Vitality Supreme

Generally speaking, therefore, I maintain that most people at the present day sleep too little rather than too much. I would not stipulate any special number of hours for sleeping but I would advise everyone to secure as much sleep as he requires. It has often been said that if you sleep too much you will be stupid as a result. Such results are usually brought about by sleeping in unsatisfactory environment, particularly in stuffy rooms in which the air is vitiated and really unfit to breathe. I cannot imagine one feeling stupid as a result of oversleeping when sleeping out-of-doors, or when the supply of air is absolutely fresh. Excessive heat would probably be conducive to restlessness, but this is purely a detail which I shall take up later. Under natural and healthful conditions one will rarely sleep too much. If you sleep until you wake up naturally there is little danger of your sleeping too much. Without doubt most people need from seven to eight hours' sleep; some of them need more, particularly women and children, who in many cases require from nine to ten hours' sleep or even more. These are general statements. Individual exceptions will be many, but, as I have said, it will be found that those who need less sleep are men and women of extraordinary vitality. The quality of sleep is really more important than the duration of sleep. It is quality or depth of sleep that is really what counts, and to secure this it is necessary that certain healthful conditions be observed. The first of these is a normal condition of physical or muscular fatigue. This is easily distinguished from nervous fatigue or exhaustion in which the entire system is more or less upset. Abnormal states of this sort arise from excitement, excessive mental work, or other conditions involving severe nerve strain. This nervous fatigue is not usually conducive to sleep, but a tired condition of the muscles of the body generally, as a result of natural physical activity, is always favorable to sleep. Many who complain of insomnia, therefore, would often be able to remedy their trouble by the simple expedient of a long walk, covering sufficient distance to bring about the physical fatigue which makes sleep possible. Conditions of air, temperature and bed covering are also important factors in connection with the quality of sleep.