Diseases > Philosophy of sleep

148
PHILOSOPHY OF SLEEP.
broken. I know not of any method by which the
period to which it extends can be estimated, for the
sufferer has no data to go by, and time, as in all
modifications of dreaming, is subjected to the most
capricious laws—an actual minute often appearing
to embrace a whole hour. Of this point, therefore,
we must he contented to remain in ignorance ; but
it may be conceived that the attack will he as various
in its duration, as in the characters which it assumes
—in one case being ten times as long as in another.
With regard to the breaking of the fit, the differences
are equally great. At one time, the slightest agita¬
tion of the body, the opening of the chamber door,
or calling softly to the sufferer, will arouse him;
at another, he requires to be shaken violently, and
called upon, long and loudly, before he is released.
Some people are much more prone to incubus
than others. Those whose digestion is healthy,
whose minds are at ease, and who go supperless to
bed, will seldom be troubled with it. Those, again,
who keep late hours, study hard, eat heavy sup¬
pers, and are subject to bile, acid, or hypochondria,
are almost sure to be, more or less, its victims.
There are particular kinds of food, which pretty
constantly lead to the same result, such as cheese,
cucumbers, almonds, and whatever is hard to be