Proper Ratio Between Work and Rest

Thomas A. Edison has contended for years that four hours' sleep a daywas sufficient for any man. He has conducted experiments with a largenumber of men, giving careful attention to matters of diet andexercise, and the results have seemed in a measure to support histheory.

Dr. Fred W. Eastman reports that owing to pressure of work he wasrecently unable to get more than three or four hours' sleep out of thetwenty four during a period of many months, and that so far from beinghurt by it he gained five pounds. He says: "If restoration duringsleep is a task so relatively small, the question arises whether, inorder to complete restoration, it is necessary for us to spend so muchtime in sleep as we do. Perhaps on account of popular opinion andpersonal habit, we waste much time in this jelly fish condition thatcould more profitably be spent in active pursuit of our ambitions. Theanswer, of course, depends upon the nature of our occupations. Ifthere is muscular effort involved, with a correspondingly large amountof waste in the cells and blood, eight hours or more are probablynecessary. But if the work is of a sedentary nature, and mainly of thebrain, there is naturally a smaller quantity of accumulated waste, andless time is required for removal. Many are the instances of greatmen, past and present, who have lived healthily and workedunceasingly and strenuously on only four or five hours of sleep, orhalf the laborer's portion. Surely we do not suppose that these menwere or are physically different from others, but rather that byinclination or necessity they have developed a habit of sleepingintensely for a short period, with resulting gain of time andefficiency."
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