Sleep and sleeplessness / Haydn Brown.

  • Brown, Haydn.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Sleep and sleeplessness / Haydn Brown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    his conclusion by making too superficial observa- tion, for he wrote: '' This [position of the eyes] may be noted by anyone who takes the trouble quietly to lift the upper eyelid of a sleeper by pressing it lightly with a finger end. As a fact the eyes roll upwards when the lids are so separated be- cause they turn from the light, and because they also turn reflexly away from what seems to them to be an offensive interference. They will do this even when awake. But they will not remain turned upwards when natural sleep has commenced. Sir William was, however, correctly observing when he pointed out that fatigue resulted from voluntary attempt on the part of an experimenter to keep his eyes in an upward direction for a time. And he did well to note that this effect suggested that the eyes might be strained upwards by those who wished to induce sleep. Sir William found in his own case that sleep invariably follows within a minute or so, except naturally upon occasions when acute pain or some other definite antagonistic factor interferes. The pain, however, must be severe to prevent the result. But long before Sir William made his simple observations — extremely interesting, creditable, and useful notwithstanding, indicating not only great gifts, but a happy desire to advise suffering humanity to the best of his ability—those who had investigated sleep, and particularly the hypnotic state, had found out this tiring-of-the-eyes method. Braid, the distinguished Manchester practitioner, made mighty use of it, and demonstrated its value to medical scientists. There can be no questioning the advantage of