Page:The Road to Wellville (1926).djvu/15

 should also be healthy. For the health of the body and the health of the mind act one upon the other.

Discontent frequently comes from a wrong physical condition. It may be caused by constipation, eyestrain, lack of exercise, or bad posture. Even after the cause has been removed, the discontent may continue because the habit has been acquired.

Let us try not to worry. Worry drains energy. Let us cultivate optimism. Happiness lies at the end of the Road to Wellville. Its attainment is largely up to us.

The human body is a delicate machine. It must have rest, or it will wear out. To deprive ourselves of proper sleep and rest is to make serious inroads on our reserve strength. It may be years before our account is overdrawn, but sooner or later we must pay the overdraft.

For the infant and child, through the period of adolescence, rest is even more important than for the adult. The baby, with its rapid body-building program, needs twenty hours of sleep out of every twenty-four, the “run-about” child twelve to fourteen hours, and the older school child at least ten hours.

Enough hours of restful sleep in a well-aired room will go far toward insuring the new beginning which each day should bring.

If we want to be well we should learn how to select our food and how to eat it. Our rations should be balanced. The meal should contain the right proportions of the various foods the body requires to keep it healthy. Then the right choices should be made from the table’s