About sleep and wakefulness

With regard to a general discussion of the cause of natural sleep and subat, and their opposite states of wakefulness and insomnia, and also what must be done to cause each of them, or to remove them if they cause suffering, and finally, what proves Each of these conditions, and so on, then a little about all this has already been said in its place and will be said more in the Book on Particular Diseases.

Here we speak only of moderate sleep, which strengthens the natural force in its actions, calms the mental strength and increases its substance. Often, due to the fact that it weakens the pneuma, sleep becomes an obstacle to the dissolution of the pneuma, whatever the pneuma may be. Therefore, sleep digests food through all the mentioned methods of digestion. With the help of sleep, weakening caused by one of the types of dissolution of pneuma is corrected, such as fatigue after copulation, anger, and the like.

When moderate sleep is combined with juices balanced in quantity and quality, it acts as a moisturizer and warmer this juice is more beneficial for old people because it retains their moisture and gives it back. Therefore, Galen mentioned that he used spiced lettuce at night. He used lettuce to help him fall asleep, and seasoned it to eliminate its cold properties. He said: “Now I crave sleep, for I am already an old man and benefit from the moisturizing effect of sleep.” Lettuce is a great remedy for those who are sleep deprived. And if you go to the bathhouse before bed after completely digesting the food you eat and pour plenty of hot water on your head, this will perfectly help you fall asleep.

As for a remedy stronger than this, we will mention it in the section on treatment.

Healthy people need to pay due attention to sleep. Their sleep should be moderate in duration, not excessive they should beware of the harm caused by sleeplessness to the brain and to all their powers. Often some people are forced to stay awake and sleep is driven away from them, for fear of fainting and loss of strength.

The best sleep is deep sleep and that which follows the descent of food from the upper abdomen and after the subsidence of the bloating and rumbling that may occur after the descent of food from the stomach into the intestines.

Indeed, sleeping before such a state occurs is harmful for many reasons. It is unpleasant and intermittent, a person does not stop worrying and tossing and turning, which is harmful and at the same time painful for him. Therefore, if the descent of food from the stomach is delayed, you should walk around a little and then sleep.

Sleeping on an empty stomach is not good it weakens your strength. It is also harmful to sleep with a full stomach until food leaves the upper abdomen, because such sleep will not be deep, but restless. Due to the fact that human nature is engaged in the same digestion in this state as it is engaged in in a state of quiet sleep, but the nature is counteracted by restless and agitated wakefulness, the nature becomes sluggish, and digestion deteriorates.

Daytime sleep is also harmful, for it gives rise to diseases caused by moisture, catarrh, spoils the color of the skin, gives rise to disease of the spleen, weakens the nerves, makes a person lazy, reduces appetite, causes tumors and often fever.

Among the reasons that make daytime sleep harmful is that it ends quickly and a person’s nature becomes lethargic from daytime sleep.

The advantages of night sleep include the fact that it can be complete, uninterrupted and deep.

A person who is accustomed to daytime sleep should not give it up immediately, but do it gradually.

The best position during sleep is considered to be when sleep begins by lying on the right side, and then turns to the left. If sleep begins with lying on the stomach, then this helps digestion well, since in this case the innate warmth is retained, protected and increased.

As for sleeping on your back, it is a bad dream, for it exposes a person to such bad diseases as sakta, paralysis and nightmares. This happens because in this position the excess flows to the back and cannot reach the passages located in front, such as the nostrils and pharynx.

People who are weak from illness usually sleep on their backs, because their muscles and organs weaken, which is why one side cannot bear the weight of the other, and people rush to lie on their backs, since the back is stronger than the sides. Such people also sleep with their mouths open due to weakness of the muscles that compress both jaws.

Two comprehensive paragraphs in the Book of Special Diseases are devoted to this issue.