How to Live

rk, Play, Re

clude unwholesome substances, but it is also necessary that the body should at times act, and at other times be inactive. There are two great forms of acti

aily

ld aim to make it up at the earliest opportunity. If the afternoon exercise has had to be omitted, an extra amount should be taken as soon as possible. Some people find that while it is difficult to live a complete life every single day, it is quite within their power to give every element its due proportion in each w

Proportion o

all people are in need of exercise, nor are all in need of rest; but almost every one needs to change his proportion between the two. To-day many people are suffering from too

ssary to a normal healthy life than to have purposeful work. A great dream or ambition in life often obviates personal ailments and nullifies their potenc

of

extreme of drudgery and others because it has shrunk into nothingness and futility. Sometimes people become ill because their

on of Ov

nd tends to overfatigue. Overstrain is to be avoided, therefore, by paying heed to Nature's fatigue-signals as soon as they appear.

ing

to fully recuperate overnight, partly from sleep and partly

ty of

nges in work which prevent a sense of monotony will greatly increase the power to work. A clerk will do more

and Int

her rank of workers complain of the many interruptions which they suffer, but if they would welcome these interruptions instead of allowing themselves to be irritated by t

ain comes on some one muscle or organ. Modern industry is so constituted that the

-st

e horizon is a rest. The reflex evils from eye-strain are great and numerous and are often incorrectly ascribed to entirely different causes. Headaches, nausea,

looking for a long time at moving pictures may overstrain the eye. One should be especially careful not to read in a waning light or, on the other hand, to read in the glare of the sun. If one works f

isable to spend one hour daily, or at least 15 min

al Home

xercise that is likely to be followed faithfully. Simple stretching in bed w

ng Heart

ngs, such as running, rapid walking, hill-climbing and swimming. These should, of

se aft

or a quarter or half an hour after each meal, but violent exercises immediately after me

Exercise

, he allows it to lapse in the winter. Such a decided change in the amount of exercise is dangerous and should be avoided by taking regular gymnasi

asm in

not emotionally interested is of no benefit, is quite incorrect. A gentleman who had this opinion was challenged to test it and speedily changed his mind. For an en

y inspire enthusiasm, and enthusiasm itself is healthful. Walking may also do so, if the walk has an object, as in mountain-climbing, when often the ar

reek

rom Colleg

with the idea of beauty of physique and control of the body. There is accumulating considerable evidence that college athletics often seriously injure those who engage in them, although they were originated and encouraged for precisely the opposite effect. The value of exercise consists no

cise the unused muscles-although Nature herself produces to some extent the necessary compensation by what is

he Mind, Will

tance, often allows his mind to become dull and sodden. The accountant adds up figures all day and has no chance to exercise his judgment or other mental faculties. In the same way a person who does not exercise his artistic,

. Will is exercised every time a decision is made. One of the advantages of all games is that they require decision by the players. A game like baseball calls ou

Avoc

practised out of regular working hours. The avocation should be far removed from the nature of the regular work. Often the avocation can serve a productive purpose. Gl

Recr

," and make as hard work of it as though they were studying geometry. We should enjoy our recreations for their

res of

polo, or tennis, or swim, or climb the Alps, at least he can walk, and, if

a

is respect to those of a solitary nature. They require a give and take, a m

suggestions, if enjoyed in moderation, are hygienic. Comedy is general

ng is often a most benef

d Lit

abnormal psychological conditions. Such studies are better left for alienists. Literature of mawkish sentimentality should also b

nc

ten involves bad air and loss of sleep. In one large plant where the employes were examined by the Life Extension Institute, the management regarded the harmful effect of danci

-pla

are liable to be associated with late hours, and other disadvantages even when they do not degenerate in

al Amu

ho need amusement make the fatal mistake of getting it in su

ctual rest. Every bodily power requires rest after exertion. The heart rests between beats. The muscles requi

axa

rule. A very hard-working college president when asked about the secret of his working-power and length of life replied, "My secret is

for t

the rule should be reversed-never to lie down when one could sit, never to sit when one could stand, never to stand when one could walk, and never

g and

lent gymnastics for the skin. A very hot bath, lasting only a minute, or even a hot foot-bath, is restful in cases of general fatigue. The most restful of all is a

Induc

Neutral baths are now used not only in cases of insomnia and extreme nervous irritability, but also in cases of acute mania. When sleep occurs in a neut

or the monotonous holding of the attention. Keeping awake is du

e who find sleep difficult. Slow, deep, rhythmic breathing is useful when

avail himself of it to the full. Our sleep should not only be su

s of

when sleepy and not try to sleep more. Growing children require more sleep than grown-ups. Parents often foolishly sacrifice thei

before

ater, unless it induces bladder-action during the night, or even fruit, may be taken without injury before retiring. If one goes to bed with an empty stomach

e of

that sleeping outdoors is more

ll

up. This sleeping attitude can easily be reversed to the opposite side. It has one advantage over pillow-sleeping, tha

e o

referable to the old-fashion

er of T

imself the pleasantest thought which memory or imagination can conjure up, his sleep is likely to be far more peaceful and restful than if he takes his worries to bed, to keep him awake

I-Serenit

healthy. A healthy mental attitude implies many elements, but they are all roughly summed up in the word "serenity." Probably no other one hygienic requirement is of greater importance than this. Moreover, the attitude of "healthyminde

the Health on

nerally appear as arising from outward conditions, there are usually real physical sources, existing within the body itself. These are at times most difficult of recognition. A person who is physically ill is likely to be

"C

ble reaction in a man if he is ill (whether he knows he is or not), the same "cause" does not necessarily produce that same

of Menstr

l depression and physical fatigue which it is almost impossible for the sufferer

en C

emedy may be an enema, a pair of glasses, a vigorous swim, deep breathing exercises or an abdominal supporter, an erect carriage or a general change of daily habits. A young man returning from a surveying trip in th

ewards f

to success in the tasks of the mind. This is especially true of the artistic professions, where the kind of product is dependent so largely upon the state of the emotions, upon exhilaration an

of Emerson's and Walt Whitman's show how much their spiritual exaltation was bound up with their health cond

of the Min

at he obtained freedom from sickness among hens only by being very careful to feed them on a special diet; to give them drinking water at regular intervals-warmed in winter; to supply them with well ventilated and cleanly houses, and so on. But, after all this, he found there was one condition, which, if unfulfilled, still precluded the realization of maximum possibilities. "A discontented hen won't lay egg

l Manif

the head into the abdomen. Worry will interfere with digestion and sleep. The X-ray has detected the arrest of the peristaltic movement of the stomach and intestines because of a strong emotion. Some peculiarly constituted people, who take their work and obligations with a kind of seriousness that amounts almost to fear, can not eat anything of consequence until

ands on

aning-have wondered why they were not benefited when they forcibly held their food in their mouths until they performed a certain number of chews, while in fact they were making a bore of eating and were forgetting to taste and enjoy. The mind and the em

chon

piciously at every article of food and fears that it will disagree. He fears that he has strained his heart; he worries over the loss of an hour's sleep; he chafes because his employer has not given him a vacation at the right time or of the right

nd-

the "imaginary cure of real ailments." In the latter case, the mental contentment lasts only until the real ailment becomes too aggressive to be ignored. But it is a great mista

e must be no worrying or watching of symptoms. After the regimen of exercise, baths, diet, etc., has been selected, it must be fo

o

rom one which is alternately closed and wide open. Worry, if unceasing, will often drain away the largest store of nervous energy. Worry seems, as it were, to short-circuit nerve currents in the brain, which normally

t Things

nt up we should be surprised to find how seldom the things we fear or worry

ity a

lousy, grief, and all depressing or abnormal mental states. To do so is an art which must be

ay at

of adversity has it within his or her power, for merely one day or at any rate one hour, or one minute, to eliminate the fear, worry, anger, or other unwholesome emotions clamoring to take possession. At

urry

ey can not do it. This fact is of much annoyance and at the same time spurs them on in the vain endeavor to catch up. When once it is realized that the sense of hurry actually reduce

n and P

cate any particular form of either, and from the standpoint of hygiene, it does not greatly matter! One may get his chief help from t

of Healthy

edness" in which we renounce all wrong or diseased mental states, cultivati

it of H

py enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions. Though the trait is apparently totally lacking in some, while existing to a high degree in others, experience has shown th

l of A

to learn this control. The Oriental is superior in such self-training. The exceptional man in Western civilization who learns this control can do the most work and carry the most responsibility. On much the same principle as the Indians used when their young men were trained to endure pain self-inflicted, we might well devote a few minutes each day to the

Up On

gely obviate the burden. It is the making up of the mind which presents the difficulty. The truth is that we instinctively shrink from making, without reservation, important decisions as to our future course of

ity of

is normal, but modern life tends to a morbid frenzied intensity. Most of us need, in the interest of mental health or sanity, to moderate our desires. A business man who had set his heart on fulfilling a large responsibility nearly wrecked his health from worry over the outcome. His wise physician pre

g Our

succeed by a determination to pass the crisis unruffled, whether one succeeds or fails, "He that ruleth himself is greater than he that

ver higher powers decree, even if it be death. This is one of the supreme aims of every great philosophy or religion. Job (13:15) said, "Though He slay