manner as to elevate the head
and shoulders as much as we can without compressing the lungs, or
obstructing the circulation in the neck.

I recommend, therefore, to raise the head of an infant's bedstead a
little higher than the foot; though not so much as to incline him to
slide downwards into the bed, for that would be to produce one evil in
curing another.

Sir Charles Bell thinks that the common disease of infants called
_diabetes_, arises from their being permitted to sleep on their backs;
and that by breaking up the habit of lying in this position, and
accustoming them to lie on their sides, we shall prevent it. I doubt
whether the effect here referred to, is ever the result of such a cause.
Still I am as much opposed to the _habit_ of sleeping on the back, as
Sir Charles Bell. It is quite injurious to free respiration.

Closely allied to the subject of bodily position in general, is the
state of particular organs; especially the stomach and the senses. I
have already intimated that in order to have an infant sleep quietly, it
is desirable to darken the room. This is the more necessary, where
infants are unnaturally wakeful. In such cases, not only light should
be excluded from the eye, but sounds from the ear, odors from the
nostrils, &c. A remarkably full stomach is in the way of going quietly
to sleep, whether the person be old or young. Neither infants nor adults
ought to take food for some time previous to their going to sleep for
the night. Great bodily heat, as well as too great cold, is also
unfavorable. If too hot, the temperature of the infant should be
somewhat reduced by exposure to the air; if too cold, it should be
raised in a natural, healthy, and appropriate manner.

SEC. 8. _State of the Mind._

In giving directions how to procure pleasant dreams, Dr. Franklin
mentions as a highly important requisition, the possession of a quiet
conscience. A wise prescription, no doubt.

But infants, as well as adults, in order to sleep quietly, should have
their minds and feelings in a state of tranquillity. The youngest child
has its "troubles;" and it is highly important, if not indispensable, to
_healthy_ sleep, that the mother take all reasonable pains to remove
them before sleep is induced.

We sometimes hear about children crying themselves to sleep, as if it
were a matter of no consequence; and sometimes, as if it were, on the
contrary, rather desirable. But is the sleep of an adult satisfying,