The brain worker should take regular
gymnastic exercise in a well- ventilated gym-
nasium, or, better still, regular outdoor
exercise, such as walking, climbing, swim-
ming, cricket, or lawn tennis. It is very
necessary that such exercise should be regu-
lar, as if done irregularly or in " spurts " it
will do more harm than good, because the
muscles, not being in training, will soon
get tired, and the body will suffer. The
person whose occupation is an entirely mus-
cular one, such as the common laborer or
the blacksmith, should spend his spare time
in reading, music, and other mental studies.
In other words, every man should have
a ' ' hobby ' ' which should exercise faculties
as different as possible from the usual occu-
pation. There is but little danger in hard
and continuous work, provided it is varied
and not monotonous ; it is not work but
worry which kills. The tendency to worry
when there is no need, and which is such a
prominent feature with some people, should
be constantly kept down.
The above remarks as regards exercise
apply, of course, not only to men but to
women, and to them almost with greater
force, as women neglect it to such an extent.
There are plenty of forms of perfectly wo-
manly exercise which may be taken, such
as walking, rowing, swimming, skating,
and lawn tennis, and if these were indulged
in regularly we should hear less of hysteria
and weak backs.
The conditions necessary for keeping the
muscles in good order are those required for
the healthy nutrition of every organ of the
body ; namely :
Good, rich blood ; distribution of blood,
and of nerve-force, without obstruction, to
each part ; exercise of the organs, according
THE FAMILY DOCTOR
105
to their ability ; sufficient intervals of
repose.
Everybody knows that we must have
sleep for several hours in each twenty-four,
or we wear out. Besides sleep, however,
which affects the brain only, there must be
rest from action in all the muscles.
The heart must, first of all, be protected
from disturbance. It naturally beats faster
when any of the large muscles are working
actively, as when we run or walk fast ;
especially up stairs. Our breathing is then
hurried also ; and thus, commonly, a check
is put upon our doing too much : we ' ' get
out of breath , ' ' and have to stop or slacken
our movement.
When the heart is overworked, one of
two things happens. If the body is at the
time well nourished, and its general vitality
is good, the heart grozvs stronger, just as
other muscles do, with exercise. In time it
grows thicker also ; and this is the ' ' hyper-
trophy " of medical books. But, if the
overwork is incessant, the blood is thin and
poor, and the sum of energy in the body is
low, the heart becomes weak instead ; its
muscular fibres become pale and thin. In
this condition they are easily stretched by
the blood within the heart's cavities, and we
have what doctors call ' ' dilatation of the
heart."
Page 252
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The brain worker should take regular gymnastic exercise in a well- ventilated gymnasium, or, better still, regular outdoor exercise, such as walking, climbing, swimming, cricket, or lawn tennis. It is very necessary that such exercise should be regular, as if done irregularly or in " spurts " it will do more harm than good, because the muscles, not being in training, will soon get tired, and the body will suffer. The person whose occupation is an entirely muscular one, such as the common laborer or the blacksmith, should spend his spare time in reading, music, and other mental studies. In other words, every man should have a ' ' hobby ' ' which should exercise faculties as different as possible from the usual occupation. There is but little danger in hard and continuous work, provided it is varied and not monotonous ; it is not work but worry which kills. The tendency to worry when there is no need, and which is such a prominent feature with some people, should be constantly kept down.
The above remarks as regards exercise apply, of course, not only to men but to women, and to them almost with greater force, as women neglect it to such an extent. There are plenty of forms of perfectly womanly exercise which may be taken, such as walking, rowing, swimming, skating, and lawn tennis, and if these were indulged in regularly we should hear less of hysteria and weak backs.
The conditions necessary for keeping the muscles in good order are those required for the healthy nutrition of every organ of the body ; namely :
Good, rich blood ; distribution of blood, and of nerve-force, without obstruction, to each part ; exercise of the organs, according
to their ability ; sufficient intervals of repose.
Everybody knows that we must have sleep for several hours in each twenty-four, or we wear out. Besides sleep, however, which affects the brain only, there must be rest from action in all the muscles.
The heart must, first of all, be protected from disturbance. It naturally beats faster when any of the large muscles are working actively, as when we run or walk fast ; especially up stairs. Our breathing is then hurried also ; and thus, commonly, a check is put upon our doing too much : we ' ' get out of breath , ' ' and have to stop or slacken our movement.
When the heart is overworked, one of two things happens. If the body is at the time well nourished, and its general vitality is good, the heart grows stronger, just as other muscles do, with exercise. In time it grows thicker also ; and this is the ' ' hypertrophy " of medical books. But, if the overwork is incessant, the blood is thin and poor, and the sum of energy in the body is low, the heart becomes weak instead ; its muscular fibres become pale and thin. In this condition they are easily stretched by the blood within the heart's cavities, and we have what doctors call ' ' dilatation of the heart."