Pure Air and Sunlight
69
they are in danger of taking cold because of the cellarlike atmosphere
pervading them. Parlor chambers and bedrooms are kept closed in the
same manner and for the same reasons. And whoever occupies these
beds which have not been freely exposed to light and air does so at the
expense of health, and often of life itself.
Rooms that are not exposed to light and air become damp. Beds
and bedding gather dampness, and the atmosphere in these rooms is
poisonous, because it has not been purified by light and air....
Sleeping rooms especially should be well ventilated, and the atmo-
sphere made healthy by light and air. Blinds should be left open several
hours each day, and the curtains put aside, and the rooms thoroughly
aired. Nothing should remain, even for a short time, which would
destroy the purity of the atmosphere....
Sleeping apartments should be large and so arranged as to have
circulation of air through them day and night. Those who have ex-
cluded the air from their sleeping rooms should begin to change their
course immediately. They should let in air by degrees and increase its
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circulation until they can bear it winter and summer, with no danger
of taking cold. The lungs, in order to be healthy, must have pure air.
Those who have not had a free circulation of air in their rooms
through the night generally awake feeling exhausted and feverish, and
know not the cause. It was air, vital air, that the whole system required,
but which it could not obtain. Upon rising in the morning, most persons
would be benefited by taking a sponge bath, or, if more agreeable,
a hand bath, with merely a washbowl of water. This will remove
impurities from the skin. Then the clothing should be removed piece
by piece from the bed, and exposed to the air. The windows should
be opened, the blinds fastened back, and the air allowed to circulate
freely for several hours, if not all day, through the sleeping apartments.
In this manner the bed and clothing will become thoroughly aired, and
the impurities will be removed from the room.
Shade trees and shrubbery too close and dense around a house
are unhealthful; for they prevent a free circulation of air and shut out
the rays of the sun. In consequence of this, dampness gathers in the
house. Especially in wet seasons the sleeping rooms become damp,
and those who occupy them are troubled with rheumatism, neuralgia,
and lung complaints which generally end in consumption. Numerous
shade trees cast off many leaves, which, if not immediately removed,