Sleep and Its DerangementsHammond, William A. (William Alexander)
Science
Sleep and Its Derangements
Hammond, William A. (William Alexander)
Sleep -- Physiological aspects; Sleep disorders
I then took her by the hand and led her back to the chair in which she had
previously been sitting. She made no resistance, but sat down quietly and
soon became perfectly calm.
Scratching the back of her hand with a pin, pulling her hair, and pinching
her face, appeared to excite no sensation.
I then took off her slippers, and tickled the soles of her feet. She at
once drew them away, but no laughter was produced. As often as this
experiment was repeated, the feet were drawn up. The spinal cord was
therefore awake.
She had now been down stairs about twenty minutes. Desiring to awake her,
I shook her by the shoulders quite violently for several seconds, without
success. I then took her head between my hands and shook it. This proved
effectual in a little while. She awoke suddenly, looked around her for an
instant, as if endeavoring to comprehend her situation, and then burst
into a fit of hysterical sobbing. When she recovered her equanimity, she
had no recollection of anything that had passed, or of having had a dream
of any kind.
A gentleman of very nervous temperament informs me that upon one occasion
he dreamed that his place of business was on fire. He got up in his sleep,
dressed himself, and walked a distance of over a mile to his store. He was
aroused by the private watchman, who stopped him while in the act of
looking through the grating of the door, under the impression at first
that he had caught a burglar.
A young lady who some time since was under my care for intense periodical
headaches, informed me that, just previous to each attack, she walked in
her sleep, but had never any recollection of what she did while in the
somnambulic state. Her mother stated that when her daughter was in this
condition, she did not use her eyes, although they were wide open, nor
did she appear to hear loud noises made close to her ears.
In relation to the activity of the senses during somnambulism, there is
great diversity of opinion among those who have studied the affection.
This is doubtless due to the fact that somnambulists differ among
themselves as regards the use they make of their senses--some availing
themselves of the aid they can derive from these sources, while others do
not appear to employ them at all.
Thus it is stated that Negretti kept his eyes closed, and yet when a box
of snuff was handed to him, he took a pinch without hesitation; and the
young ecclesiastic whose case I have already quoted, performed even more
complex acts than this.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account