How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Page: 4

convinced that most people sleep as long as they do because they
are at a loss for any other diversion. How much sleep do you think
is daily obtained by the powerful healthy man who daily rattles up
your street in charge of Carter Patterson's van? I have consulted a
doctor on this point. He is a doctor who for twenty-four years has
had a large general practice in a large flourishing suburb of
London, inhabited by exactly such people as you and me. He is a
curt man, and his answer was curt:

"Most people sleep themselves stupid."


He went on to give his opinion that nine men out of ten would have
better health and more fun out of life if they spent less time in bed.

Other doctors have confirmed this judgment, which, of course, does
not apply to growing youths.

Rise an hour, an hour and a half, or even two hours earlier; and--if
you must--retire earlier when you can. In the matter of exceeding
programmes, you will accomplish as much in one morning hour as
in two evening hours. "But," you say, "I couldn't begin without
some food, and servants." Surely, my dear sir, in an age when an
excellent spirit-lamp (including a saucepan) can be bought for less
than a shilling, you are not going to allow your highest welfare to
depend upon the precarious immediate co-operation of a fellow
creature! Instruct the fellow creature, whoever she may be, at
night. Tell her to put a tray in a suitable position over night. On
that tray two biscuits, a cup and saucer, a box of matches and a
spirit-lamp; on the lamp, the saucepan; on the saucepan, the lid--
but turned the wrong way up; on the reversed lid, the small teapot,
containing a minute quantity of tea leaves. You will then have to
strike a match--that is all. In three minutes the water boils, and you
pour it into the teapot (which is already warm). In three more minutes
the tea is infused. You can begin your day while drinking it. These
details may seem trivial to the foolish, but to the thoughtful they will
not seem trivial. The proper, wise balancing of one's whole life may
depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour.