Show - 4 You've heard of blood banks artery banks eye banks and soil banks But do you know about sleep banks? You should because deposits in a sleep bank may save you physical wear and tear brighten your disposition and lengthen your life In the rush of modern living most of us tend to run our batteries down by getting insufficient sleep at night and failing to take a few minutes' pause during even the most hectic days Yet doctors say that if we Americans took brief naps during the day we'd feel better return to our jobs with more energy and have fewer heart attacks and ulcers Someone once asked Senator Chauncey M Depew the famous after-dinn- er speaker —who incidentally lived to be 94— how he managed his endless evening engagements "Simple" he replied "I've got a sleep bank When I know I must be up late and will need to draw heavily on my sleep account I make an extra deposit during the day by taking a nap" In many countries everything stops for at least a couple of hours around midday while people go home for a relaxed lunch some conversation and a bit of shut-ey- e Even in America heads are n We're busy people o but we'd get more done t and feel better ivhile it if doing toe cultivated the habit of a daily nap 01° by Jean Komaiko "T"I i A V - - beginning to nod In Washington for example a hotel rents r rooms to businessmen who drop in for after- - f lunch slumber sessions The New York Ath- letic Club has a darkened room for athletes J The operator of a loan company in who'd rather sleep And a lunchtime health f St Louis believed so strongly in a club two blocks oil madcap Madison Avenue features a "snooze room" daily nap that it took the police to wake him np VJhilo h hm1iart-- rt Okay you're probably saying so those burglar smashed his front xcivdoiv people are lucky But how can I sneak in those extra 40 winks? trianered the burnhr alarm cvd It's not always easy but it's not impossible I pounded the handle oj the safe with Naps are a matter of habit Once the habit is I an iron bar! acquired you simply juggle your day to make time for the extra sleep Take a housewife for instance She can learn to nap while the baby does or while the soup simmers One Chicagoan has napped with B f t v- ii if I :i 90-year-- old such regularity each afternoon that neighboring storekeepers check their clocks by watching the raising and lowering of her bedroom shades Do you commute to work? If so take notice of how many fellow -- commuters recharge their batteries by dozing off on the way home Of course if you drive to work this is hardly possible But I know a traveling salesman who parks his car around noon puts a coin in the parking meter and drops off for an hour of sleep The secretary bolsters her evening energy by making the most of the cot in the ladies' rest room And if you're one of those wives who complain about their husbands being sullen unromantic and always too tired for an evening out try delaying dinner while the breadwinner has a brief nap Remember that slumber is also a matter of quality as well as quantity After a hectic day you may count sheep and toss for a good part of the night But a brief nap during the day can lower your blood pressure and soothe your jangled nerves — in short slow you down and relax you In tropical countries siestas are the style and only "mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun" If the thermometer shows America to be relatively temperate our chronic headache indicates that our tempo is the hottest on earth So why shouldn't we adopt a National Nap Hour? Napoleon Lincoln Edison and Churchill all have been disciples of the fast snooze and it didn't hamper their efficiency We already have coffee breaks tea breaks and cigaret breaks How about a sleep break? 1 5 - : !' : ! J I: t ' - i I ' I V ! X V 4 V ' i y wxy' A I A "X : V M A ' v " Sleep is where you find it and this gob took a nod on the dubious comforts of a battleship anchor Family Weekly June i 16 1957 13 |