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Show New Comforts Ease Rural Life Increased Use of Electric I Power Alters Standard ;' Of Life in Country. Special WNTJ Features. CHICAGO. "Going to bed with the chickens" is not the exclusive prerogative of country dwellers, according ac-cording to a recent survey on the sleeping habits of the American public. pub-lic. City dwellers from New York to San Francisco get to bed about the same time as the small towner while the average urban retirement hour is not more than 30 minutes later than the folks on the farm. Farm people, as a rule, get up 30 minutes to an hour earlier because of such pre-breakfast chores as milking and feeding the stock. Rural electrification has done much to lengthen the after dark hours of farm families and the use of modern agricultural machinery has lessened les-sened the strain of fr.rming so that the physical need for restorative sleep is lessened. City slicker and country man each averages the normal eight hours these days although sciewe indicates that the pastoral sleep is sounder as the combination of outdoor out-door exercise and a more leisurely leisure-ly way of life combines-to give it a greater therapeutic value. However, How-ever, makers of sleep products claim that rural and small town populations seek the same bedtime comfort as the residents of metropolitan metro-politan areas. Seek Latest Comforts. Pointing out that rural America has a higher standard of living than any other similar group in the world, they cite postwar demands from merchants in small communities communi-ties for such modern innovations as bedboard reading lamps, chime tone alarm clocks and electronic blankets. Requests for this type of merchandise from all sections of the country is evidence of the increasing' in-creasing' use of electric power in agricultural areas since all of these products operate on electricity. A case in point is the electronic tubes that control the flow of warmth into an all-woolen blanket. The sleeper may set the control for the desired degree of warmth for sleeping, and ' regardless of changes in room temperature tem-perature or body, heat radiation the electronic tubes maintain the set level of heat accurately throughout the night. Women Go for It. One of the first electronic home products to make its appearance on the postwar scene, the . manufacturers manufac-turers report that apparently it is as popular "down on the farm" as it is in city homes. Double beds continue to retain their traditional popularity regardless regard-less of geography, according to the sleep survey, as 87 per cent of the married couples of the country use them. Wives who complain about their husbands reading in bed are in the minority for research shows more women read in bed than men and only 16 per cent of the people interviewed use any of the "slumber "slum-ber hour" programs on the radio for a sleep wooer. Those people who can't get to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings , can duplicate home sounds at least. Sleep shops now sell records with typical country night noises as well as the muted roar of the big city. Everything from a bird song to the honk of taxis. Sleep records are increasing in popularity. Jack Benny, for instance, ir, said to use one which lulls him with the fading clop-clop of horses' hooves. Scientists state that the speed-up pace of wartime America caused lots of restless sleeping and jangled nerves but the postwar era and its developments will bring greater and better comfort and sleep will, as always, al-ways, continue to be man's great- |
