How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science — John Shaqi
How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern ScienceFisher, Irving
Science
How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science
Fisher, Irving
Hygiene
Only the minimum amount of clothing that will secure warmth should be
worn. Woolens protect most, but they require the least exercise of the
temperature-regulating apparatus of the body. While wool is also highly
absorbent of moisture, it does not give off that moisture quickly
enough. Hence, if worn next to the skin, it becomes saturated with
perspiration, which it long retains to the disadvantage of the skin.
Consequently woolen clothing is best confined to overcoats and outer
garments, designed especially for cold weather. The underclothes should
be made of some better conducting and more quickly drying material, such
as cotton or linen. In winter light linen-mesh and medium wool over
that, or "double-deck" linen and wool underclothes, can be worn by those
who object to either linen or wool alone.
[Sidenote: Color]
As to color, the more nearly white the clothes the better. This is
especially true in summer, but there is believed to be some advantage in
white at all seasons.
Those who have learned to clothe themselves properly find that they have
grown far more independent of changing weather conditions. They do not
suffer greatly from extreme summer heat nor extreme winter cold.
Especially do they note that "raw" or damp cold days no longer tax their
strength.
Section III--Outdoor Living
[Sidenote: Out-of-door Air]
But we must not depend altogether on ventilating our houses and our
clothes. We must turn our thoughts toward an outdoor life. The air of
the best ventilated house is not as good as outdoor air. Those who spend
much of their lives in the open enjoy the best health and the greatest
longevity. It is a great advantage to go into camp in summer and to live
in the country as much as possible.
Climate, of itself, is a secondary consideration. Not every one can
choose the best climate in the world, and, after all, the main
advantages of fresh air can be enjoyed in almost any locality. Even in a
city, outdoor air is, under ordinary circumstances, wonderfully
invigorating.
[Sidenote: Dampness]
The common prejudice against damp air greatly exaggerates its evils.
While moderate dryness of air is advantageous, it seems nevertheless
true that to live in damp, even foggy, air out-of-doors is, in general,
more healthful than to live shut up indoors.
[Sidenote: Outdoor Schools]
Observations have shown that the pupils in outdoor and open-window
schools are not only kept more healthy but learn more quickly than those
in the ordinary schools. It is even claimed that tuberculous children in
an outdoor school may make more rapid progress in their studies than the
more normal children in a badly ventilated school. Parents should insist
on fresh air for their children when at school. They should also insist
on outdoor playgrounds.
[Sidenote: Outdoor Recreations]
For themselves, also, they should not neglect outings, picnics, and
visits to parks. Whenever practicable, outdoor recreation should be
chosen in preference to indoor recreation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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