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CHAP. IX.] If any objection is raised against combinations, on the score that it is dangerous to change them at night, and unpleasant to sleep in drawers, woollen vests may be worn, and drawers of the same material fastened to the stays or the bodice hereafter to be described. The vests can then be retained for night wear, and the drawers taken off with the other clothes. Many people, however, think it advisable to change the underclothing at night, and I have heard this especially recommended for consumptives, on the grounds that, after having been worn all day, the underclothing is, as it were, poisoned by the excretions of the wearer. If this is done, great care is needed in order to prevent chill. It must be borne in mind that on retiring to rest, and throughout the night, the human body is at its minimum of power. Worn out with the day's exertions, the nervous system is exhausted, and more liable to be injuriously affected than at any other time, and we must not forget that cold acts through the nervous system. During sleep, moreover, when the vital forces are being renewed, the functions of the body go on more slowly than while we are awake, the heart beats less quickly, and less heat is evolved, as may easily be seen by taking the temperature of a sleeper with a clinical thermometer. The temperature of the atmosphere also falls at night, and sometimes very suddenly and considerably, so that even greater care is required as to night clothing than as to that worn during the day. I would lay down as a hard-and-fast rule that, unless