Part 16 (1/2)

SIGNIFICANCE OF NIGHT AND SLEEP

Anyone who wishes for improvement in health, strength, grace, ease, or vitality, or, in fact, in anything, must realize especially the significance of the law of rhythm.

Rhythm is a law of the whole universe. The music of the spheres is no fable. Observe, too, the rhythm of the seasons. Everywhere there is a co-ordination of the finite and the infinite, the individual and the universal,--a unity of forces acting in a sequence of natural co-ordinations.

Of all the ill.u.s.trations of rhythm one of the most important is the alternation of day and night. Every plant awakes and rejoices with the sun and it recognizes the sunset and goes to sleep as the darkness comes. The few exceptions only prove the rule, and even these simply reverse day and night and are equally rhythmic.

The value of day and night to man is well known. When there is a continuous work to be done it has been proven scientifically that those who work at night cannot accomplish so much as those who work by day.

The very same man cannot do the same amount and grade of work in a night that he can do in a day.

The human system is built up by various rhythms like that of day and night. There is a natural call for rest, for recuperation and the surrendering of all our voluntary energies that the spontaneous activities may have their turn.

The Psalmist, after he has gone all over the beauties of the world exclaims, ”Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening.” Here he pauses, for the beauties of the evening seem to awe him for a moment into silence, and then he breaks forth into a universal paean of praise: ”O, Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.”

Night is a part of the normal rhythm of nature. Every plant and every bird welcomes night as well as morning.

Serious and abnormal, indeed, is the state of one who cannot sleep. Next to the importance of a right awakening in the morning is the peaceful, restful retirement at night.

Edison boasts of how little sleep he needs, and claims that sometime man will cease to sleep. He says that sleep is only a habit.

As a matter of fact, by working rhythmically through all the hours of the day, by obeying the law of rhythm at all times, a man may possibly need less sleep, but the repose of unconsciousness seems a part of the Creator's economy.

”He giveth His beloved sleep.”

By living in obedience to the law of rhythm and especially by taking some rhythmic exercises before lying down, we can sleep better.

Almost innumerable are the suggestions, rules, or recipes on how to go to sleep.

One says, ”Keep counting until you fall asleep.”

Another says, ”Watch a flock of sheep jumping over a fence, counting each one as it jumps.”

A third says, ”Watch a bird sailing around in the sky. Keep the mind upon it and watch it as it steadily sails until you are asleep.”

Someone says, ”Repeat the Twenty-third Psalm over and over, the more rhythmic, the better.”

Another says, ”Think of the sky. Keep the mind upon its expanse.”

Still another, ”Think of the Infinite and Eternal Source of the universe.”

Among all these suggestions we can find some truth. Nearly all of them imply concentration of the mind. If attention can be focused and held at a point, the excited activity of thinking may be stopped and the body consequently brought into a state of acquiescence. They succeed, if they do succeed, because attention is turned from worries to something besides the antagonism, excitements and duties of the day.

Another element in the suggestions is their regularity. Watching the sheep jump over a fence and counting one at a time, for example, affects the breathing and all the vital forces of the body. This causes rhythmic co-ordination of all the elements and the unity of this will, of course, bring sleep. The sense of harmony and rhythm and self-control should be gained; all antagonistic, chaotic and exciting thoughts and all worry should be eliminated as far as possible before lying down. When we lie down, we should turn our attention away from the excitements of the world to something calm and reposeful.

Accordingly there is nothing better than to repeat some of the exercises of the morning. These stretchings, practiced slowly and rhythmically, will equalize the circulation, the taking of deep breaths, very rhythmically, will tend to restore respiratory action and the other exercises will tend to eliminate constriction from local parts.

Observe the necessity once more of harmonious thought and positive emotion, for here again there will be a temptation to dwell upon the failures of the day. It is so hard to forget some unkind word, some failure on our part to grasp a situation at the right time. We can easily remember the wrong word we ourselves spoke and deeply regret our failure to enter into sympathetic touch with someone.

In such an excited frame of mind, with the nerves wrought up at the thought of the day's work and with all these discordant pictures thronging into our consciousness, sleep becomes impossible.