CURES FOR SLEEPLESSNESS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
Silt,—As one who has suffered much from insomnia, I read with interest " F. P. C.'s " letter in the Spectator of July 21st. His theory that sleep, when broken, can be renewed by carrying on in thought the preceding dream, I can confirm ; but it does not deal with the most difficult case of insomnia,—when one lies down after a long day's work thoroughly tired and yet vividly awake. For the latter ease, I venture to offer some suggestions, which I have myself found useful.
1. A glass of cold water, which is an excellent solvent, and, by setting the digestion to work, draws away the blood from the head. 2. Go over some scene in a novel you are familiar with, endeavouring, if possible, to call up the dramatis persona before the imagination. 3. Count up a series of numbers, substituting for some number—four, or six, or seven, &c.—and for each multiple of that number, a simple word. If you make any slip, such as pronouncing the number (or its multiple), begin again. 4. An attempt to compose a sermon or a simple dialogue between two characters will often induce sleep. 5. Sleeplessness often arises from vitiated air, for which an open
window is the obvious remedy.—I am, Sir, &c., F. R. S.
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