Insanity, its causes, prevention, and cure : including apoplexy, epilepsy, and congestion of the brain / by Joseph Williams, M. D.

  • Williams, Joseph, 1814-1882.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Insanity, its causes, prevention, and cure : including apoplexy, epilepsy, and congestion of the brain / by Joseph Williams, M. D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

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    LIGHT. DARKNESS. 815 Some cannot rest unless there is a light in the room, others if it be not totally dark ; and so again, some sleep through the loudest noise, while others start at the faintest sound. Thus, in the case of a young lady who, during the night, trembled at the slightest noise, even that caused by the turning in bed, M. Esquirol ordered a light in her bed-room, with an attendant to sit up and watch her, and she then procured rest. And in another maniacal case, where a young lady, who was devoted to the fine arts, fancied she saw pic- tures wherever her eyes rested on the curtains, slept well when the light Avas removed. Light is the only effect the moon has upon lunatics : they cannot sleep, the moon is at the full, —and the common opinion is that some direct lunar influence augments the paroxysm : hence the name, lunatic. M. Esquirol, at the large hospital at Cha- renton, closed the shutters at such times, and no more agitation and restlessness were then exhibited than when the moon waned. Even during the day, light is often disadvan- tageous in early cases of mania, and a room par- tially darkened should generally be recommended during the acute stage. A constant and uninterrupted succession of sounds, if not too loud, such as the rise and fall of the waves, the distant waterfall, the revolving mill, all encourage sleep. Gently patting the back of an infant soon lulls it to sleep, and this is sometimes