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HOW WOMEN SHOULD RESTStop Work in Time—The Afternoon Nap—Regular Outdoor Exercise—Change of Occupation a Form of Rest—Necessary Recreation an$ Relaxation.By CHRISTINE TERHUNE HERRICK. Author of Cradle and Nursery/ First Aid to the Young Housekeeper, “Housekeeping Made Easy. What to Eat, In City Tents, Etc. Copyright. 19«)4, by Cbristlne Terbune Derrick.Tho time seems to have come when sho would do well to have some book ofAmerican women have to be taught how to rest. They have learned nearly everything else, but resting Is something a good many of them have never hail time to acquire.There Is a saving that Providence looks after tho lame and tho lazy. Tho Implication Is. apparently, that the healthy and the Industrious know ,how to take care of themselves. Tho fact remains, however, that they seldom do. They go until they drop and never seem to have the least Idea that they are overdoing until they give out entirely.Ono of the first things to be learned about resting I9 that It is like some other remedies for the ills of this lifo. It Is worth twice as much If taken at an early stage as It Is If delayed until tho disease has had time to gain ground. The true philosophy of resting Is to rest before one Is really tired. To know when to stop is as Important a part of life’s schooling ay to learn whero to begin. Indeed, the beginning often presents itself, while the stopping place requires searching for.Our Puritan conscience—In so many lines a boon, in so many others a banmild Interest at hand In which she can read for ten of the thirty minutes she has allotted herself. This will calm her and fit her for the sleep or rest she Is trying to take.But this Is not all she requires. A woman cannot rest simply by stopping work and staying in the house. She needs a great deal more than that. She needs to get out of the house, and when she goes out she must do something that Is good for her. Active exercise Is as much a desideratum of rest as absolute repose.The woman who rides a wheel ought never to got really tired. For I do not call it getting tired to have a sensation of healthy weariness In limb and muscle. That Is tho sort of thing that brings sleep and rest. It Is not In the least like the .laded sensation that comes over the woman who has tolled at her household duties all day or who has sat at her sewing until her back and eyes and fingers ache. Anyone who has once known the Joys of the road on a good wheel will not^tarry in answering when asked If there Is any difference between the two kinds of fatigue.So the woman who wishes to learn how to rest must exorcise in the open air.I hav© spoken of riding a wheel, because that seems to combine a maximum of exeroiso and of Interest with a minimum of bother. The woman who rides a good chainless wheel with the proper sort of appurtenances in tho way of skirt guard and the like, has no toilsome business of wheel and frock cleansing awaiting her when she gets home. She goes out with an easy mind, Instead of being tired before she starts by the thought of tho unpleasant task that awaits her when she conies home, and whose anticipation takes the edge off her enjoyment. But If a woman cannot ride a wheel, for any reason—and the good reasons against almost any woman doing It seem to bo growing small by degrees and beautifully less, as the revival of the wheel goes on—sho must not on that acr count stay at home. Bet her do something else—walk, tennis, golf. Only let her do something and d6 it out of doors, and do it every day. weather permitting.Here then are two essentials of rest, rcposo and outdoor exercise. There are others. One among them is a pet recreation.Women used to find this sort of thing In embroidery and worsted work. There are some women who do that even now. Others seek it in basketry, and whilethe unitlated may not be able to comprehend tho Joys of this particular form of employment, it Is a fact that there are many who revel In it. There are others who do bead work and others still who have some one of the many crafts that have drifted into women’s lives ofIs ono of the obstacles In tho way of lato cara- 11 m?k«J no difference what stopping In time. The average busy a woman does—whether she embroiders orwoman who wants to rest, feols, just be- knits or weaves baskets or bead chains or cause It would lm an agreeable sensation, hammers brass or burns wood-so long that It must somehow lie wrong. She Will Ia? lc ^r 's 'l6r- she doesn t do this make sure that sho Is as tired as sho1 sh,e, would bettor play cards or tlddledy-ean he before she lays aside her work ■ ks-, ^object Is of no Importance-«iml takes the few moments' repose sne p,ay a tho *h ,may need. But by tho time she comes I lhe woman should play in other ways.to that stago she Is at a period of fatigue when a few moments* rest will do little for her. Her first fancied economy was a mistake—and she is paying for it. as one does for nil mistakes.I have spoken before In those columns of the harm done by the Puritan conscience. Its effect in making tho earnest woman tcourgo herself Into overwork is perhaps one of its worst effects. There are mnny women who need to struggle to attain a stato of saving un-conaclentiousness. Had they this, perhaps they might know how to rest without making a special study of It.Said a young man the other day, In my hearing: “I wouldn't have my mother's conscience for anything. “Your mother's conscience!” I said. Why? She is ono of tho best women In the world. What can sho have on her conscience?Running sores! returned tho youth, promptly. Sho hns punched it and •'.ricked it so often that it Is In a dread-1 condition. Mlno la just a comfort-' callous!. more women could establish a com-ihlo callous In their consciences it d be better for them—and ono may for those about them. All parties erned would have more ohnnco to Or, what might bo better still d bo for tho women to learn to apply conscientiousness to tho rest prob-many busy women make a point king a little nap ©very afternoon7 uro seems to Indicate tho advlsa-ty of this by making most persons ;py Immediately after the midday al. While tho process of digestion Is going on tliero should bo a temporary cessation of work. A rest of fifteen minutes or half an hour pays for Itself before tho day Is out. Tho woman should go off by herself, loosen any tight clothing sho may bo wearing, stretch out on a couch, in a darkened room, shut her eyes and lie still for a fixed time. Even If eho does not go to sloop sho Is nuro to be rested, If 6ho la nervous and excitedtoo. She should go to see things that amuse her—if It be only the circus. Sheshould see a good play when she can, hear good music when it comes her way, indulge In such social joys as present themselves. All have their part In teaching her to rest—which in its best meaning is a change of occupation. When women have once mastered the science of resting they will do better work, have better husbands and children and bring the nation and the race to a higher level of health and happiness than they occupy at tho present.
Newspaper Details
Minneapolis journal
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Sat, Jul 02, 1904
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 21 Dec 2020
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