Another factor in encouraging sleep is a quiet mental state, which is
best brought about by the strict avoidance of all exciting games or
other mental activities for at least an hour before bedtime. School
lessons prepared in the evening are a fertile source of insomnia in
children. The brain, keyed up to working at full pitch, cannot quiet
down at its owner’s wish, and its unwonted activity may banish sleep for
an hour or more.
While free ventilation is essential in the child’s sleeping-room, it
should never be forgotten that the young are more susceptible to cold
than are grown people, and have not the same power of generating extra
body heat to replace any undue loss of warmth from exposure to outside
cold. The temperature of the child’s bedroom, therefore, should be kept
between 55° and 60° F. If below this, a general feeling of chilliness,
and in particular of cold feet, may be the cause of sleeplessness.
Apart from the discomfort and misery caused by the feelings of
chilliness, cold feet lead to the adoption of postures in bed which are
anything but conducive to health.