in the morning until the evening. It is at its worst from about eleven at night until four in the morning, and during those hours, if people are awake, either at work or at play, and even if they have had abundance of sleep during the course of the day, the heart tends to flag, and all the powers and faculties are lowered. It is on that account that people who have to sit up all night begin to feel chilly and tired in the dead of night, even though the room itself may be quite warm. They feel cold and uncomfortable, simply because their whole systems are depressed. It is for the same reason that people who are ill are almost always worse during these hours.

To sit up night after night, even with plenty of rest in the daytime, is wearing to the system. To do it without that daily rest would speedily cause a collapse. And people who habitually sit up later than they should do, not going to bed until midnight or after, are in danger of bringing about the same catastrophe, only in a slower manner. There is a measure of excitement about these late hours which makes them alluring. Many people say that they can work or write more easily or play cards with greater zest thenthan at any other time, but it is a false form of stimulant, for which the system has to pay a heavy price later on.

Remedies for sleeplessness.

Regular and early hours are essential to health, and the neglect of them is often the means of starting a breakdown, or bringing it to a head. Many cases of insomnia are due to a want of punctuality in this respect. And of all the tortures with which mankind can be afflicted there is none worse than insomnia, and none that so surely undermines the nervous system. One of the most vital points in the prevention of breakdowns is to consider the different ways in which sleep can be obtained—and to carry them out.

Punctuality in going to bed.

To emphasise what we have just said, punctuality in going to bed is the most important point of all. The brain, like the digestion, has a marked tendency to get into habits, either bad or good. And if anyone goes to bed at different times, later on some evenings than others, the brain is liable to select the latter hour as the one for falling asleep. This means that even on the nights when people go to bed in good time they cannot get to sleep for the next hour or two. If they would stick to the one hour regularly, the brain would soon learn to do the same.

Dozing in front of the fire in the evenings is responsible for many bad nights. The mind gets into a half-awake, half-sleepy state, which hinders it from obtaining sound slumber whenbedtime comes. Even if people are tired and sleepy at, say, nine o’clock, it is better for them to read or play a game or move about in order to avoid falling into a doze.

A brisk walk of ten minutes or so before retiring is often found to be one of the best sleep-producers. Or if the weather be too inclement, a few physical exercises will have the same effect.

Avoid late suppers.

Late or heavy suppers are a common cause of insomnia, especially that form of it in which people fall into a heavy sleep, only to awake with a start an hour or two later and find themselves unable to drop off again until early morning perhaps.

Digestion comes almost to a dead stop during sleep, so that sufficient time should be allowed for the last meal to be disposed of before the hour for retiring. This interval should be two hours at least, which means that half-past eight is, as a rule, late enough for the evening meal. In any case, the food which is taken then ought to be of a light nature, and not include pork, cold meat, or any other article of diet which is slow of digestion. Coffee and strong tea, especially Indian tea, are unsuitable at this hour, as they tend to cause sleeplessness of themselves. Cocoa, made with water, is a much better beverage for use with the evening meal or after it.

Sometimes, however, too long an interval between the last meal and bedtime will prevent sleep, as in the case of those who take high tea at half-past six, or dinner at seven or thereabouts.Under these circumstances light refreshments, in the shape of a few biscuits with a light drink of some sort, will assist sleep.

For those who still, in spite of attention to these points, suffer from insomnia, the following hints will be of service.

The bed and bedding.

The bed should be neither too soft nor too hard. If the former, as when feather beds are used, people are apt to fall into a deep sleep and wake up later feeling half smothered. If too hard, the body cannot rest properly. The bedclothes should not be too heavy. An eiderdown quilt is worth several blankets for warmth. If means will not permit of this luxury, two or three sheets of brown paper will answer the same purpose, affording the maximum of warmth with the minimum of weight. The personal clothing, too, should be warm but not heavy, and above all the feet must not be allowed to get cold. The use of night socks will often cure insomnia, which has proved stubborn to all other modes of treatment.

Ventilation.

The room should be well ventilated. This is of the utmost importance, and an additional benefit can be obtained by pulling the bed away from the wall, if only for a few inches, to allow of a free circulation of air all round.

Sip hot water.

An excellent plan is to sip hot water at bedtime, not too much of it, but as hot as it can be taken. It is not advisable to put spirits into it, as in that case the dose has to be increased before long in order to maintain the good effect. Ahot bath, or putting the feet into hot water, is of great use in many cases.

Simulate sleep.

On lying down it is a good plan to take long, deep, slow breaths for five or ten minutes. At the same time relax the eyes, in the same way as in gazing at the distant horizon or into space, of course keeping the eyelids closed. These two points simulate sleep to a certain extent, and are a valuable means of obtaining it.

Reading in bed.

Reading in bed is not a good habit, as many persons have found that once they have begun the custom they cannot get to sleep without it. At the same time, if anyone has been lying awake for hours it is better to turn up the light and read a book than to lie awake in the dark, thinking and worrying of one thing after another. There is no time when life looms so hopeless and forbidding as it does when you cannot sleep. A better plan, however, is to walk about the room for a few minutes, or to sit up in bed and keep the eyes open as long as possible without blinking. It happens not uncommonly that after doing this people fall asleep as soon as they lie down again.

The aimless wandering of the mind from one subject to another and back again may be prevented by repeating a piece of poetry to oneself. Needless to say, it must be something with which we are thoroughly acquainted, otherwise the effort to remember what is coming next will of itself prove a barrier to sleep.

Fresh air as a soporific.

The best remedy of all is to spend awhole day in the open air. This will often break the sleepless habit, and once a good night’s rest has been obtained others will be likely to follow.

There is one other hint which sounds like an old wife’s tale. We do not pretend to be able to explain it, but experience has proved its efficacy in many instances. People have found that they can sleep better with the head pointing to the north than in any other position. Every method, however simple or inexplicable, is worth a trial, for there is no condition so distressing as insomnia, or so likely to lead to the much-dreaded neurasthenia.

People often complain that they cannot sleep well in the summer-time. This is owing to the fact of the mornings being light at such an early hour. This can be remedied with the best results to the whole system by the plan of having dark green blinds fitted inside the windows.

Massage.

Those who, through some illness or infirmity, cannot take exercise, will find the greatest benefit from massage. If skilled massage cannot be obtained, gentle rubbing of the limb will fulfil the same useful purpose.

CHAPTERXVI.HOLIDAYS.The greatest mistake than can be made is to wait for an annual holiday in the expectation that it is going to exonerate us from consequences of eleven months or more of sinning against the rules of health. Everyone, men and women alike, should secure a holiday if only for an hour or so every day of their lives, in the shape of some congenial change of thought or occupation.Value of the annual holiday.Yet the annual holiday has a place of its own in our well being. It takes us away from our ordinary associations, and brings us into contact with fresh scenery and new faces, which mean new personalities. It invigorates our bodies and tones up our minds, broadening them and furnishing them with new ideas, so that both from the physical and mental standpoints it is a valuable aid to health.It has a direct bearing on the subject of breakdowns, for change of scene is a potent means of getting a man’s mind out of the monotonous groove which is so wearing to his nervous system. It has an additional advantage in that it often happens that after a holiday he is apt to keep himself in contact with the fresh air and exercise, and recreation also, which he found so beneficialwhen he was away from home. In the incipient stages of breakdown, too, a complete change is one of the necessary items in treatment.Seeing, therefore, how important it is and what it means to so many people, it is well worth while to consider how the time and money involved may be expended to the best advantage.The usual plan is to fix on a spot because we have heard it spoken of as a “nice place to go to,” engage rooms by letter and set off, hoping for the best. Little wonder that the holiday often turns out a disappointment.A family was returning from a visit to the seaside, to which the various members, parents and children alike, had looked forward with the greatest zest. The mother was tired out, the father seemed worried, and the children were jaded and spiritless. They had been unfortunate in their choice of a place, the lodgings had been uncomfortable, and the holiday had proved a failure. Yet with a little foresight it might have been entirely different.It is always advisable that one of the older members of the family, preferably the mother, should see the locality and the apartments before hand. We cannot expect the proprietress of the apartments or the hotel to point out for our benefit that the bedrooms are musty and badly ventilated, the sheets damp, and the sanitary arrangements defective. We must go and investigate these things for ourselves.Where to go.The question as to where to go is one that needscareful consideration. The fact that it suited someone else is no reason why it should be adapted to our requirements. I once heard two men discussing this question, and one was advising the other to go to a certain place in the Highlands. He described it in glowing colours, and made it perfectly plain to the other man that if he went anywhere else he was an incompetent idiot. It was a village at the bottom of a deep valley, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains.“What do you do with yourself if the weather is wet?” the second man asked.“Well, of course you have to stay indoors.”“And what do you do when it is fine?”“Oh, you climb the mountains.”“Well, seeing that my wife suffers from a weak heart, and cannot climb an ordinary hill, I think we shall go somewhere else,” which he very wisely did. It is not much use going to a place if you have either to forego the pleasures of the holiday or run the risk of injuring your health.People who suffer from asthma are often worse at the seaside, and should always take this into consideration. Those liable to bronchial attacks should be wary as to visiting the East Coast. They will derive more benefit from the softer atmosphere of the South or West.It is a mistaken idea to suppose that people who are run down will get the most good from going to a bracing climate. Often it has the effect ofmaking them irritable and restless, and their nerves do better in a more relaxing place.A fortnight on a farm always sounds attractive, but in reality it often turns out the very opposite. The accommodation is apt to be of a primitive order, and the cooking by no means up to the mark, while it is not uncommon to find that none of the bedroom windows will open. So much, too, depends upon the weather, and if it happens to be wet, the holiday is likely to be devoid of pleasure, and detrimental to health at the same time. Rheumatic people should avoid farmhouses, as the atmosphere is often damp, especially in the evenings. Even if the weather is fine, there is a danger in the dew which rises from the fields at sunset. If it is wet, the consequences are apt to be serious. A seaside place with a light, sandy soil is better adapted to such persons.Continental trips.In these days of quick and cheap travel no paper on holidays is complete without a reference to the problem of continental trips. These are undoubtedly a source of interest, but not necessarily of health. It may be a delight to see fresh places and experience new national customs and a totally different diet, but in many cases these advantages are obtained at the expense of bodily health. People who are run down rarely get any benefit from them. Even if they have the sense to make for one place and stay there or use it as a centre, the long railway journey tires them to such an extent that they cannot enjoytheir holiday properly. Usually a visit to some home resort is of infinitely greater value.As a rule, however, a continental trip means one of the advertised tours, in which a maximum of travelling and sight-seeing is carried out in a minimum of time. People who are strong enough to undertake such a task do not come under the category of health-seekers.When the journey, either home or foreign, includes a sea-trip, it is well to take only light food for a day or two previously, if you are subject tomal de mer, and also to take a good aperient the day before starting. These precautions will often serve to avoid the biliousness which so frequently spoils the first few days of the holiday.Preparations.In making preparations for a holiday it is necessary to be ready for all sorts of weather. The day may be tropical when we start, and like winter the next day, and it is both uncomfortable and dangerous to have brought nothing but light summer clothing. There is an old superstition that people do not catch cold by the sea. This is a huge mistake, as they are just as liable to do so as at home, often more so in fact, as home comforts are missing. It is a pitiable sight to see numbers of people wandering about a seaside resort on a damp, chilly day, looking cold and miserable, simply because they think it their duty to dress in flannels while they are on a holiday.That phrase “on a holiday” covers a multitude of sins. People seem to think that they candispense with all the precautions they would find necessary at home, and that they will escape the consequences of running needless risks because they happen to be at the seaside or in the country.The result is that many people complain that they feel tired and headachy when they are on a holiday, and that much of their pleasure is spoiled in consequence. They attribute it to the fact of the air being too strong for them, or else that it is the reaction from previous overwork. It is neither one nor the other, but is due to something quite different.Diet on a holiday.For one thing, most people eat too much when they are away, a great deal more than they would dare to take at home. Often, too, they indulge in things which they know to disagree with them in an ordinary way. The consequence is that they become dyspeptic, and their livers get out of order. That is why they have headaches and get tired so easily. If they could take less rather than more, and eschew all those things which do not suit them, the value of the holiday would be considerably enhanced. In the case of men, smoking to an excess they would never dream of at home has a similar effect in producing a feeling of lassitude.Exercise.The amount of exercise has a pronounced influence on the good of a holiday. People who have been overworked or ill, or have neglected to take regular exercise at home, should be extremely careful as to exertion when on avacation, particularly during the first few days. A man who had saved up for a long time to have a fortnight among the mountains did so much climbing on the first day that he was knocked up for the remainder of his stay. Many others, without going to extremes such as this, feel languid all the time from the same cause. They try to make up for lost time at home by doing as much as possible in the weeks at their disposal, and think it a crime to miss any opportunity of getting about. They walk more in a day than they do in a week at home, and are surprised to find that instead of feeling braced up they are listless and tired out.Unwonted forms of exercise, too, such as many persons indulge in when away from home, are responsible for more than the spoiling of their enjoyment. For example, it is not necessary for them to bathe simply because they are at the seaside and everybody else is having a dip. Numbers of people in good health do not feel well for the rest of the day after a bathe, but in other cases the results may be more serious. Those who are run down, or broken down, or are recovering from an illness, had better avoid entering the water. Otherwise they run the risk of bringing about a recurrence of their malady.Exercise of all sorts is an admirable thing, but like many other good things in this world it has to be used with discretion. For alongside it there is the companion virtue rest, and this aspect of a holiday has always to be kept well to the fore, especially in the case of those who are feelingjaded or depressed, restless, nervous or irritable, or present any sign of incipient neurasthenia or breakdown.The restful holiday.For people of this type a restful holiday is essential above all things. But this does not mean that they are to go to some quiet spot with no company except their own thoughts. It needs a peculiar temperament, such as few of us possess, to spend a fortnight lying under a hedge or on the sands in some secluded place, with hardly a soul to speak to. It is all very well in theory, but in practice it usually amounts to the very opposite. The body may be rested, but the mind is apt to be kept on the go. Black care rides behind the horseman, and a man’s worries too often accompany him and refuse to be driven away, unless he has some amusement or interest to divert his thoughts.If people happen to be ardent lovers of Nature, they may find diversion in some place noted for its scenery. Unfortunately, however, the neurasthenic is easily bored, and no matter how beautiful his surroundings may be, he should take care to furnish himself beforehand with plenty of literature suited to his needs. The local library is often interesting when regarded from the point of view of the antique, but it is often hopeless as a means of securing anything worth reading.In many cases people who run down need something of a lighter, we might say a more frivolous nature. Their taste for scenery, likemany of their other faculties, is tired out for the time being. Taken all round, the best place for the neurasthenic is a lively seaside resort, where he can sit about and amuse himself with watching the doings of the people around him. Everything in this world has a place, and a troop of nigger minstrels or a Punch and Judy show may afford rest and relaxation to a wearied mind when mountain scenery has failed to do so.In either case one thing is essential. The scenery or the amusements must be obtained with a minimum amount of fatigue. On this account it is necessary to select a place mild enough to permit of sitting out of doors. That is why in the great majority of cases the neurasthenic gets on much better in a warm, if relaxing, climate.Tired eyes.One other point we must emphasise particularly. Many visitors, whether they are run down or in good health, suffer from headaches when on a holiday simply because of tired eyes. They want to enjoy the full benefit of the air, and are also ambitious to return home sunburnt, so walk about without any proper shade to the eyes. They succeed in getting tanned, but much of the pleasure of their vacation is spoiled owing to a constant feeling of ache and oppression in the head. A wide hat-brim or a pair of smoked glasses will avert this, and add to their enjoyment in proportion as they do so.For the same reason a good rest in a shady room in the middle of the day is of the greatest value. It rests not only the eyes but everythingelse as well. People regret the waste of a single minute when they are taking a hard-earned holiday, and often ruin the good of it by staying out of doors until they are too tired to enjoy themselves. An hour’s rest in the house after the midday meal will be found to make their holiday worth twice as much as it would be otherwise.Returning home.It is always a pity to spoil the good effect of a holiday by returning home at the last possible minute, late at night it may be. Better lose half a day of the vacation than get up next morning to resume work tired out and utterly unfit for it. For this will rob the holiday of those pleasant recollections which are one of its greatest boons.

The greatest mistake than can be made is to wait for an annual holiday in the expectation that it is going to exonerate us from consequences of eleven months or more of sinning against the rules of health. Everyone, men and women alike, should secure a holiday if only for an hour or so every day of their lives, in the shape of some congenial change of thought or occupation.

Value of the annual holiday.

Yet the annual holiday has a place of its own in our well being. It takes us away from our ordinary associations, and brings us into contact with fresh scenery and new faces, which mean new personalities. It invigorates our bodies and tones up our minds, broadening them and furnishing them with new ideas, so that both from the physical and mental standpoints it is a valuable aid to health.

It has a direct bearing on the subject of breakdowns, for change of scene is a potent means of getting a man’s mind out of the monotonous groove which is so wearing to his nervous system. It has an additional advantage in that it often happens that after a holiday he is apt to keep himself in contact with the fresh air and exercise, and recreation also, which he found so beneficialwhen he was away from home. In the incipient stages of breakdown, too, a complete change is one of the necessary items in treatment.

Seeing, therefore, how important it is and what it means to so many people, it is well worth while to consider how the time and money involved may be expended to the best advantage.

The usual plan is to fix on a spot because we have heard it spoken of as a “nice place to go to,” engage rooms by letter and set off, hoping for the best. Little wonder that the holiday often turns out a disappointment.

A family was returning from a visit to the seaside, to which the various members, parents and children alike, had looked forward with the greatest zest. The mother was tired out, the father seemed worried, and the children were jaded and spiritless. They had been unfortunate in their choice of a place, the lodgings had been uncomfortable, and the holiday had proved a failure. Yet with a little foresight it might have been entirely different.

It is always advisable that one of the older members of the family, preferably the mother, should see the locality and the apartments before hand. We cannot expect the proprietress of the apartments or the hotel to point out for our benefit that the bedrooms are musty and badly ventilated, the sheets damp, and the sanitary arrangements defective. We must go and investigate these things for ourselves.

Where to go.

The question as to where to go is one that needscareful consideration. The fact that it suited someone else is no reason why it should be adapted to our requirements. I once heard two men discussing this question, and one was advising the other to go to a certain place in the Highlands. He described it in glowing colours, and made it perfectly plain to the other man that if he went anywhere else he was an incompetent idiot. It was a village at the bottom of a deep valley, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains.

“What do you do with yourself if the weather is wet?” the second man asked.

“Well, of course you have to stay indoors.”

“And what do you do when it is fine?”

“Oh, you climb the mountains.”

“Well, seeing that my wife suffers from a weak heart, and cannot climb an ordinary hill, I think we shall go somewhere else,” which he very wisely did. It is not much use going to a place if you have either to forego the pleasures of the holiday or run the risk of injuring your health.

People who suffer from asthma are often worse at the seaside, and should always take this into consideration. Those liable to bronchial attacks should be wary as to visiting the East Coast. They will derive more benefit from the softer atmosphere of the South or West.

It is a mistaken idea to suppose that people who are run down will get the most good from going to a bracing climate. Often it has the effect ofmaking them irritable and restless, and their nerves do better in a more relaxing place.

A fortnight on a farm always sounds attractive, but in reality it often turns out the very opposite. The accommodation is apt to be of a primitive order, and the cooking by no means up to the mark, while it is not uncommon to find that none of the bedroom windows will open. So much, too, depends upon the weather, and if it happens to be wet, the holiday is likely to be devoid of pleasure, and detrimental to health at the same time. Rheumatic people should avoid farmhouses, as the atmosphere is often damp, especially in the evenings. Even if the weather is fine, there is a danger in the dew which rises from the fields at sunset. If it is wet, the consequences are apt to be serious. A seaside place with a light, sandy soil is better adapted to such persons.

Continental trips.

In these days of quick and cheap travel no paper on holidays is complete without a reference to the problem of continental trips. These are undoubtedly a source of interest, but not necessarily of health. It may be a delight to see fresh places and experience new national customs and a totally different diet, but in many cases these advantages are obtained at the expense of bodily health. People who are run down rarely get any benefit from them. Even if they have the sense to make for one place and stay there or use it as a centre, the long railway journey tires them to such an extent that they cannot enjoytheir holiday properly. Usually a visit to some home resort is of infinitely greater value.

As a rule, however, a continental trip means one of the advertised tours, in which a maximum of travelling and sight-seeing is carried out in a minimum of time. People who are strong enough to undertake such a task do not come under the category of health-seekers.

When the journey, either home or foreign, includes a sea-trip, it is well to take only light food for a day or two previously, if you are subject tomal de mer, and also to take a good aperient the day before starting. These precautions will often serve to avoid the biliousness which so frequently spoils the first few days of the holiday.

Preparations.

In making preparations for a holiday it is necessary to be ready for all sorts of weather. The day may be tropical when we start, and like winter the next day, and it is both uncomfortable and dangerous to have brought nothing but light summer clothing. There is an old superstition that people do not catch cold by the sea. This is a huge mistake, as they are just as liable to do so as at home, often more so in fact, as home comforts are missing. It is a pitiable sight to see numbers of people wandering about a seaside resort on a damp, chilly day, looking cold and miserable, simply because they think it their duty to dress in flannels while they are on a holiday.

That phrase “on a holiday” covers a multitude of sins. People seem to think that they candispense with all the precautions they would find necessary at home, and that they will escape the consequences of running needless risks because they happen to be at the seaside or in the country.

The result is that many people complain that they feel tired and headachy when they are on a holiday, and that much of their pleasure is spoiled in consequence. They attribute it to the fact of the air being too strong for them, or else that it is the reaction from previous overwork. It is neither one nor the other, but is due to something quite different.

Diet on a holiday.

For one thing, most people eat too much when they are away, a great deal more than they would dare to take at home. Often, too, they indulge in things which they know to disagree with them in an ordinary way. The consequence is that they become dyspeptic, and their livers get out of order. That is why they have headaches and get tired so easily. If they could take less rather than more, and eschew all those things which do not suit them, the value of the holiday would be considerably enhanced. In the case of men, smoking to an excess they would never dream of at home has a similar effect in producing a feeling of lassitude.

Exercise.

The amount of exercise has a pronounced influence on the good of a holiday. People who have been overworked or ill, or have neglected to take regular exercise at home, should be extremely careful as to exertion when on avacation, particularly during the first few days. A man who had saved up for a long time to have a fortnight among the mountains did so much climbing on the first day that he was knocked up for the remainder of his stay. Many others, without going to extremes such as this, feel languid all the time from the same cause. They try to make up for lost time at home by doing as much as possible in the weeks at their disposal, and think it a crime to miss any opportunity of getting about. They walk more in a day than they do in a week at home, and are surprised to find that instead of feeling braced up they are listless and tired out.

Unwonted forms of exercise, too, such as many persons indulge in when away from home, are responsible for more than the spoiling of their enjoyment. For example, it is not necessary for them to bathe simply because they are at the seaside and everybody else is having a dip. Numbers of people in good health do not feel well for the rest of the day after a bathe, but in other cases the results may be more serious. Those who are run down, or broken down, or are recovering from an illness, had better avoid entering the water. Otherwise they run the risk of bringing about a recurrence of their malady.

Exercise of all sorts is an admirable thing, but like many other good things in this world it has to be used with discretion. For alongside it there is the companion virtue rest, and this aspect of a holiday has always to be kept well to the fore, especially in the case of those who are feelingjaded or depressed, restless, nervous or irritable, or present any sign of incipient neurasthenia or breakdown.

The restful holiday.

For people of this type a restful holiday is essential above all things. But this does not mean that they are to go to some quiet spot with no company except their own thoughts. It needs a peculiar temperament, such as few of us possess, to spend a fortnight lying under a hedge or on the sands in some secluded place, with hardly a soul to speak to. It is all very well in theory, but in practice it usually amounts to the very opposite. The body may be rested, but the mind is apt to be kept on the go. Black care rides behind the horseman, and a man’s worries too often accompany him and refuse to be driven away, unless he has some amusement or interest to divert his thoughts.

If people happen to be ardent lovers of Nature, they may find diversion in some place noted for its scenery. Unfortunately, however, the neurasthenic is easily bored, and no matter how beautiful his surroundings may be, he should take care to furnish himself beforehand with plenty of literature suited to his needs. The local library is often interesting when regarded from the point of view of the antique, but it is often hopeless as a means of securing anything worth reading.

In many cases people who run down need something of a lighter, we might say a more frivolous nature. Their taste for scenery, likemany of their other faculties, is tired out for the time being. Taken all round, the best place for the neurasthenic is a lively seaside resort, where he can sit about and amuse himself with watching the doings of the people around him. Everything in this world has a place, and a troop of nigger minstrels or a Punch and Judy show may afford rest and relaxation to a wearied mind when mountain scenery has failed to do so.

In either case one thing is essential. The scenery or the amusements must be obtained with a minimum amount of fatigue. On this account it is necessary to select a place mild enough to permit of sitting out of doors. That is why in the great majority of cases the neurasthenic gets on much better in a warm, if relaxing, climate.

Tired eyes.

One other point we must emphasise particularly. Many visitors, whether they are run down or in good health, suffer from headaches when on a holiday simply because of tired eyes. They want to enjoy the full benefit of the air, and are also ambitious to return home sunburnt, so walk about without any proper shade to the eyes. They succeed in getting tanned, but much of the pleasure of their vacation is spoiled owing to a constant feeling of ache and oppression in the head. A wide hat-brim or a pair of smoked glasses will avert this, and add to their enjoyment in proportion as they do so.

For the same reason a good rest in a shady room in the middle of the day is of the greatest value. It rests not only the eyes but everythingelse as well. People regret the waste of a single minute when they are taking a hard-earned holiday, and often ruin the good of it by staying out of doors until they are too tired to enjoy themselves. An hour’s rest in the house after the midday meal will be found to make their holiday worth twice as much as it would be otherwise.

Returning home.

It is always a pity to spoil the good effect of a holiday by returning home at the last possible minute, late at night it may be. Better lose half a day of the vacation than get up next morning to resume work tired out and utterly unfit for it. For this will rob the holiday of those pleasant recollections which are one of its greatest boons.

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