All of our garments should be loosely fitting, and in this respect the American fashion for men’s clothing is superior to the European fashion of tightly fitting garments. Also the present style of long, narrow trousers is not only unæsthetic but also unhealthy and unsuitable for quick movements. Let us go back to the knee-breeches of forefathers, who were thereby made much more pleasing to the eyes—at least, those of normal build were. A sufficient aëration of the body is necessary not only by day, but by night. In fact, it is more necessary at night, for as mentioned in the chapter on sleep, the ridding of the body from toxic products is performed more actively during the night. It will logically follow from this consideration that heavy feather beds and, in fact, all kinds of heavy coverlets are not beneficial to health, as they are apt to suppress the exhalations of the body and to prevent the access of air to the body. For the same reasons it is also imprudent to go to bed in underwear, and particularly if woolen. I would even go so far as to dispense with the use of the night-shirt, a garment which was quite unknown to our ancestors until a few hundred years ago. By going to bed quite nude, in a large bed, with ample bed clothes of a porous material wrapped not too tightly about the body, we have thus a kind of air bath in bed and feel more refreshed in the morning, especially after having slept in a room where the air can enter freely. In cold weather in winter a double woolen coverlet can be used. It may be that in carrying out strictly the rules of a rational hygiene of clothing as laid down above, many people may have to revolutionize their old habits of an unhealthy and life-shortening way of living. But the real question is: Do we want to live long and retain as long as possible our youth that is passing away only too quickly in any case, or do we want to descend into an early grave before our time? Those who desire the first alternative and who wish to enjoy their lives up to the very last may follow my advice; then they will soon be rewarded by fresher looks and increased vital power. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XXVI. IMPROVED HYGIENE OF THE SKIN AND KIDNEYS THROUGH BATHING—FOOT-BATHS.