BODILY CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE STUDY
It is a truism to say that mental ability is affected by bodily
conditions. A common complaint of students is that they cannot study
because of a headache, or they fail in class because of loss of sleep.
So patent is the interrelation between bodily condition and study that
we cannot consider our discussion of study problems complete without
recognition of the topic. We shall group our discussions about three of
the most important physical activities, eating, sleeping and
exercising. These make up the greater part of our daily activities and
if they are properly regulated our study is likely to be effective.
FOOD.--It is generally agreed that the main function of food is to
repair the tissues of the body. Other effects are present, such as
pleasure and sociability, but its chief benefit is reparative, so we
may well regard the subject from a strictly utilitarian standpoint and
inquire how we may produce the highest efficiency from our eating. Some
of the important questions about eating are, how much to eat, what kind
of food to eat, when to eat, what are the most favorable conditions for
eating?
The quantity of food to be taken varies with the demands of the
individual appetite and the individual powers of absorption. In
general, one who is engaged in physical labor needs more, because of
increased appetite and increased waste of tissues. So a farm-hand needs
more food than a college student, whose work is mostly indoors and
sedentary. Much has been said recently about the ills of overeating.
One of the most enthusiastic defenders of a decreased diet is Mr.
Horace Fletcher, who, by the practice of protracted mastication,
"contrives to satisfy the appetite while taking an exceptionally small
amount of food. Salivary digestion is favored and the mechanical
subdivision of the food is carried to an extreme point. Remarkably
complete digestion and absorption follow. By faithfully pursuing this
system Mr. Fletcher has vastly bettered his general health, and is a
rare example of muscular and mental power for a man above sixty years
of age. He is a vigorous pedestrian and mountain-climber and holds
surprising records for endurance tests in the gymnasium.
"The chief gain observed in his case, as in others which are more or
less parallel, is the acquiring of immunity to fatigue, both muscular
and central. It is not claimed that the sparing diet confers great
strength for momentary efforts--'explosive strength,' as the term
goes--but that moderate muscular contractions may be repeated many
times with far less discomfort than before. The inference appears to be
that the subject who eats more than is best has in his circulation and
his tissues by-products which act like the muscular waste which is
normally responsible for fatigue. According to this conception he is
never really fresh for his task, but is obliged to start with a
handicap. When he reduces his diet the cells and fluids of his body
free themselves of these by-products and he realizes a capacity quite
unguessed in the past.
"The same assumption explains the fact mentioned by Mr. Fletcher, that
the hours of sleep can be reduced decidedly when the diet is cut down.
It would seem as though a part of our sleep might often be due to
avoidable auto-intoxication. If one can shorten his nightly sleep
without feeling the worse for it this is an important gain."
But the amount of food is probably not so important as the kind. Foods
containing much starch, as potatoes and rice, may ordinarily be taken
in greater quantities than foods containing much protein, such as meats
and nuts. So our problem is not so much concerned with quantity as with
the choice of kinds of food. Probably the most favorable distribution
of foods for students is a predominance of fruits, coarse cereals,
starch and sugar and less prominence to meats. Do not begin the day's
study on a breakfast of cakes. They are a heavy tax upon the digestive
powers and their nutritive value is low. The mid-day meal is also a
crucial factor in determining the efficiency of afternoon study, and
many students almost completely incapacitate themselves for afternoon
work by a too-heavy noon meal. Frequently an afternoon course is
rendered quite valueless because the student drowses through the
lecture soddened by a heavy lunch. One way of overcoming this
difficulty is by dispensing with the mid-day meal; another way is to
drink a small amount of coffee, which frequently keeps people awake;
but these devices are not to be universally recommended.
The heavy meal of a student may well come at evening. It should consist
of a varied assortment of foods with some liquids, preferably clear
soup, milk and water. Meat also forms a substantial part of this meal,
though ordinarily it should not be taken more than once a day. Much is
heard nowadays about the dangers of excessive meat-eating and the
objections are well-founded in the case of brain-workers. The
undesirable effects are "an unprofitable spurring of the metabolism--
more particularly objectionable in warm weather--and the menace of
auto-intoxication." Too much protein, found in meat, lays a burden upon
the liver and kidneys and when the burden is too great, wastes, which
cannot be taken care of, gather and poison the blood, giving rise to
that feeling of being "tired all over" which is so inimical to mental
and physical exertion. When meat is eaten, care should be taken to
choose right kinds. "Some kinds of meat are well known to occasion
indigestion. Pork and veal are particularly feared. While we may not
know the reason why these foods so often disagree with people, it seems
probable that texture is an important consideration. In both these
meats the fibre is fine, and fat is intimately mingled with the lean. A
close blending of fat with nitrogenous matter appears to give a fabric
which is hard to digest. The same principle is illustrated by
fat-soaked fried foods. Under the cover of the fat, thorough-going
bacterial decomposition of the proteins may be accomplished with the
final release of highly poisonous products. Attacks of acute
indigestion resulting from this cause are much like the so-called
ptomaine poisoning."
Much of the benefit of meat may be secured from other foods. Fat, for
example, may be obtained from milk and butter freed from the
objectionable qualities of the meat-fibre. In this connection it is
important to call attention to the use of fried fat. Avoid fat that is
mixed with starch particles in such foods as fried potatoes and
pie-crust.
The conditions during meals should always be as pleasant as possible.
This refers both to physical surroundings and mental condition. "The
processes occurring in the alimentary canal are greatly subject to
influences radiating from the brain. It is especially striking that
both the movements of the stomach and the secretion of the gastric
juice may be inhibited as a result of disturbing circumstances.
Intestinal movements may be modified in similar fashion."
"Cannon has collected various instances of the suspension of digestion
in consequence of disagreeable experiences, and it would be easy for
almost anyone to add to his list. He tells us, for example, of the case
of a woman whose stomach was emptied under the direction of a
specialist in order to ascertain the degree of digestion undergone by a
prescribed breakfast. The dinner of the night before was recovered and
was found almost unaltered. Inquiry led to the fact that the woman had
passed a night of intense agitation as the result of misconduct on the
part of her husband. People who are seasick some hours after a meal
vomit undigested food. Apprehension of being sick has probably
inhibited the gastric activities.
"Just as a single occasion of painful emotion may lead to a passing
digestive disturbance, so continued mental depression, worry, or grief
may permanently impair the working of the (alimentary) tract and
undermine the vigor and capacity of the sufferer. Homesickness is not
to be regarded lightly as a cause of malnutrition. Companionship is a
powerful promoter of assimilation. The attractive serving of food, a
pleasant room, and good ventilation are of high importance. The lack of
these, so commonly faced by the lonely student or the young man making
a start in a strange city, may be to some extent counteracted by the
cultivation of optimism and the mental discipline which makes it
possible to detach one's self from sordid surroundings."
Almost as important as eating is drinking, for liquids constitute the
"largest item in the income" of the body. Free drinking is recommended
by physiologists, the beneficial results being, "the avoidance of
constipation, and the promotion of the elimination of dissolved waste
by the kidneys and possibly the liver." In regard to the use of water
with meals, a point upon which emphatic cautions were formerly offered,
recent experiments have failed to show any bad effects from this, and
the advice is now given to drink "all the water that one chooses with
meals." Caution should be observed, however, about introducing hot and
cold liquids into the stomach in quick succession.
Other liquids have been much discussed by dietitians, especially tea
and coffee. "These beverages owe what limited food value they have to
the cream and sugar usually mixed with them. They give pleasure by
their aroma, but they are given a peculiar position among articles of
diet by the presence in them of the compound caffein, which is
distinctly a drug. It is a stimulant to the heart, the kidneys, and the
central nervous system."
"Individual susceptibility to the action of caffein varies greatly.
Where one person notices little or no reaction after a cup of coffee,
another is exhilarated to a marked degree and hours later may find
himself lying sleepless with tense or trembling muscles, a dry, burning
skin, and a mind feverishly active. Often it is found that a more
protracted disturbance follows the taking of coffee with cream than is
caused by black coffee.
"It is too much to claim that the use of tea and coffee is altogether
to be condemned. Many people, nevertheless, are better without them.
For all who find themselves strongly stimulated it is the part of
wisdom to limit the enjoyment of these decoctions to real emergencies
when uncommon demands are made upon the endurance and when for a time
hygienic considerations have to be ignored. If young people will
postpone the formation of the habit they will have one more resource
when the pressure of mature life becomes severe."
Before concluding this discussion a word might be added concerning the
relation between fasting and mental activity. Prolonged abstinence from
food frequently results in highly sharpened intellectual powers.
Numerous examples of this are found in the literature of history and
biography; many actors, speakers and singers habitually fast before
public performances. There are some disadvantages to fasting,
especially loss of weight and weakness, but when done under the
direction of a physician, fasting has been known to produce very
beneficial effects. It is mentioned here because it has such marked
effects in speeding up the mental processes and clearing the mind; and
the well-nourished student may find the practice a source of mental
strength during times of stress such as examinations.
SLEEP.--"About one-third of an average human life is passed in the
familiar and yet mysterious state which we call sleep. From one point
of view this seems a large inroad upon the period in which our
consciousness has its exercise; a subtraction of twenty-five years from
the life of one who lives to be seventy-five. Yet we know that the
efficiency and comfort of the individual demand the surrender of all
this precious time. It has often been said that sleep is a more
imperative necessity than food, and the claim seems to be well
founded." It is quite likely that some students indulge in too much
sleep. This may sometimes be due to laziness, but frequently it is due
to actual intoxication, from an excess of food which results in the
presence of poisonous "narcotizing substances absorbed from the
burdened intestine". This theory is rendered tenable by the fact that
when the diet is reduced the hours of sleep may be reduced. If one is
in good health, it seems right to expect that one should be able to
arise gladly and briskly upon awaking. By all means do not indulge
yourself in long periods of lying in bed after a good night's rest. If
we examine the physical and physiological conditions of sleep we shall
better understand its hygiene. Sleep is a state in which the tissues of
the body which have been used up may be restored. Of course some
restoration of broken-down tissue takes place as soon as it begins to
wear out, but so long as the body keeps working, the one process can
never quite compensate for the other, so there must be a periodic
cessation of activity so that the energies of the body may be devoted
to restoration. Viewing sleep as a time when broken-down bodily cells
are restored, we see that we tax the energies of the body less if we go
to sleep each day before the cells are entirely depleted. That is the
significance of the old teaching that sleep before midnight is more
efficacious than sleep after midnight. It is not that there is any
mystic virtue in the hours before twelve, but that in the early part of
the evening the cells are not so nearly exhausted as they are later in
the evening, and it is much easier to repair them in the partially
exhausted stage than it is in the completely exhausted stage. For this
reason, a mid-day nap is often effective, or a short nap after the
evening dinner. By thus catching the cells at an early stage of their
exhaustion, they can be restored with comparative ease, and more energy
will be available for use during the remainder of the working hours.
A problem that may occasionally trouble a student is sleeplessness and
we may properly consider here some of the ways of avoiding it. One
prime cause of sleeplessness is external disturbance. The disturbance
may be visual. Although it is ordinarily thought that if the eyes are
closed, no visual disturbances can be sensed, nevertheless, as a matter
of fact the eye-lids are not wholly opaque. Sight may be obtained
through them, as you may prove by closing your eyes and moving your
fingers before them. The lids transmit light to the retina and it is
quite likely that you are frequently awakened by a beam of light
falling upon your closed eye-lids. For this reason, one who is inclined
to be wakeful should shut out from the bed-room all avenues whereby
light may enter as a distraction.
The temperature sense is also a source of distraction in sleep, and it
is a common experience to be awakened by extreme cold. The ears, too,
may be the source of disturbance in sleep; for even though we are
asleep, the tympanic membrane is always exposed to vibrations of air.
In fact, stimuli are continually playing upon the sense-organs and are
arousing nervous currents which try to break over the boundaries of
sleep and impress themselves upon the brain.
For this reason, one who wishes to have untroubled sleep should remove
all possible distractions.
But apart from external distractions, wakefulness may still be caused
by distractions from within. Troublesome ideas may be present and
persist in keeping one awake. This means that brain activity has been
started and needs suppression. Various devices have been suggested. One
is to eat something very light, just enough to draw the surplus blood,
which excites the brain, away from the brain to the digestive tract.
This advice should be taken with caution, however, for eating just
before retiring may use up in digestion much of the energy needed in
repairing the body, and may leave one greatly fatigued in the morning.
One way to relieve the mind of mental distractions is to fill it with
non-worrisome, restful thoughts. Read something light, a restful essay
or a non-exciting story, or poetry. Another device is to bathe the head
in cold water so as to relieve congestion of blood in the brain. A
tepid or warm bath is said to have a similar effect.
Dreams constitute one source of annoyance to many, and while they are
not necessarily to be avoided, still they may disturb the night's rest.
We may avoid them in some measure by creating conditions free from
sensory distractions, for many of our dreams are direct reflections of
sensations we are experiencing at the moment. A dream with an arctic
setting may be the result of becoming uncovered on a cold night. To use
an illustration from Ellis: "A man dreams that he enlists in the army,
goes to the front, and is shot. He is awakened by the slamming of a
door. It seems probable that the enlistment and the march to the field
are theories to account for the report which really caused the whole
train of thought, though it seemed to be its latest item." Such dreams
may be partially eliminated by care in arranging conditions so that
there will be few distractions. Especially should they be guarded
against in the later hours of the sleep, for we do not sleep so soundly
after the first two hours as we do before, and stimuli can more easily
impress themselves and affect the brain.
Before leaving the subject of sleep, we should note the benefit to be
derived from regularity in sleep. All Nature seems to move rhythmically
and sleep is no exception. Insomnia may be treated by means of
habituating one's self to get sleepy at a certain time, and there is no
question that the rising process may be made easier if one forms the
habit of arising at the same time every morning. To rhythmize this
important function is a long step towards the efficient life.
EXERCISE.--Brain workers do not ordinarily get all the exercise they
should. Particularly is this true of some conscientious students who
feel they must not take any time from their study. But this denotes a
false conception of mental action. The human organism needs exercise.
Man is not a disembodied spirit; he must pay attention to the claims of
the body. Indeed it will be found that time spent in exercise will
result in a higher grade of mental work. This is recognized by colleges
and universities by the requirement of gymnasium work, and the
opportunity should be welcomed by the student. Inasmuch as institutions
generally give instruction in this subject, we need not go specifically
into the matter of exercises. Perhaps the only caution that need be
urged is that against the excessive participation in such exhausting
games as foot-ball. It is seriously to be questioned whether the
strenuous grilling that a foot-ball player must undergo does not
actually impair his ability to concentrate upon his studies.
If you undertake a course of exercise, by all means have it regular.
Little is gained by sporadic exercising. Adopt the principle of
regularity and rhythmize this important phase of bodily activity as
well as all other phases.
In concluding our discussion of physical hygiene for the student, we
cannot stress too much the value of relaxation. The life of a student
is a trying one. It exercises chiefly the higher brain centres and
keeps the organism keyed up to a high pitch. These centres become
fatigued easily and ought to be rested occasionally. Therefore, the
student should relax at intervals, and engage in something remote from
study. To forget books for an entire week-end is often wisdom; to have
a hobby or an avocation is also wise. A student must not forget that he
is something more than an intellectual being. He is a physical organism
and a social being, and the well-rounded life demands that all phases
receive expression. We grant that it is wrong to exalt the physical and
stunt the mental, but it is also wrong to develop the intellectual and
neglect the physical. We must recognize with Browning that,
all good things
Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more, now,
than flesh helps soul.
READINGS AND EXERCISE
Readings:
Patrick (14) Chapters I, II and VII. Stiles (18) and (19).
Swift (20) Chapter X.
Exercise 1. With the help of a book on dietetics prepare an ideal day's
bill of fare for a student.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
Besides the standard texts in general and educational psychology, the
following books bear with especial intimacy upon the topics treated in
this book:
1. Adams, John, Making the Most of One's Mind, New York: George H.
Doran Co., 1915.
2. Dearborn, George V., How to Learn Easily, Boston: Little, Brown &
Co., 1918.
3. Dewey, John, How we Think, Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1910.
4. Dewey, John, Interest and Effort in Education, Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin Co., 1913.
5. Fulton, Maurice (ed.), College Life, Its Conditions and Problems,
The Macmillan Co., 1915.
6. Hall-Quest, Alfred L., Supervised Study, New York: The Macmillan
Co., 1916.
7. Herrick, C. Judson, An Introduction to Neurology, Philadelphia: W.B.
Saunders Co., 1915.
8. James, William, Talks to Teachers on Psychology, and to Students on
Some of Life's Ideals, New York. 1899.
9. James, William, The Energies of Men, New York: Moffatt, Yard & Co.,
1917.
10. Kerfoot, John B., How to Read, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
1916.
11. Lockwood, Francis (comp.), The Freshman and His College, Boston:
D.C. Heath & Co., 1913.
12. Lowe, John Adams, Books and Libraries, Boston: The Boston Book Co.,
1917.
13. McMurry, Frank M., How to Study, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
1909.
14. Patrick, George T. W., The Psychology of Relaxation, Boston:
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1916.
15. Sandwick, Richard L., How to Study and What to Study, Boston: D.C.
Heath & Co., 1915.
16. Seashore, Carl E., Psychology in Daily Life, New York: D. Appleton
& Co., 1918.
17. Seward, S., Note-taking, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1910.
18. Stiles, Percy G., Nutritional Physiology Philadelphia: W. B.
Saunders Co., 1912.
19. Stiles, Percy G., The Nervous System and Its Conservation,
Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1914.
20. Swift, Edgar J., Psychology and the Day's Work, New York: C.
Scribner's Sons, 1919.
21. Watt, Henry J., The Economy and Training of Memory, New York:
Longmans, Green & Co., 1909.
22. Whipple, Guy M., How to Study Effectively, Bloomington, Ill.:
Public School Publishing Co., 1916.
INDEX
Acquisition, vs. "construction"
Activity, mental
Association, laws of;
in memory;
in reasoning;
in examination
Attention;
fluctuation of;
resistance of distractions;
lapses of
Bibliographies
Bodily activities, in recognition;
distractions in attention
Brain, description of;
elementary cells;
tissue, properties of;
tracts;
areas
Charlemagne
Clarification of ideas, through definition and classification;
through expression
Classification of ideas
Class room
College, difficulties;
demands of
Constructive study
Cramming
Day dreaming
Decision, in reasoning
Definition
Distractions, in attention;
in sleep
Dreams
Drinking
Ennui
Ethical, consequences, of habit;
of expression
Examinations, importance;
purposes of;
preparation for
Exercise
Expression;
neural basis
Fasting
Fatigue
Feelings, pleasurable;
unpleasant
Fletcher, Horace
Food
Geometry
Golf
Graphic methods;
in measuring learning
Habit, defined;
maxims for forming;
advantages of;
disadvantages of;
in reasoning;
of resisting fatigue
Ideas
in reasoning
how to clarify
in fatigue
stimulus of
Idea-motor action
law of
Image
defined
kinds of
Imagination
made of images
works of
sources
how to develop
visual, auditory, etc.
Impression
guard avenues of
clearness essential
through various senses
vs. expression
Indenture
Intention
in memorizing
Insomnia
see Sleeplessness
Inspiration
Interest
defined
sources
development of
laws of
Judgment
Kinaesthetic impressions
Lecture
method
notes
Logical associations
in memorizing
in reasoning
Mediaeval history
Memory
importance in study
stages of
"unconscious"
"whole" vs. "part"
works according to law
"rote" vs. "logical"
intention
Mental second wind
see second wind
Nervous
current
energy
system in expression
Neurone
Note-taking
lecture
laboratory
reading
full vs. scanty
form of notebook
a habit
Obscurity
in meaning
Outlines
Overlearning
Parker, Francis W.
Philology
Plateau
remedies for
Pleasure
in interest
Practice
of recall
curve of
Problem solving
Psalm of life
Public speaking
overcoming embarrassment
_Rathausmarkt_
Read
how to
Reason
contrasted with rote learning
as problem solving
stages
purposive thinking
requirements for
and habit
Recall
Recognition
Repetition,
distribution of
Retention
Review, from notes
Romeo and Juliet
Schedule, daily
Second wind, physical
mental
sources of
Sensation,
as impression
bodily
external
in fatigue
Sleep
Sleeplessness
Stream of thought
Suggestion
Synapse
Theme writing
"Unconscious" learning
see memory
Will
Writing
a form of expression