Insomnia; and Other Disorders of SleepLyman, Henry M. (Henry Munson)
Science
Insomnia; and Other Disorders of Sleep
Lyman, Henry M. (Henry Munson)
Dreams; Insomnia; Sleepwalking
The evil effects of a high temperature are greatly aggravated by the
presence of humidity in the atmosphere. Dampness interferes with the
process of exhalation from the surface of the body, which, consequently,
tends to become overheated. The tissues, under such circumstances, are
imperfectly defecated, and rapidly pass into a condition of imperfect
nutrition. This depresses all the functions of the body, and renders the
nervous system inordinately irritable. Sleep cannot be profound and
refreshing, because of the over-excitable state of the brain. During the
long, hot season in tropical countries, it often becomes necessary to
seek a temporary retreat among the highlands and mountains, in order to
find a climate sufficiently dry and cool to furnish the condition for
refreshing sleep. For the same reason many of the inhabitants of the
Southern United States are forced to spend the summer months in the
invigorating atmosphere of Minnesota and Northern Michigan. One of the
most delightful of experiences may be procured on any warm day in summer
by embarking, at Chicago, upon one of the steamboats bound to Mackinac. At
the wharf, in the hottest and dirtiest part of the city, all is dust,
perspiration, and discomfort. The wide cabins are filled with people who
are tired, thirsty, and discouraged. Sickly, squalling babies swarm in
numbers sufficient to drive one mad. As the sun goes down, the
signal-whistle sounds, head-lines and stern-lines are quickly cast off,
the propeller churns the mire behind the boat. Slowly swings the huge
fabric away from the shore, gliding between the walls of sun-scorched
brick that line the stream on either side. At last the light-house at the
mouth of the river is passed, and we are out upon the blue waves of Lake
Michigan, with a heavenly breeze searching every crack and cranny of the
hull. New life animates every form, and presently a great silence pervades
the brilliant cabins. The children have left their woes behind, and, for
the first time, in many weeks, perhaps, they and their weary mothers sleep
the sleep of innocence and peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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