3. EXERCISE.
Incident to the above topic mention has been made of the brisk morning walk before breakfast. This has a most salutary tonic effect besides the influence that it exerts upon the bowel movements. Not the least important result of this morning exercise depends on the fact that the lungs are repeatedly and completely inflated with the pure out-of-door air. This naturally exerts a most valuable influence upon the development of the lungs in the youth or the maintenance of their vigor in middle age.
The increased heart action is also advantageous as it leads to hastened circulation through the muscles, glands and brain. This hurrying blood current not only carries nutriment to these organs, but carries away their accumulations of effete material to the excretory glands.
The student must be cautioned not to overdo this early morning exercise. The mile run, the mile row or any other strenuous exercise is strongly to be discouraged at this time of the day. If one overdoes morning exercise, he is likely to feel somewhat depleted and fatigued, throughout the remainder of the forenoon, and his ability to do a high grade of mental work is decreased rather than increased.
Besides the morning exercise, every person who wishes to live a vigorous physical life should have from one to two hours of heavier exercise during the latter part of the day or evening. This exercise may take any one of many forms. It may be golf, tennis, foot-ball, base-ball, cricket, rowing, lacrosse, basket-ball, cross country running, track or gymnasium work, etc., etc. The immediate results of this exercise should be largely to increase lung and heart action and to cause a sufficient fatigue of the muscular system so that rest is sought and may be followed by dreamless, recuperative sleep.
It might at first seem paradoxical that to build up strong muscles we must first fatigue them, but that seems to be Nature's plan. The only way to build up a strong physique is to use that physique and use it to its maximum capacity.
If one exercises thus freely and eats abstemiously he ought not to lay on fat. If he does lay on fat, he may know that he is eating more than he needs and he should make his diet more temperate. The youth of eighteen or nineteen who is tall and rather spare, and whose muscular system has not reached its full development would, of course, increase his weight incident to the growth of his muscular system. This increase in weight must not be confused with increase of weight through fat deposit. The latter should be avoided—the former should be encouraged.
Not by any means the least important thing accomplished by physical exercise is the association with his fellows incident to his exercise. The courage, nerve control, quick judgment, agility and strength required on the foot-ball field make no small part of the young man's equipment to fight the battles of life. The conditions of these games give frequent opportunities for the young man to cultivate the spirit of honesty and fair play—the spirit, without which, no man can reach his highest success in the real contests of life.
4. THE HYGIENIC REQUIREMENTS OF SLEEP.
The personal hygiene of sleep is by no means an unimportant topic, though it may be briefly treated.