A torpid condition of body, producing inertness, means that the waste of the system is not relieved. It may be that by reason of insufficient breathing of pure air, sufficient oxygen is not consumed to put the waste in condition to be eliminated. This poisonous carbon dioxid being hoarded, dulls the nerve sensation and the brain action and produces more or less of stupor. It may be because the circulation in some part of the body is clogged (most often the portal circulation through the liver), so that sufficient oxygen is not carried to that part.
Relief from this “inertness” is experienced most quickly by exercise in the fresh air, that the circulation may be quickened and the oxygen more freely carried to each part. Exercise in one’s room by the open window, or at least with the air in the room pure, is often preferable to outdoor exercise, because the body can be nude, or so loosely clothed that the oxygen may not only enter the lungs but also circulate about the pores of the skin. Fifteen minutes of brisk exercise in one’s room is better than a five-mile walk, because if the exercises be intelligently selected, every organ and tissue is used, while walking exercises only about one-fourth of the muscles. If the circulation is clogged, the exercising must be kept up persistently, until the obstruction is removed and particular attention must be given to the supply of fresh air in the room.
After sleeping in a room with impure air, one arises fatigued, because of insufficient oxygen to liberate the energy required for circulation and catabolism, and because the carbonic acid gas cannot be relieved without oxygen to cause combustion. As stated above, if the poisonous carbonic acid gas remains in the system, it deadens the nerve sensation and produces a semi-stupor.
The relief, then, from the state of body we call “tired,” is in the distribution of the circulation, calling the blood from the unduly distended capillaries, and supplying the normal quantity of oxygen. Rightly directed physical exercise renews the circulation to all parts, incites deep breathing, and puts the body in the state of harmony called “rest.”
Harmony, either mental or physical, is rest.
With a little more intelligence in keeping up the supply and demand of oxygen, in establishing correct breathing habits, and in understanding the law of distribution of circulation, which means the harmony of forces, this tired world could draw a deep, restful breath.
Influence of the Mind
The state of the mind has much to do in regulating the digestive system. Cheerful thoughts put the nerves of the entire organism in a natural state, while disagreeable thoughts put the nerves in a tense, unnatural condition. The nerves to the digestive system are affected by the tensity of the mind, just as the nerves to any other part of the body. As an illustration of this;—if one thinks ugly, disagreeable thoughts for a continuous period, actual illness results. These thoughts affect the digestion in such a manner that the appetite sometimes entirely wanes. All so-called “new thoughts,” “ologies,” or “isms,” conducive to the formation of the habit of looking upon the bright side of life, or of looking for good and joy in life, put the nerves in a natural state, affecting the digestion and consequently the health. The practice is Christian Sense.
The nerves control, to a great degree, the peristaltic movements of the stomach and the action of the absorption cells, as well as the cells which secrete the digestive juices. Thus it is that a food which one likes is not only more palatable, but it will digest more readily, because the digestive juices flow more freely.