LESSON 19 LESSONS ON HEALTH

LESSONS ON HEALTH

Ⅱ

HOW TO KEEP WELL

How much depends on health, none of us need be told. "Life," says Longfellow, "without health is a burden, with health it is a joy and gladness." An ancient poet wisely tells us "health is best for mortal man; next beauty; thirdly well-gotten wealth; fourthly the pleasure of youth among friends."

Fortunately most of us can enjoy good health, if we only take a little pains to be well and to keep well. The constitution of some may perhaps not be so strong as that of others, but very much depends really on how we treat our bodies.

If, however, by our own folly, or by some misfortune we have fallen ill, we must resolutely do our best to recover the lost treasure of health, and so profit by past, mistakes that they shall not occur again.

In cases of severe illness we naturally send for a doctor; and much of the cure depends on his skill and advice. The world owes a good deal to doctors; "some folk," said one celebrated physician, "owe me far too much!" In China, people pay the doctor so long as they are well, and cease paying the moment they fall sick.

In some uncivilised tribes it is the doctor, and not the patient, who takes the medicine; but this practice would be very inconvenient, for instance, in cases of an epidemic.

Amongst civilised nations the arts of surgery and medicine have made great progress, and doctors now, with the aid of science, can combat and rout many diseases that formerly would sweep off their victims by thousands. Laws have been passed, too, by which towns and streets and houses have become cleaner, and pure water and fresh air are being allowed more and more to play their beneficent part in securing the health of mankind.

But though doctors and statutes may do much for us, after all we can each do very much more for ourselves if we wish to secure robust health. Obedience to a few very simple rules of living would make many people much more healthy than they are.

It is related that, on the death of a certain eminent physician, his books were sold, and one, which was said to contain valuable precepts of health but which the bidders were not permitted to open, fetched a very high price. When the purchaser examined his supposed treasure, he was much disappointed at finding that it contained nothing more than four simple rules. He thought he had thrown his money away. But on further consideration he was induced to put the rules into practice; by doing so he was restored to a state of health to which he had long been a stranger. He often spoke of the old physician's book as the cheapest and most valuable purchase he ever made in his life. The rules were these: Keep the head cool; keep the feet warm; take a light supper; rise early.

It is always easier to keep well than to get well. There are five things which have aptly been called the ABC of health. They are Ablution, Bedroom ventilation, Clothing, Diet, and Exercise.

Ablution includes the daily bath taken briskly in cold water before breakfast. In the few cases where this does not agree with the system, some substitute, a dry rubbing or a sponge bath in tepid water, should be found. Head, hands, and feet should be kept scrupulously clean. Take particular care of the eyes and ears, the nose and mouth. Dirt invites disease, but cleanliness—both in mind and body—is next to godliness.

Even more necessary than the daily bath is pure air, not only in the daytime but also in that long unconscious third of our life which we pass in sleep. Never sleep in a room unless it has ventilation either by means of an open window or a fanlight or a door. Let a stream of pure air through by night, and let the sun light in by day. The sun dries, purifies, and cheers. Plants when kept in the dark grow pale and sickly; so do men and women when deprived of sunshine. The lungs require pure air just as much as the body requires pure food. The best doctor in the world is fresh air. If we could see the impure air that is sometimes around us, as easily as we see bad food, we should never dream of breathing it any longer.

Clothing should be clean and light and frequently changed. It is a good rule to wear no garment during the night which has been worn all day. In winter, of course, we wear warmer materials, but even then it is always better to get warm through exercise rather than by wearing heavy clothes. Beware of sitting still in damp clothes, or of keeping on wet boots. Let your clothing be simple and neat, well aired and well brushed. These may appear to be trifles, but good health often depends on little things.

Someone has said that we are what we eat; and yet very few people are wise enough to choose a proper diet. Most people eat too much, too fast, and too often. There is more disease and death in the world caused by over feeding than by starvation. It is not the food we eat, but the food we digest and assimilate, that builds us up in health. A clear complexion and laughing eyes, supple joints and rounded form, and a sweet disposition—these may come from moderation, but never from gluttony.

No healthy person needs more than three meals a day. Bad health often has for its simple cause a combination of too much food with too little exercise. An old proverb says, "To lengthen your life shorten your meals." The practice of eating between meals should be strictly avoided. It gives the stomach no rest, it produces headaches and indigestion, and it gives a false sense of continual, though slight, hunger. We should chew our food thoroughly; take very little, if any, liquid at meat-time; and keep the body well cleansed by drinking frequently of pure water.

Health is found in plain living. The glutton always loses more than he gains. The moderate eater knows "the exquisite taste of common dry bread," and can get much more enjoyment from a simple repast, (after a brisk walk) than the glutton can from the richest feast. Simple foods are always best. "Made" dishes, and food highly seasoned merely to tickle a jaded appetite, are only harmful. The best sauce is hunger; and the best way to be hungry is to work hard and go without food until a natural hunger comes. It will soon be found true that the bread of the labouring man is sweet.

Exercise is equally needful; not the severe training of the athlete, but the daily walk or the brisk run. It puts oxygen in the blood, it hardens the muscles, and it helps to remove waste matter from the system.

The best medicine for all schoolboys is open-air games. Human beings, like trees, live in great part on air. The exercise that you enjoy, like playing cricket or football or tennis, is much more beneficial than the exercise you undertake as a duty, such as indoor gymnastics.

There is scarcely any exercise, however, so easy or useful as vigorous walking. Throw your head well back so that your lungs are free to inhale the fresh morning air, and a swinging mile walk on a winter's morning will soon make the feet warm, the cheeks tingle, and the lips smack for a hearty breakfast.

No time spent out of doors, it is said, is ever wasted. Wordsworth made it a rule to go out every day, and used to say that as he never consulted the weather, he never had to consult a doctor. Gardeners are amongst those who live longest and enjoy the best health—doubtless because they live in the open. One of the best gifts of God is calm, sound sleep. If we would preserve this gift, let us take plenty of open- air exercise.

It costs a little effort, sometimes, to find either the time or the inclination for this. But every good thing costs something, and it is surely worth a little sacrifice to keep in robust health rather than to fill an early grave or languish year after year as a self-made invalid.

—E.W.H.F