Page:Book of health.pdf/21

Rh Q. Cannot we sleep too much, and so injure our health?

A. Yes; when we have not had much exercise in the open air, and consequently are not tired, and when we, during our sleep, breathe corrupted air, or lie in warm feather-beds, we find ourselves after some time lazy, stupid, and unhealthy.

Q. Ought we to sleep in cool fresh, and clean air?

A. Yes; and it therefore behoves us not to sleep in warm sitting rooms, but in cool, lofty roomy chambers, that have fresh air; whose windows are kept open in the day time; and in beds without curtains, or with curtains not to be drawn.

Q. What kind of bed is fittest for grown up persons?

A Mattresses stuffed with horse hair, or straw, covered with a blanket or quilt. But when people sleep on feather-beds, they ought to air and beat them well in summer-time once a week, and in winter once in a fortnight, and often change their bedlinen.

Q. What is farther to be observed with respect to sleep?

A. We ought not to lie down till we are tired, nor remain in bed after we awake in the morning.

Q. Ought the head and breast to be laid higher in bed than any other part of the body?

A. No; nor ought we to lie on our backs, but alternately on either side, in a somewhat bended position, taking care not to fold our arms round our heads.

Q. What is to be done with beds in which sick people have lain?

A. They are for many days to be well aired and beaten; but if the disease has been contagious, the bed ought to be burnt, or buried deep in the ground.

Q. When habitations are dark, fusty, and damp,