A_Complete_Handbook_of_Nature_Cures

Sleep : Restorative of Tired Body and Mind
NATURE CURE
Sleep : Restorative of Tired Body and Mind
Sleep is one of nature’s greatest inventions and blessings of life. It is a periodic rest of the body
which is absolutely essential for its efficient functioning. It has been called " most cheering
restorative of tired bodies. "
Sleep is the indispensable condition to the recuperation of energy. We go to bed fatigued and
get up refreshed. Sleep repairs the wear and tear of the body and mind incurred during waking
hours. Nothing is so restorative to the nerves as sound and uninterrupted sleep. Sleep is thus a
vital element in a total way of life. It is a basic need in man’s mental as well as physical life.
During sleep most of the functions of the body are carried on at the lowest level possible in
health. Heat production is from 10 to 15 per cent below the basal level. The mechanism
regulating the body temperature are less sensitive than in the waking state and are depressed
by 0.5 to 1.0 degree F. The rate of the heart is reduced by 10 to 30 beats per minute and a
decline in blood pressure of about 20 mm occurs in quiet restful sleep. The urine volume is
considerably reduced, but its concentration in solids is increased. The tone of all the skeletal
muscles is lessened. The eyes are usually rolled upward and the pupils constricted.
Loss of sleep exerts seriously detrimental effects upon the nervous system. Long periods of
wakefulness may cause profound psychological changes such as loss of memory, irritability,
hallucination and even schizophrenic manifestations. During the last World War, prisoners in
Nazi concentration camps who kept awake for days by strong lights and blaring wireless sets,
collapsed.
Sleep versus rest
For correct living, it is essential to differential between sleep and rest. At rest the body is
disturbed by all exterior noises ; but in sleep it is screened from them by partial loss of
consciousness and also by what is called " dream protection. " One useful purpose of the dream
is to convert outside noises that might awake the sleeping person, into fantasies that do not
disturb him.
During rest the limbs are normal, but in sleep they swell. Blood flows from the brain, distends the
arteries, and makes the limbs bigger. IN sleep more muscles are relaxed than in rest, though the
sleeping person changes his position about 35 times in one night, without knowing it. Many
organs which work during rest suspend their activities in sleep. Thus the recouping value of
sleep is much more than that of rest or simple lying down.
Theories of sleep
Many theories of sleep have been advanced to explain the temporary loss of consciousness
which we know as sleep. The oldest theory is that sleep is induced by a reduction in the blood
supply to the brain or at least to conscious centres. This is known as ischemic theory. Even the
ancient Greek physicians were aware that the carotid artery was in a way concerned with the
onset of sleep. The name itself expresses this belief. The Greek word ‘ Karotides’ for carotid
arteries is derived from karoo which means ‘put to sleep.’ In modern times, the drowsiness after
a meal, presumably due to the diversion of blood from the brain to the digestive organs, is cited
in support of the ischemic theory.
Another important theory about sleep is the chemical theory. As a result of experiments in the
metabolism of sleeping subjects, it is considered that the fatigue inducing sleep may be a mild
form of blood poisoning or toxaemia. This " poisoning" is believed to be brought on by the
expenditure of energy during the waking hours.
According to this theory, every contraction of a muscle and every impulse passing through the
brain or the nerves breaks down a certain amount of tissue. The debris from broken down tissue
is then thrown into the bloodstream. In the waking state, much of the waste from broken down
tissue is got rid of through the natural eliminating processes of lungs, kidneys, bowels and skin.
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