Toothache will keep some people awake while others will go to sleep in order to forget their toothache.
Examples of that sort could be cited ad infinitum.
In case of sleeplessness, the first thing to do is to remove all the possible physical causes which can be reached directly or with the help of a physician.
Thyroid irritation for instance may at times make one more sensitive to even faint noises and a thorough medical examination should be undergone.
The dentature should be examined with the help of X-ray photography in order that pus pockets, impaction, and other defects, not observable with the naked eye, may be revealed and remedied.
The diet should be regulated so as to exclude indigestible foods while assuring, especially at night, sufficient nourishment.
All stimulants should be avoided.
A walk before retiring is very beneficial in all cases, not because it “tires” the subject, but because it absorbs the chemical products thrown into the blood for emergencies which did not arise in the course of the day. A long walk or any arduous exercise, on the other hand, might do more harm than good if they brought about the phenomenon of the second wind.
Any form of physical or mental exercise involving rivalry or competition is to be avoided at night. The excitement caused by the “fear of losing” would again fill the blood with “fight or flight” products. Heated discussions, the witnessing of exciting films or plays, drives with a daredevil chauffeur, etc., are not conducive to peaceful sleep.
When all those means fail, many devices have been offered to insomnia sufferers, such as prayer or counting sheep, reading, listening to some monotonous stimulus like the buzzing of a faradic inductor, or of an electric fan.