The health question box

Dreams Q. What is the cause of dreams? A. Dreams never occur in perfectly sound sleep. They are an indication that there is not complete cessation of activity in the cerebrum . The will being dormant, the various faculties act in an irregular, disorderly manner, giving rise to a great variety of absurd, grotesque, inconsistent mental pictures. It has been remarked that dreams are the best index to a person's character since they are really but the echoes of our waking thoughts. The superstitious c onfidence which many people put in dreams is in the highest degree unphilosophical, and has not a shadow of evidence in its favor. Late eating and deficient physical exercise are the most common causes of bad dreams, which are also a s ymptom of disease.

After Dinner Naps Q. Is there any objection to taking a nap after dinner or any other hearty meal? A. Sleeping immediately after eating is de­cidely objectionable and often gives rise to hy peracidity. The stomach has two distinct lines of work:· 1. It secretes a digestive fluid which dissolves food. 2. Its muscular walls contract upon the food, mixing the gastric contents and pushing the dig ested portion along to the intestine . During sleep the secretion proce e ds normally, but the movements of the stomach are greatly diminished in intensity so that the stomach is not emptied at the proper rate. This is partly due to the fact that the breathing movements are greatly diminished during sleep and so the assistance which the stomach receives from the diaphragm in moving food alon g into the in testine is lost. When the food is retained too long in the stomach the gastric contents be­ come excessively acid, and the mucous membrane is injured and pain, sp...

Sleeping After Meals Q. Does sleeping after meals hinder di­gestion? A . On the whole, digestion interferes with sleep more than sleep interferes with digestion. Six o'clock dinners are a very common cause of insomnia. A hearty meal should not be eaten within six or eight hours before retiring. Food is a nerve stimulant. The great influx of blood which occurs a few hours after eating a meal stimulates the brain and nerves and thus pro­ duces sleeplessness. The drowsiness which oc curs immediately after eating is due to the fact that a large amount of blood is drawn to the stomach to aid the process of digestion. This lessens the blood supply of the brain and so pro­duces drowsiness or dullness. Dr. Schule, in carefully conducted experiments upon two subjects, showed that sleep during digestion greatly increases the acidity of the gastric juice but hinders the passage of food from the stomach into the intestine. Simply resting in a horizontal position afte...

Proper Position in Sleeping Q. Should one sleep upon the back or upon the side? A. The best position for sleeping is that in which one finds himself most comfortable. It is known that lying upon the right side favors emptying of the stomach. For persons who have very weak abdominal muscles and whose intes tines are constantly filled with gas because of incompetency of the ileocecal valve it is a good plan to sleep upon the face. Sometime s it is still more beneficial to lie over a small cushion or pillow, the pressure of which upon the abdomen encourages bowel action.

Disturbed Sleep Q. How may one fall asleep quickly after being disturbed at night? A. Practice rhythmical deep breathing, and count the breaths from one to one hundred. You will probably , fall asleep before you reach one hundred.

Sleeping in a Tent Q. What is the best arrangement for outdoor sleeping in a tent? A. It is simply necessary to take care to see that the tent is open so that the air can circulate through. One may shut a tent up so tight that he will be a great deal worse off than if indoors, because the tent does not let in so much light as do glass windows and the fresh air admitted may be less than in a well ventilated room.

Sleeping in the Open Air Q. What are the best arrangements for open-air sleeping? A. In the summer the problem is a simple one. It is only necessary to place the bed upon a porch or balcony or in a tent on the lawn or under an awning on the roof. The writer found a very comfortable sleeping place during several summers in a cozy bungalow built in the top of a large oak tree about thirty feet above the ground. The only inconvenience was the screeching of the blue jays and the chattering of the squirrels in the early morning hours . For fresh air sleeping during the cold months more elaborate arrangements are necessary. There are numerous devices for overcoming the several difficulties which present themselves. The most important thing to be remembered is that the bed clothing should not be left out of doors or continually exposed t o the cold air, for the reason that it becomes saturated with moisture from the body and the sleeper becomes chilled while warming up the bed a...

Sleeping With Mouth Open Q. Why does a person sleep with the mouth open? A. There is probably obstruction of the nose which must be removed. In some cases where mouth breathing is only a habit it is necessary to close the mouth by means of a bandage or some other device.

Nightmare Q. What is the cause of nightmare, and the best remedy? A. Nightmare is a nervous disorder oc c urring during sleep, most frequ e ntly the effect of indigestion. The remedy is to avoid eating at night -avoid sleeping on the back, especially; see that the bowels are emptied before retiring. An excellent precaution is to take a neutral bath for half an hour just before going to bed.

Sleep Walking-Somnambulism Q. What is the cause of sleep walking? A. The habit of walking about while asleep is one of the most curious of all the phenomena of nervous action. The somnambulistic state is simply an exaggeration of the state of dream. It is a condition in which the intellectual faculties are dormant, while many parts of the brain seem to be even more active than usual. While in this curious state, persons will accomplish feats which would be impossible for them while awake. Many remarkable instances of somnambulism are recorded. For example a story is told of one Cortelli, who was found one night asleep in the act of translating from a dictionary. When his candle was extinguished, he arose and went to seek another light. The Archbishop of Bordeaux tells a story of a theological student who wrote sermons while he was asleep. He continued to write after the paper was removed and while he was re­vising a page requiring correction, a piece of blank paper o...

Return of Insomnia Q. Will insomnia once cured return if the patient takes good care of himself? A. No. If he keeps right on doing the things that made him sleep he will continue to sleep. Insomnia sometimes gets to be a habit and when the bad habit is broken it has to be cultivated before it will return.

Avoid Drugs in Insomnia Q. May sleep producing drugs be used safely? A. Sle e p obtained by the use of opiates, is by no means a substitute for natural sleep. The condition is one of insensibility, but not of natural refreshing recuperation. Three or four hours of natural sleep will be more than equival­ ent to double that amount of sleep obtained by the use of narcotics. When a person once be comes dependent upon drugs of any kind for producing sleep, it is almost impossible for him to dispense with them. It is often dangerous to resort to their temporary use, on account of the great tendency to the formation of the habit of continuous use. The most effective means of combating sleeplessness when known causes of this condition have been removed is the neutral bath. This consists of a full bath given at a temperature of 92° to 96° F. The temperature should never be higher or lower. The neutral bath quiets the nervous system by sat­urating the cutaneous nerves with water and ...

Wakefulness Q. I frequently waken between three and four o'clock in the morning, after about five hours' sleep. What will help me to go sleep again? A. The moist abdominal bandage at night will aid sleep. Rubbing the surfac e of the body with the hands for a few minutes will often con duce to sleep. When the moist abdominal band­ age is applied, if found too dry on awaking, it should be re-wet. Avoid suppers , except fruit.

Food at Bedtime Q. Is it true that food may be used to promote sleep, and is most beneficial to nervous persons who have not eaten a very hearty or a very late meal? A. The above is true, but it is far better to draw the blood from the brain by warming the feet than by exciting the stomach. Or, if it is necessary to divert blood into the abdominal veins, this may be done by a moist abdominal bandage, thus saving the stomach the labor of digesting the food. One might divert blood from the head to the feet by walking, but this would exhaust one's energies if he were already tired. The effort of digestion is likewise ex hausting, and interferes with sleep . It is well when one is wakeful to warm the feet, if cold, by the application of a hot bottle, or heat in some other form, or by rubbing.

Remedy for Sleeplessness Q. What is the best remedy for sleepless­ness? A. At bed-time take a neutral bath. This con­sists of a full bath at a temperature of 92° to 96° F. A bath of this temperature has wonderful calmative and soporific effects. The duration of the bath may be as long as necessary to produce the desired effects. Several hours in the bath may be required . Sooner or later the disposition to sleep will come, and then the patient may leave the bath and retire . In getting out of the bath the greatest care must be taken to avoid chilling, even in the slightest degree. The patient should not be cooled off in the manner usual after warm baths, but should be wrapped in a Turkish sheet and gently dried (not rubbed), and should then slip into a warm bed as quickly as possible. A warm foot bath taken just before going to bed will often induce sleep by withdrawing the blood from the head. The moist abdominal band­ age, -a wet bandage well covered with flannel so as...

Morning Drowsiness Q. What is the cause of my being very sleepy mornings? I fall asleep while reading the newspaper and remain sleepy until about noon. I am apparently in good health . A. The cause of drowsiness is probably a de ficient blood supply to the brain. This may be due to a congestion of the portal circulation. Remedial measures are the morning cold bath, an abdominal supporter, outdoor exercise, and rather light breakfast. Keep the bowels active by free use of bran and paraffin.

Drowsiness Q . How may one relieve drowsiness? A. A person who cannot sleep at night is often afflicted with an almost irresistible drowsi­ ness during the day, especially after meals. In­ ability to keep awake in church or at a lecture is not uncommon. This difficulty is especially com­ mon in visceral neurasthenics, who often suffer from drowsiness when sitting or standing, but become wide awake on assuming the horizontal position. These persons suffer from lack of vaso­ motor regulation, and so are at the mercy of gravitation-when upright the blood runs into the dilated abdominal vessels; when horizontal, the blood runs back to the head, so that the brain is alternately drained of blood and overcharged. For temporary relief, bathing the face and neck with very hot or cold water, or with hot and cold water in alternation, are most efficient measures. Drinking half a glassful of hot water and lying upon the face over a pillow for a few minutes, avoiding sleep, are simple m...

Cause of Insomnia Q. What is the cause of sleeplessness or insomnia? A. The disease may be due to too much blood in the brain, or to irritating poisons in the blood. The cause must be removed. Insomnia is usually accompanied by constipation, and is the natural result of the absorption of poisonous matter from the colon. The putrefaction of undigested remnants of food in the colon gives rise to the formation of poisons of various sorts, some of which are capable of exciting the brain and nerves in such a way as to give rise to insom nia. It is generally impossible to cure insomnia without relief of accompanying constipation.

Hours of Sleep Q. How many hours of sleep are required? A. A very few persons may be able to get along fairly well with six hours, but eight hours of complete rest in bed are required by the average person. Many persons who have a pre­disposition to neurasthenia require an hour or two more. Few persons are able to work con­tinuously for any length of time with less than six hours sleep. The stories told of persons who habitually require but four hours sleep are not authentic. Napoleon slept but four hours in his bed but took naps in the day time. The Duke of Wellington slept four hours at night but often fell asleep at the dinner table and sometimes when riding. Mr. Edison advocates four hours sleep as sufficient, but in addition to four hours in bed often takes naps in the day-time on a bed in his laboratory. His intimates say that he sleeps as much as most people do, which is six to eight hours in twenty-four.