The New York Times from New York, New York • Page 28

THE NEW "TOKK TIMES. SUNDAY. 3TUNE '23. 1910. IP HOW TO GET SLEEP ON HOT SUMMER NIGt4T5 I Advice from Well Known Make Easier Physicians' the Sizzling to Bear.

and Specialists Which Will Season 1 tl A- NX of the biggest problems of hot Summer weather Is how to overcome Insomnia and get enough sleep at night to enable one to do the work of the day. Here la given the advice of physicians and others whose experience makes anythlm they say on the subject helpful and valuable: A Question of Nerves. By Dr. JOHN D. QUACKENBOS.

IX is well known that In nervous persona any deviation from established habits of sensation causes psychlo disturbances that result In Insomnia. In cases without number the most trivial causes operate to disturb or prevent sleep. Unusual heat at night acts on this principle. It Is out of the ordinary routine of sensation. Then a succession of restless nlghu engenders a fear of sleeplessness (Jnsomniphobla) which keeps the brain congested and so encourages the cause of the fear, for sleep is partial anaemia of the brain.

Where the thermometer falls the lnsomnlphobla takes flight, thr brain Is decongosted, and normal sleep returns. In this age of Insomnia a perfect answer to the question would require a great deal of thought. Involving the separation of Insomniacs into classes and an Investigation of the effects of heat In each class on the eephallo cells. Conditions -Among the Poor. By HISS' ELLEN D.

WALD. Head Settlement "Worker. City of N. T. IT Is a very big question as an appal-lng tragedy.

The oondltlona which the people are not able to materially alter are, in a large measure, accountable for the tragic results. The bad housing conditions, the congestion of people In the very Insufficient space in which they live. The lack of ventilating facilities, the odors, the ver min, not because the people are so unclean, but because there are ao many of them In such a small space, no shade in the streets, exhausting work and long hours of labor, insufficiency of ice and lack of facilities for keeping It. The absence of parks and playgrounds in the reach of the. people the expense of going to those now open Is too great; all these thin tea contribute to the horror of the dreaded hot nights.

Then, too, the Insufficient bathing accommodations in their homes. The Insufferable heat In their rooms drives them to the streets, the sidewalks are hot, the dust Is thick, and the odor from the tardily removed garbage cans, worse In hot weather because of the greater quantity of fruit, etc, used. They stay out there till all hours of the night, and still their rooms are stifling, yet they must work long hours next day. These are the conditions that make the hot nights so serious a tragedy to people who cannot better their surroundings. "God lent his creatures light and air and waters open to the skies.

Man locks him In a etlfllng lair and wonders why his brother dies. We make no provision for our extremes of weather. Our tropical weather Is not takon Into consideration In our business arrangement as It should be. In tropical countries no business or work is done in the heat of the day. They begin very early.

and the morning's business Is over by 10 o'clock. Then, later In the afternoon. business Is resumeJ. They get Just as many hours of labor. In tropical countries the buildings are constructed so as to take advantage of every facility for ventilation nd pure air.

The roofs are made purposely to ileop on. and are built with that in mind; here In New Tork they are not. Some day that, and provisions for cool, tng the room In hot weather, as provisions for heating them in cold weather are now, will be made. Now roofs are not planned for that purpose; some Janitors won't allow It. and some do; the fire escapes are choice places given to old people ami bnbles to sleep upon.

There Is relief, of course, to some extent, but It Is possible with all the vast sums, the great generosity and wonderful provisions, to reach only a small per cent. New York Is so big. in spite of every one of the many associations and the Health Department's greatest efforts, we have to eelect only the most needy. The people are quick and eager to take advantage ef anything to better their conditions: that Is shown by the thousands at the free baths every day. We Happy Thought T' HE world Is so full of a number of things I'm sure we should aU be as happy as kings." There's the dew of the morning, the fly-ipg-machlne.

The song birds, the game birds, the Boston baked bean. The languorous lane and the MfM limousine. Pickled plgtf feet and waffles, the ead sunset scene. The cataract, circus and Joke magaslna. The ripe watermelon, the maid of sixteen.

The bright buttercups In a setting of green. Thunder clouds and tried bacon, fat, middling, and lean. The loving of good folks, hot shots at the mean. The escaping from functions where we should have been Oh, Isn't it nice In a world full of things To make us all feel Juat as happy as 4 kings? ly nip An Open-Air Bedroom Near the City. are ooolfny our big gymnaetam wtth large eleotrio fans, and have trained nurses and every facility, but It Is Inadequate.

That with seven country places open all Summer, and all our roofs arranged for sleeping, hardly makes an appreciable impression in our own district, and I presume It la the same with every other society. The remedy la In changmg the conditions, providing more open air spaces In accessible distances from the congested areas. During the heated terms all the parks and the entire water front ought to be thrown open to the people at night More baths and bathing facilities should be provided. It is aU very well to tell a person, tortured by heat, bad odors, dust, and so on, what to do, but how they are going to do It is another matter. If a person lean take plenty of coldaths is la ex- leellent Another point la our streets are hot and the pavements radiate heat all night after a hot day.

They should be wet thoroughly, flushed, in fact, every evening. Why, people sleep on the sidewalks, and spread papers under their quilts to keep out the heat from the walks. They crawl I under the newsstands, anywhere that has! 1 oeen protectea rrem the sun's rays. Then I should say shorter or different hours of labor. It would mean considerable readjustment of business, but It is well worth serious consideration.

It would mean the saving of hundreds of lives. The large department and other stores are doing considerable along that line now, closing early every day and half holiday on Saturday. That was once thought Impossible. The more frequent removal of garbage and deodorizing the cans In the heated term, especially In the congested districts. Pood plays an Important part; we should all eat more moderately, and have proper food, and I think one Instinctively eats less in hot weather.

Temperance Is always essential, of course. Some Simple Helps. By Mrs. H. INGRAM.

Superintendent of Relief, the New Tork Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. FOR the hot weather I should say the thinnest kind of clothing Is advisable for all of us, but especially bablea Babies feel the heat more than we do. and one thin, short sleeveless garment ls enough for them. They won't take cold. The hot nights are to be dreaded, especially by the poor, because of the way they are compelled to live.

The flats cannot be opened front snd back to let the air circulate all through. There are on an average of five or six people the three rooms, but often there are eight or nine. The bedroom is a small, dark room with no window or perhaps a little one opening Into a halL We try hard to keep the beds out of there; try to Induce them to bring out the beds and sleep In the larger room, the parlor, which has at least one outside window. These windows are generally closed, or they may be opened from the botfm. We open all the windows up the bottom and down from the top.

People can't sleep unless the baking, stsgnant air but they are afraid of draughts, and draughts don't hurt any one, in Ziot weather especially, so I would put ventilation, fresh air. all the fresh air that can be had, as very Im portant. Put the bed near the window, right where the breezes may blow on It If there are any. especially the baby's bed. Don't put baby away off in a hot corner, where air cannot reach it.

This is provided peo ple cannot sleep on the roofs. In the parks, or out of doors, any way. It would be a godsend If the piers and the parks could all be thrown open and the poor people allowed to take a shawl or a quilt and sleep on the grass. This might be done during the short heated term without much injury to the parks, and would save many lives. But If not that then sleep on the roof, anywhere to be In the fresh air.

Food la also one of the essentials to consider, especially In hot weather, not only Improper food, but the very Improper, unhygienic methods of cooking and eating It. A. great deal of our work la along this line; we have one dietitian who does nothing else but go about instructing people how to buy. keep, and prepare foods. We have prepared a very valuable little book on this subject, and every one should have It We supply Ice to the poor, and.

fortunately, this year we have ao far had enough to provide for every family. We Instruct them how to keep It where they have no ice box. in wooden tube or pails. the Ice wrapped In paper and the food packed asauad it This la very necessary 0m a-- with milk, because milk that la "a little off may kill a ohild. Meata should be avoided as much as possible In hot weather.

Eat very little ourlhlng, and, do not nroduca much heat, flreen or fresh do not produce much heat Green or fresh' vegetables, cereals, with fresh milk and fruits, fresh fruits or stewed fruits, prunes, and so on, are very good. Berries, too, or melons are good. One of the worst features of the food question is the frightful irregularity of eating, especially among children. The I process of digestion generates heat that la what food Is for, so If we keep the digestion taxed all the time we keep up an Internal fire heating us continually. Oh! these pennies the children get Keep the pennies away from them In hot weather, for pennies means a pickle one minute, an Ice cream cone the next, and a pink drink the next, ao that their little stomachs never get any rest Keep the pennies and your child's health.

Then drinks, too, are important to con sider. Milk Is the one best substantial drink In hot weather, fresh milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk Is excellent and cheap. Water, if not swallowed too hurriedly, is splendid, all anv one wants; In fact water, externally or Internally, as we use It is beneficial Alcohol and the many forms of It we know in our work is baneful. The poor have no business drinking alcoholic beverages at any time, and In hot weather lta effects are dangerous to life.

Above all, no such things as narcotics or drugs or soothing drops or soothing syrups or patent medicines or paregoric should be used to Induce sleep. If sleeplessness of hot nights gets to any euch stage where you, fancy such things advisable, go to a doctor or the dispensary. Be moderate In all things, don't rush, don't overeat or overdress. Keep as quiet as possible. If you can't aleep take a cold bath.

Water la plentiful and easy to get Cold sponging of children and fanning them puts them Into a aound sleep, which nearly always lasts all night Mother's mwk Is the best of all foods. Do not wean your bablea In hot weather. Ten bottle fed babies die to one breast fed. Nurse the baby regularly, never ftener than two hours during the day and four hours at night Don't nurse the baby every time it cries. If you cannot nurse your baby, do not ask your neighbor's advice; ask your doctor or one of our nurses.

Give baby only good milk; keep the milk cold and covered. Bathe the baby every day and wash It every time Its clothes are changed. Give It all the fresh air possible day and night; keep your windows open all day and all night Use the ferryboats, recreation piers, vacation schools, parks, roofs', and fresh-air trips. Give baby plenty of cool boiled water to drink several times a day, two or three spoonfuls each time. Ourselves to Blame.

By Dr. TITUS BULXk THE subject Is an Important one, but pur own faults or mistakes are quite as much to blame as the hot nights. The immoderate use of nltrogenlsed foods that la, red beef, steaks, and so on. producing an Improper balance between waste and repair, I consider one of the worst features. We should eat meata very epartngly In hot weather, -and then only ence a day, at noontime.

Having late dinners Is Very bad. Alco-hollo drinks In the ordinary Individual are very bad and should be avoided entirely In hot weather. Alcohol produces heat Water la proper. Plenty of It If not too cold. Iced water la an artificial drink, and the nearer to natural eonditinna w.

Mn the better. This to demonstrated tn anl- mala; an animal won't drink lea water. We should not drink water oold enough to shock us. Bathing In cold water la rood, It aids perspiration In regulating the circulation of the skin and In this wax Is nature's method of regulating the bodily ten perature. v- Be philosophical; take the hot weather as It comes and adjust ourselves to our condition.

There' is no sense in the use of drugs to produce sleep; the results are dangerous. Sometimes a glass of hot milk before retiring will Induce sleep. But of all drinks, I consider buttermilk the best. s. i- i UX.

ffjr. C3 On a City Rooftop. The clothing, of course, should be thin, clean, fresh. Sleep out of doors. If possible; the more open air we get the better.

Our mode of living- la verv artificial and very wrong, packed Into small apartments as we are, the air devitalised. Open all the windows wide, let In an abundance of air In hot or cold weather. Protect the body from sudden chilling by the clothing. There's no danger In draughts of good fresh air. Our conditions of Bring are about as far away from nature's Intention as possible, and the quicker we get back the better.

Go to the oountry if you can. Therefore, to reduoe the remedy to a few words, I should aay, be philosophical, take cold hatha, drink water and buttermilk, eat moderately, lightly at night; dress lightly, keep clean and keep cooL I should add, dont eat much meat once a day at most Don't drink alcoholic drinks, don't smoke too much, don't worry about the heat don't take any drugs. The dreaded hot nights never last long continuously; we get relief often, so, after all, we can stand them fairly well If we are careful Abstemiousness Needed. By Dr. IRA.

VAN GIESEN, Pathologist of the Health Department IT Is an important subject and has received the study and- the results of the labors of the most sclentiflo men. Our hot weather Is Inevitable, bjt It is the humidity or moisture in the air that makes the trouble. Our mercury seldom gets very high around 00 degrees is about allf Out on the plains In a dry atmosphere the termometer often" registers 120 and more, but we never hear of heatstrokes, sunstrokes, or heat prostrations. Durmg the dreaded hot nights it Is the personal discomfort that prevents sleep. Humidity Interferes with the perspiration.

Perspiration Is the ellmlnatlve function of the skin carrying off the toxlo or poisonous material, and if interfered with these toxic materials are kept within the body, producing all sorts of discomfort and even more serious conditions. Horses and man are the only animals that have sweat glands and In which the function of perspiration Is carried on by the skin. The effect of overheating; Is the same In these two animals. Heat or sunstroke are followed by all sorts of neuritises and paralysis In the horse, the same as in man. The question la What can be done about It? We all wear too heavy clothing.

We should dress tn the thinnest possible way, as they do In the tropica. In the tropical countries business and labor are suspended In the heat of the day, but It aeems we cannot do that In this city during our short heated term. Wo can wear thinner clothing, however. Our apartments are too small and too little air is obtainable. Air In our rooms Is saturated with moisture and prevents evaporation of the perspiration.

We should deep out of doors. If possible. Our piers and parks should be thrown open. They give breathing room, especially to women and children In our crowded tenements, and undoubtedly save many lives. Diet of course.

Is a great factor In the production of bodily heat Meata and fata ahould be avoided aa much as possible. We all eat too much meat Keep down bodily temperature by eating less meat Bat sparingly of the cereals, lettuces, and such fresh vegetables and fresh fruits of an kinds, acid fruits particular-ly. melons, and all the berries. We can live and do our work on that' sort of diet during our short term of hot nights. Drink milk and buttermilk; lea water, too.

If tipped. doubt If lea water Injures any one If they don't gulp It down fast enough to drown themselves. 'Iced tea Is also rood. Alcohol is the worst thing In the world. It Is a systemlo intoxication and Interferes with perspiration.

It Is a heat producer. At the much abused soda fountains they serve drinks which are mixtures of chocolate, milk, eggs, ice, lemons, limes, and so on. They are all good. Take two or three of those nutritious mixtures of milk and eggs or chocolate a day, especially at meal times, and one doesn't want much else to eat They are very 1 refreshing. a Baths are excellent; cold water baths The Fire-Escape is a will reduce the bodily temperature; Just pure cold water or even sponging with cold water.

This Is very efficacious with children. Fane, If you can have them, keep the air In circulation and promote evaporation. By -nglng and fanning a child may often be put Into a refreshing sleep lasting all night. Cold clothes are refreshing, too. In fact any common-sense method of lowering the bodily temperature Is refreshing.

Some of the milder narcotics possibly might give relief, but the heroic ones should not be used at all. They are depressing. After all. the dreaded hot nights are over In a week or ten days at most, then we get relief, a breathing spell, and are quickly refreshed. Cool nights come early In the Fall, and one can stand considerable heat during the day if the nights ore cooL Therefore, I should say, if we lead abstemious lives In eating and drinking, are temperate In all things, and take things as easy as possible, we are apt to get through fairly well, and remember our discomforts last but a short time, like a bad dream.

Tranquility the Key. By DR. GRAEME C. HAMMOND. TRANQUILITY of mind, I should say, Is the most important thing.

No one can go to sleep whether it is hot or not with thousand and one things running through his mind. Keep cooL We can. do that largely by letting our minds drift quietly along. Don't hurry and get excited in these hot days. Hot nights are everywhere during the hot seasons, and there's no use getting excited about it Lead a quiet, temperate Ufa By temperate I mean in everything except alcohol.

We should not drink alcoholic drinks at all alcohol In any form Is dangerous yes, beer la alcoholic These prostrations are not sunstrokes at all, and Intemperance In eating and drinking "has more to do with them than the temperature. By being temperate. I mean in all things, but especially in eating. We eat too much; we all eat too much. That second piece of pie did me no good.

I did not need It and only ate It because It tasted good. I woulcl iave been better off without It Our digestion works slower in the hot weather than In the cold. Drink water; drink all you want of It Good water never hurt anybody, provided it's not too cold and drunk too fast Drink all the moderately cold water you want Wear thin clothing, clean and frequently changed. Leave out all meats and fats. If vou must have some of them eat them In the middle of the day.

Make your supper very light; don't eat more than you need at any time. Look at all these restaurants, all busy, all filled with people eating, eating, all the time, at all hours. Nobody can get any natural rest with their digestion working all the time. If your mind la tranquil, your stomach not overloaded, no alcohol heating your blood, your night clothing; thin, and you can't sleep because of the heat get into a tub of cold water and stay there till your body la cool, then slip on your night clothes Just aa you come from the tub. Don't dry yourself with towels, but go quietly to bed, and you will sleep.

Or sprinkle your night clothes and aheets with cold water; wet them good. No danger of taking cold. have one of these bulb flower sprinklers and use that Sleep out of doors if you can. by all means. It la the best thing you can do, and there la not a bit of danger In It Narcotle drugs do no rood, and at best are only palliative.

Don't use them, any I I "5f 1J S-s2fk of them. The effect la worse than the Insomnia. 80. all in all. I say, tranquility, thin clothes, no alcohol, little food, and plenty of cold water, and a cheerful frame of mind to endure the heat for a short time, and we will come out all right.

It the people would only learn that Intemperance in eating Is aa bad or worse, does more harm, than Intemperance la drinking, we would all be better off. Right Living and Carefulness. By DR. THOMAS ARLINGTON. Commissioner of Health.

New Tork City. THE dreaded hot nights? By that you mean the heated iterm generallly, and that has some effect on the Good Place to Sleep. (letting the Breeez death rate In New Tork City. Not a great deal, ft Is true, but It has some, and whatever has any effect on the death rate of the city claims my earnest attention at once, because that's what I am here for. I would much rather be In the country, but I find, if we are to keep our death rate down I have to "stay on the Job." We are getting results, too.

The death rate per thousand right here In New Tork Is lower than It Is tn the country right now. Aa for the cure of hot-night sleeplessness. Til start off with quoting a text from Eccleslastes, Chapter Verse The slsep of the laboring man Is sweet, whether he eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." It is true that hot nights will keep us awake at times, but much of It Is not due to the heat Worry, hunger. Indigestion, overheating, heat or cold, over-fatigue, or Improper covering ape all auses of insomnia. One's occupation previous to lying down is Important The hurry after fame and the almighty dollar Is an important cause these daya The remedy la largely in removing the cause; If from a dreadful hot night take a cold bath; If from worry, don't CoL Sellers, who would always flure "millions in It," probably had Insomnia, and his prototypes of today have It In hot weather.

The laboring man of to-day rarely has Insomnia, any more than they did in old Bible timet. We should never take a narcotic; It is worso than Insomnia, and It Is unscientific. Many plans have been devised to promote sleep, counting up to some great numbers, Rabelais tells of monks who devoted themselves resolutely to prayer and went to aleep praying. Lady Montague speaks of a common practice among the Turkish women of combing the hair to Induce aleep. These, of course, apply to Insomnia In general and are of value In only a few cases.

Food and drink play an Important part Protracted late dinners, rich, heavy foods, alcohol, all produce heat Drink water all you want. If not too cold. The proper way la to regulate our mode of life according to the ordinary rules of hygiene and right living, and then we will sleep without artificial aid. By so living Nature will assert herself, and with Somnua ever alert, the eyelids become heavy, respiration becomes slower, the thought subdued, fancy dormant. Imagination' slumbers, the system relaxes, and you faU Into the arms of Morpheus.

"Keep CooL" By -Dr. M. 8. GREGORT, Resident Alienist at Bellevue Hospital. KEEP COOL." It Is a very difficult problem under our present mode of living.

I should say that conditions of Ufe control the matter almost entirely. The wealthy may go to the arctic regions If they wish to. while Heaven only knows how the peor stand their conditions. 1 I II I 1 1 -r -ww 'x; Of course, the rreat nmm. between these ntrmM be done In the mv In the country, where peonU erowdsd together as they are la portions of the city, they hav, ton? conditions, and for those who can there the question Is settled.

Get tm the crowded conditions and Into tl try If you can. 7 Much may be done by living taking; Ufe as easily as possible. tfllUr, not being excited, keeping cool One can really exercise a great fen control over one self by a little thourM and planning, and It win help wonto! fully. Fussing and fretting er 7nd aptly say. stewing about th weatW gets on one's mind and nerves to that sleep la Impossible.

I should say going quietly ts bed, wft a quiet mind and lying quiet till ailen la excellont Then clothing plays an Importaat put In this condition. We should dress lirhQr. as they do In the tropics, where thsr hue hot weather all the year around. Woo1b goods, of course, are not to be worn, yst we want something to absorb persplrstloi. There are many aultable materials, very-thin cotton gannenta being the mett to ular.

Above all, the clothing should bs eleta and frequently changed. There Is nothing so productive of distressing heat dirty clothing, and nothing is more refnahing than fresh, clean clothing day or night, and, fortunately, there Is an abundance of Summer, clothing to be had by ttaott every one. In fact, cleanliness cannot bt too strongly urged upon every clai la these cases. This includes frequent bathing. A ee'4 sponge bath Just before going to bed It beneficial.

In children especially, mock relief may be had In frequent sponging with cool or cold water. A sponge or soft at the End of a Pier. towel dipped In cold water, the excesi water squeezed out of it. then the chill gently sponged all over, but about the head and neck and under 0a arms, gives great relief very quickly. 1 little alcohol added to the water hastw evaporation and may promote heat tion, but I should say good, clean, adulterated, oold water Is about as sffsoV ual as anything.

Food Is another strong element In hau production. I may say It Is the greetsjt element; therefore It demands the awsV careful consideration. Meats, fats, ana a on, are to be entirely avoided during ths.j heated term. Cereals, milk, and a few of the fresh vegetables, and fruits- i especially fruits are good. A largs i.

WVjf tion or xne snouia De iruu of fresh fruit berries and melons. We should eat lightly-Just as little as we can get along with during the ho weather. Moderation In all things tes4 toward reduction and excess toward pre-ductlon of heat. Drinking, that Is drinking malt or spirituous liquors, is dangerous and shpttlo not be Indulged in at all. Smoking, toe, should be limited In these hot days, ts very moderate Indulgence.

If any. Th whole matter may be summed Uf this way: Quiet life, cleanliness, ttti clothing, and moderation In all tbinf They are the all-Important elements In tt prevention and cure for the effects of dreaded hot nights. If any one can go to the country tna Saturday noon until Monday, that Is, to the country and rest, not on excurtW or picnics, it will bo found very helpful The ordinary person has no busis whatever to undertake the production artificial sleep by the use of oplstct, cotics, or other drugs. TJie results worse than the disease, and norcotW should never be taken except under direction of a physician, and then SKT when positively demanded. That THAT night the world seemed aong.

Each star a twinkle wore, And every frog was musical Before his reedy door. The roses leaned across his path, iMmrim riA'er lift That wood and thicket all should saw On such a night seemed meet The brook that toughed beneath the Burst Into sudden song. And lurking echoes all the way Their chime bells rang along. A thousand things seemed bent te Ills happy homeward way, As If they knew his Inner Joy And tried their Joy to say. And an of this because a maid Within a bower dim Where roses only heard the words Bad said that she gloved bm ft 1 i.