Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1896 — Reform in Sleeping Methods. [ARTICLE]

Reform in Sleeping Methods.

The rampant reformer of the day, says an article quoted in Current Literature, has now invaded bedrooms. The orthodoz fashion of making up the bed so as to slope gently toward the feet, and having a good-sized pillow or two under the head, is all wrong. A prominent French doctor, M. Vilhelm Fischer, is responsible for this statement. He asserts that after a long series of experiments he has proven conclusively that to sleep in a bed prepared in the old-fashioned way is simply to induce ailments of all kinds. You must have your head on a level with or lower than your feet. If pillows are to be used, they must be under your feet instead of under your head. The result, he claims will be amazing, being a sure cure for insomnia, a$ well as a preventive for the nightmare. Dr. Fischer says further that sleep in this new position. “will always be intellectual, because more profound; the entire nervous system ameliorated, while people inclined to lung and kidney troubles will be vastly benefited by sleeping in this position.” To prevent any inconvenience by too sudden a change, the pillows should be gradually reduced and finally placed under the feet.