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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 3 (June 1, 1936)

Health-All Round The Clock

Health-All Round The Clock.

In our last issue we briefly outlined a general plan for health guidance covering the routine for the average day, and we now propose to elaborate our remarks a little more fully.

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Rising. —A regular time must be adhered to for rising, and it is most important that this be arranged so that ample time is allowed not only for toilet, dressing and breakfast, but also for a few minutes’ leisure for reading the paper. The day is well started by drinking a glass of either hot or cold water immediately on rising, the teeth must be well brushed and the mouth cleansed, and the body refreshed by either hot or cold bath. After this, five or ten minutes should be spent in carrying out some simple physical exercises before dressing. If you prefer, this may be done before having your bath. A regular time must be set aside for the evacuation of the bowel either before or after breakfast, and this time must be observed even though there be no inclination at that time. This is a most important part of the toilet which should not be hastened, nor should it be postponed until arrival at the office, at which time something might occur to demand one's immediate attention, thus necessitating suppression of desire and encouraging one of the commonest causes of constipation. Remember that, in a normal person, there should be absolutely no need for laxatives which, most unfortunately, are so much in vogue today as to be looked upon almost as an article of diet. If you lead a normal, regular life, you will enjoy that wonderful feeling of good health without having daily resort to something laxative out of a bottle, tin, or carton.

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Breakfast. —This should not be a heavy meal, and should consist of slewed fruit, or cereal, lightly boiled or poached eggs, toast and butter, with tea or coffee as desired. Do not drink during the meal, but after. Should the standard breakfast of bacon and eggs be desired, this is in order, but bear in mind that fried dishes are more difficult to digest and therefore grilled bacon and poached eggs are more easily dealt with. Hot buttered toast is also indigestible. Now, having finished breakfast, do not bolt off immediately. Pause for a few minutes to read the paper, thus allowing time for the digestive juices of the stomach to mix with the food, thus commencing the process of digestion in a normal, healthy manner.

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Work. —Now to work. Whatever your occupation may be, the care of the body is just as important as is the care of your business. If working out of doors, clothing must be suited not only to occupation but also to climate, ensuring that the body be neither chilled nor overheated. If in doors, then it is essential that a free circulation of fresh air be provided, and that the temperature of the room be such that the same normal conditions for the body prevail. A chilled temperature will assuredly inhibit the proper working of the functions of your body which must carry on continuously, while an overheated atmosphere will cause a feeling of oppression and over-activity of the skin glands. It will also stultify your mental activity. Now, although a free circulation of fresh air is essential, draughts must be avoided as they cause increased evaporation from the skin surface with consequent chilling of the body.

Lunch. —Now for lunch. Unfortunately, in many cases, this is the most, rushed time of the day, the customary hour allowing too little time for partaking of what should be a more or less light meal. We would very much like to see embodied in the Forty Hour Week legislation, provision for a luncheon interval of at least one hour and a quarter. It is just as unwise to rush home and sit down immediately to a meal as it is to rush away immediately after a meal.

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Dinner. —Unless advised to the contrary, it is well to leave the so-called “heavy” meal until the evening, as there should then be more time and leisure to partake of this meal and to allow the digestive functions to perform their task more thoroughly. Masticate slowly, and again, do not drink during this process.

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Leisure. —Pause for a while after dinner to give the gastric juices a chance, then indulge in the recreation or exercise of your pleasure.

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Supper. —Ordinarily, this should not be necessary, but for those who wish it a cup of milk or tea and a biscuit will do no harm.

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Bed. —“And so to bed.” Do not sit up too late, and above all, avoid that unhealthy, pernicious habit of sitting “mooning” half asleep in front of the fire just doing nothing till all hours. Before retiring, brush the teeth well and cleanse the mouth, as particles of food remaining in the mouth overnight decompose and give rise to that unpleasant thick taste in the morning. Let your hour for retiring be page 58 as regular as possible, and see to it that your bedroom is well ventilated, and that you are not exposed to draughts. Your bed covering should be light in weight but warm in texture, as heavy covering will oppress you, interfere with free respiration and the normal action of your skin, and further, will induce those weird nightmares which deprive you of full benefit of a night's repose.

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“Blow Out.” —For the benefit of those who did not read our notes in the last issue of this magazine, we repeat our opinion that “an occasional ‘blow out,’ judiciously arranged, does us all good.”

In our next issue, we will probably have something to say about food and clothing.

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